21 March 2006

2006 College Grads Get a Warm Welcome from Employers

College grads will find a warm welcome from employers when they leave the classroom for the workplace this spring. According to a report in USA Today, 2006 is already delivering the best job market that grads have seen since 2001.

A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that the nation's employers plan to hire 14.5 per cent more college grads than they did the same time a year ago. Graduates with degrees in business, computing, engineering, health care, and education are in especially high demand.

Higher demand means higher starting salaries and more perks. Graduates in finance and economics are receiving job offers that are 11 per cent higher than last year, with the average figure now coming in at just under $45,200. The average salary offer being made to accounting majors is up by over 6 per cent. Entry-level business management salaries have increased by just under 4 per cent, and civil engineering offers are up by 4.3 per cent.

But graduates shouldn't assume they will walk into a job offer after picking up their diplomas, CEO John Challenger of the employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas told the newspaper. Unemployment and underemployment are both still possibilities. Smart grads will research the fields they want to work in and conduct an energetic and focused job search. A well-crafted resume and targeted cover letters are key parts of that effort.

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