New college graduates find
themselves facing a tough
job market
by Mary Ann Milbourn
The Orange County Register
Chris Khacherian didn’t select a major casually when
he started at California State University-Fullerton, four
years ago.
“I was researching different types of majors. (Infor
mation technology) and IT services were going to be it
in 2000, 2001, 2002,” he said.
So Khacherian majored in information systems with
an emphasis in software and quality assurance - about
as sure a bet as you could make in 1998 for landing a
job after graduation.
What the prognosticators didn't know is that the tech
nology bubble - and the economy along with it - would
burst along the way.
Just two months from graduation, Khacherian, 23, of
Irvine, now faces an uncertain future.
“I’m worried,” said Khacherian, whose efforts have
only gotten him interviews at a couple of companies -
and no offers. “I’m just trying to look at whatever I can.”
But it’s not just information systems majors that are
having a tough time.
The economic downturn is affecting all college gradu
ates this year.
A survey of 457 employers by the National Associa
tion of Colleges and Employers showed they expect to
hire 20 percent fewer college graduates. And recent lay
offs will make new graduates’job search even tougher.
“Competition from laid-off workers alone could ex
tend the job search into the six-month range,” said John
A. Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray &
Christmas, an international outplacement firm.
“College students are also facing the new business re
alities of increased outsourcing, record downsizing and
cautious employers wary of another sudden economic
jolt such as that caused by Sept. 11.”
Jim Case, Fullerton’s director of career planning, said
it might not be quite that dire in Orange County, where
employment has held up even as the economy has
slowed.
In January, the unemployment rate in Orange County
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was 3.8 percent - about half the rate in Santa Clara, home
of Silicon Valley, where it was 7.5 percent.
“But clearly the market is tighter than it was a year
ago,” he said. “Anyone who tells you otherwise is liv -
ing in another world.”
One indication is employers’ postings on the school’s
electronic job board, Case said.
“Last year, we averaged 2,300 to 2,400 postings,” he
said. “This year we're in the 1,400 category.”
Still, he noted, that's better than the 700-800 listings
they had last fall.
“All the employers are looking a little harder - it's
much less of a buyer’s market,” Case said. “Students
are being forced to be more aggressive, more focused
and more targeted.”
That's certainly been true for Abigail Palisoc, 21, a
senior economics major and computer science and man
agement minor at the University of California-Irvine.
“All I’ve been doing is sending out my resume, but it
doesn’t seem to be getting any responses,” said Palisoc,
who has sent out at least 30 job inquiries this quarter.
Like Khacharian, Palisoc was surprised at how diffi
cult the job market is now.
“When I started, the economy was really good and
there were so many jobs out there,” Palisoc said.
“It sounds funny now, but it’s hard to find a job.”
Angie Menendez Martel, a recruiter for Union Bank
of California who was recently interviewing job candi
dates at the University of California-Irvine, said she's
seen the desperation among college students this year.
“We’ve been absolutely inundated,” she said. “We post
an ad and we get 200 responses.”
The bank is hiring about half its usual group of gradu
ates this year, Martel said.
Because of the tight job market, graduate school is an
increasingly attractive option for some students.
DeWayne Green, the University of California-Irvine's
assistant dean for graduate studies, said applications for
next fall's graduate programs have increased 44 percent,
compared with 9 percent growth last fall.
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