The overall hiring outlook for this year’s graduating college seniors is positive, though not as bright as last year because some industries plan to pull back, according to a new national survey.
Meanwhile, graduating seniors at University Park-based Governors State University are upbeat about their job prospects despite forecasts of the possibility of a recession later this year.
Employers plan to hire 3.9% more graduates from the Class of 2023 than they did from the Class of 2022, an annual spring survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed. That’s down from Fall 2022, when surveyed employers shared they planned to hire 14.7% more graduates from the Class of 2023.
Dramatic swings took place in the information, computer and electronics manufacturing, and utilities industries helping account for the change, said Mary Gatta, director of Research and Public Policy at the association. Survey respondents in the information industry said they planned to hire almost 87% more new graduates at this time last year. Now, they are projecting a decrease in hiring of nearly 17%, Gatta said. Also, at this time last year, computer and electronics manufacturers were planning to increase hires by more than 41%. An increase is still projected, but at a lower level — 19.1%, she said. The utility sector, however, plans to slash hiring by 39%. Last year this time, their hiring projection was an increase of 11.5%, according to Gatta.
Big increases are projected in some sectors. Hiring in the transportation industry is expected to be more than 50% higher than last year. In the pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing sector, forecasts are for a 30% boost in hiring.
Overall, the job market for graduates remains promising, Gatta said. Cynthia Staples, associate director of Career Services at Governors State, echoed that view.
“We’re kind of mirroring the national trends,” she said. “There are still a good amount of jobs out here for our students. Employers who were hiring last year are still hiring.”
An in-person career fair held in April drew 54 employers, Staples noted. It was the university’s first in-person career fair since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“We were at capacity,” she said. Employers were really wanting to be in person again.”
They were seeking full-time permanent hires as well as interns.
“About 30% were looking for interns,” Staples said. “It’s a great way to try them out.”
She noted students in informatics/social media fields have had some challenges amid layoffs from tech giants. But social media companies aren’t the only employers who use informatics and data analytic skills, she said.
“So, we’ve been redirecting” those seniors, she noted.
Among all industry sectors, the association’s spring survey showed 36% of respondents plan to increase hiring, more than half of employers said they will maintain hiring levels and 12% plan to cut hiring.
As for salaries for students graduating with bachelor’s degrees, 55% of employers responding said they will raise salaries, and 45% plan no changes.
Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at Chicago-based outplacement services and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., cautions hiring conditions could deteriorate in the months ahead.
“While the overall labor market continues to be relatively strong, we have seen indications it is slowly weakening,” he said. “That means some of those expectations employers have for needs for new graduates might decline.
His advice to graduating seniors is to “move quickly.”
“You should be looking, not waiting or trying to take the summer off,” he said. “We don’t know how much the labor market is going to cool down. Lock in offers now.”
Graduating seniors at Governors State aren’t expressing worries about recession and how that could impact their job search, Staples said.
“They are optimistic because of the fact that post pandemic offices are opening up,” she said. “There’s also variety. There are a lot of hybrid jobs out there, in-person jobs and remote jobs.”
Lansing resident Jessica Garcia, who will graduate from Governors State with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education this month, said she had no worries about a potential recession impacting her job search.
“That hadn’t been a thought for me because I know teachers have been in high demand,” she said. “I feel for college graduates, it’s been a lot easier for us to land jobs because in certain school districts they’ve had pretty high turnover rates.”
She received two job offers and recently accepted a position as a permanent substitute teacher at an elementary school in Tinley Park where she had completed an internship, she said.
South Holland native Rhema McGee will obtain her bachelor’s degree in biology from Xavier University of Louisiana this month, she said. After having interned at Rush University Medical Center during summer and winter breaks, she applied for a research assistant job at the University of Cincinnati and recently received an offer, which she accepted. Her academic advisor suggested she apply for the position, she said.
Staples advises graduating seniors to have top notch resumes and cover letters, practice mock interviews, be tech savvy and have up-to-date LinkedIn accounts. She also stressed that internships are important for job seekers.
Gatta noted an association survey shows only 39% of employers plan to screen candidates by grade point average. Of those who aren’t screening for GPAs, employers are screening for majors and looking for students who have industry experience or who have completed internships and have demonstrated proficiency in competencies and skills in their fields of study, she added. Experiential learning and being able to translate what they are learning in college into the different skills employers are looking for are key, she said.
Challenger said students should not neglect networking even though it can be “what people hate to do the most,” he said.
“Connect with people you know that are already in the working world, whether that’s your parents or parent’s friends. Reach out to your teachers, and see if they have contacts. Those types of connections can really help move you past the online job search, which is really overloaded, complicated and difficult today.
“If you can find somebody that will give you 15 minutes of time, you can talk to them and ask them if they would give you a recommendation,” he said, adding, “That can put you at the very top of the (resume) pile.”
Francine Knowles is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.
