Meet the latest crop of college graduates – demographics, economics and productivity are on their side. They have reason to be a bit cocky: With record numbers of Boomers edging toward retirement, corporations are realizing that it’s time to staff up amid looming talent shortages.
Employers plan to hire nearly 20 percent more new college graduates in 2006-07 than they did in 2005-06 according to a new study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Overall, nearly 60 percent of responding employers said they plan to hire more new college graduates in 2006-07 than they did in 2005-06.
Other key findings of NACE’s research:
- Marketing graduates are seeing the biggest rise in entry level pay this year, up 10.3 percent to $41,285
- The average offer to economics grads is $53,449, while the average for finance graduates is $47,877
- After seeing a decrease in 2005-2006, the 2006-2007 computer science grads are seeing a 2.5 percent uptick in their average offer to $52,177
- Social media is part of the DNA – 77 percent of students have a profile page on site such as MySpace or Facebook.
Ironically, the study found that the most effective job prospecting methods weren’t the most popular among students. Nearly 71 percent of the 12,000+ students responding to NACE’s study indicated that they had applied for a job by sending their resumes directly to an employer’s web site. The next most popular method, reported by 47 percent of students, was to mail a resume directly to the employer. Applying at a career center-sponsored job fair (44 percent) and posting a resume through the career center web site (34 percent) trailed in popularity.
Although NACE did not establish either how or whether graduates use social media sites to advance their career, the study looked at how often the graduates visit social networking sites. The responses were indicative of a generation that embraces social media:
39% Daily
22% Several Times a week
9% Once a week
5% Several Times a Month
5% Once a Month
20% Never
And yet it doesn’t appear that the grads are aware of the fact that recruiters will Google job candidates and check to see what information is available about them on the web. The students were asked whether they believe recruiters are drawing information from their postings, including MySpace or blogs or anyplace else. Forty-three percent responded yes while 41 percent said they were not sure.
Not surprisingly, NACE research finds that more job offers are pending for white males than for any other group. “More than 56 percent of male graduates who had applied for a job had secured a full-time position before they graduated; in comparison, only 48 percent of female graduates who had applied for a position had a job to go to after graduation,” says a release.
What are employers looking for in a new graduate job candidate? The top 10 personal qualities/skills employers seek, according to NACE’s Job Outlook 2007 survey, are:
- Communication skills (verbal and written)
- Honesty/integrity
- Interpersonal skills (relates well to others)
- Motivation/Initiative
- Strong work ethic
- Teamwork skills (works well with others)
- Computer skills
- Analytical skills
- Flexibility/adaptability
- Detail-oriented
Do you share NACE’s view about the the strong propspects of the class of 2007?
