Economy changes, job hunters toil like before

Alvin Ackah is starting to get worried.

Ackah, a junior in Pitt’s School of… Alvin Ackah is starting to get worried.

Ackah, a junior in Pitt’s School of Information Sciences, sent out about 20 internship applications and has yet to hear back from anyone.

No response from Alcoa Inc., or Del Monte Foods Co. Not a call or a letter from U.S. Steel. No word from Giant Eagle or the Bank of New York Mellon, either.

It’s a sign of the times.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers predicts, based on the results of its 2009 Experiential Education Survey, that employers will slash their internship hiring by nearly 21 percent and their co-op hiring by 11 percent.

‘This is gonna be a reflection of how hard it is to get a job after [college],’ he said.

The association also predicted that businesses will hire 22 percent fewer graduating college students this school year than last.

Counselors in Pitt’s Office of Student Employment and Placement Assistance said it’s too early to tell whether the members of this year’s graduating class will succumb to the fate the National Association of Colleges and Employers is predicting.

The University won’t collect data from its Class of 2009 until next week. So for now, all its counselors can do is look at statistics from their job fairs and other services. Two percent more employers attended the school’s Spring Job Fair this year than last, but 74 percent more students attended the fair this year as compared to last.

Cheryl Finlay, director of Pitt’s Office of Student Employment and Placement Assistance, said it’s hard to lump these students into groups, trying to make a blanket statement analyzing their chances of getting a job.

‘Everyone’s trying to break it down to the economy,’ she said. ‘You’ve got to break it down to the person.’

Students all have different backgrounds and different personalities that will contribute to their chances of finding employment, she said.

People trying to enter health care and education, which are the backbone of Pittsburgh’s economy, might have more luck trying to find a job than those who want to go into the arts, she said. Every city needs doctors and teachers.

But Finlay insists that her office will be able to help just about every student, provided that they keep a few time-tested ideas in mind: Start planning early, know your potential employers and, above all, be willing to change your plans.

Finlay suggests that students begin thinking about their careers during their freshman year of college, as opposed to putting it off until senior year.

This will allow students to pursue internships, which will give them a glimpse of the careers they’re working toward, early in their undergraduate careers. Some students will find out they love the jobs they’re preparing for, but others will find that they desperately need to switch their goals.

There are few things worse than finding out you want to switch your major during the end of your junior or senior year, said Brian Heddleston, one of Finlay’s colleagues.

Heddleston once had to advise a student who discovered during his senior year that he didn’t want to enter engineering after all.

‘He was looking for a job that didn’t deal with the engineering side of engineering — maybe the business side,’ said Heddleston. ‘He had some difficulties.’

Pitt senior Lauren O’Leary is one of the many students wishing she’d heeded Finlay’s and Heddleston’s advice.

O’Leary, who’s double majoring in communications and political science, with a minor in Italian language and literature, sent out about 20 to 25 applications.

Overall, she said in an e-mail, she’s content with the way her job search has progressed. O’Leary had interviews with two public relations firms — she’d like to work in an international public relations agency focusing on issue advocacy — and she’s grateful for those opportunities.

But she feels she could be in an even better position if she had planned further ahead.

‘The worst mistake I made was probably starting so late and not giving myself enough time to properly fill out some internship applications,’ she said. ‘Because I did not give myself enough time on an application or two, I was not able to send it in, and so I lost out on that opportunity completely.’

‘That being said,’ she added, ‘I spent last summer working three jobs — an unpaid part-time internship in New York City, a waitressing job at one restaurant and a hostess position at another restaurant.’

Heddleston said the only new piece of advice he’d give to students seeking jobs and internships is to ditch the ‘boiler plate’ resume and cover letter — ones that can be sent to multiple locations and often feature generic phrases like ‘To Whom It May Concern’ — and tailor their applications to each company.

‘Two years ago, you probably could have gotten away with that because jobs were in demand,’ said Heddleston.

But today, Finlay explained, many employers think, ‘If you can’t research me, why should I invest my time in you?’

Finlay and Heddleston said it’s important for students to have the right attitude while searching for a job. The most successful job seekers, they said, are willing to consider all of their options.

Many students, Heddleston said, come into the Office of Student Employment and Placement Assistance and say, ‘Uh, it’s April. I’ve gotta do something.

‘And then they’ve got such lofty, unrealistic ideas,’ said Finlay. Heddleston nodded in agreement.

Students should remember, Finlay said, that they can do different kinds of jobs with the same degree. They might not be able to get a job or an internship at a Fortune 500 company right after college.

Perhaps, they should shoot for an entry level job at a local public relations firm. There’s no one right answer, she said. It’s all about figuring out what fits best for you.

Another option for students is graduate school.

It’s not unusual, Finlay acknowledged, to hear one student ask another, ‘Are you going to grad school?’ and have the answer be, ‘Only if I can’t get a job.’

To some, it might sound like an odd trade-off: postpone a salary to gain debt. The average graduate students incurs anywhere from $27,000 to $114,000 in debt, according to FinAid.org, a Web site that offers financial aid advice.

But for some, the trade-off is more than worth it, said Finlay.

Some students use graduate school to gain higher level positions, she said, while others will choose to work first, as they try to figure our what fields they want to specialize in. Still, others might choose to pursue Teach for America, the Peace Corps or other similar programs.

Sarah Tuke, a student at California University of Pennsylvania, about 35 miles outside of Pittsburgh, plans to combine some of her options.

Tuke, who will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and health science and gerontology this May, plans to take a year off.

She’s applied for jobs in phlebotomy and processing at two hospitals back in Wyomissing, Pa., her hometown. Essentially, she’d draw blood samples from patients so that they can be tested for various illnesses. Working in a hospital, Tuke said, would help her prepare for the nursing career she hopes to have one day.

To be safe, or as close as anyone can be given the state of the economy, Tuke applied to work at Starbucks, too.

‘I’ve actually always wanted to work at Starbucks,’ she said laughing a little. ‘It’s an easy way to serve people, which is what I’m all about.’

Still, Tuke said it’s hard not knowing what she’ll be doing for the next year. Some people in her hometown put subtle pressure on her, she said. They compare her to other people she graduated from high school with by making comments like, ‘Did you hear so-and-so’s working at [insert business here]?’ or ‘I just ran into so-and-so, and guess who’s getting married?’

‘They want to see me have a step-by-step plan,’ said Tuke. ‘I have big goals, but that’s not enough for my parents and neighbors.’

After taking the year off, Tuke hopes to join the Peace Corp for two years. She hopes that the Peace Corps will pay for her to eventually attend graduate school to become a nurse practitioner.

‘I’m kind of glad I’m doing the Peace Corps, because there aren’t a lot of jobs out there,’ she said.

And if she can continue to improve her Spanish while she’s working for the Peace Corps, she’ll have an advantage over the people applying for the same jobs she is.

In some ways, Tuke said, that relieves her of a different kind of pressure. Her friends are applying for jobs now and, ‘It’s not any fun to watch them struggle, to see the hard work they’ve done and then trying to find a job,’ she said.

An added stress for Tuke is that she still doesn’t have a job lined up for the next year.

‘Naturally, I really don’t stress out that much. My theme song is Bob Marley’s ‘Don’t Worry,” she said. ‘I’m just kidding.’

But really, she added, ‘My faith is a huge part of who I am, and I have faith that God’s gonna provide for me.’