Job Market for New College Graduates

The state of the job market may threaten new college graduates. Employers are playing it safe because of an uncertain, economic future that the threat of only a recession can bring. According to the survey, College Job Forecast 2008, sponsored by CareerBuilder.com, 58 percent of employers plan to hire recent graduates compared to 79 percent last year. 

Starting salaries for recent college grads are as expected: Thirty-two percent of the employers asked will offer recent grads a starting salary between $30k and $40k. A little over 40 percent will offer grads less than $30k. The smaller percentages, 15 percent will offer between $40k and $50k; and 11 percent will offer a starting salary of more than $50k.

In the survey, prospective employers were also candid about the lack of “prospective employee code of conduct” that some fresh-out-of-college students had. When asked about the biggest mistakes recent college graduates make, employees stated:

• Acting bored or cocky (69 percent) 
• Not dressing appropriately (65 percent) 
• Coming to the interview with no knowledge of the company (59 percent) 
• Not turning off cell phone or other electronic devices (57 percent) 
• Not asking good questions during the interview (50 percent) 
• Asking what the pay is before the company considered them for the job (39 percent) 
• Failure to remove unprofessional photos and/or content from social networking Web sites and blogs (20 percent) 

Sixty-two percent of employers don’t have a minimum GPA requirement.

But employers did offer advice about what they look for in a resume. Although part-time gigs and internships score points with employers, volunteer work counts as relevant experience according to 81 percent of employers who took the survey. Twenty-eight percent said that high positions in a sorority or fraternity club was also relevant.

Some employers scour the internet, googling your name, to see if your image has been tarnished.

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