Job Prospects – and Employer Expectations – Grow for Spring Graduates
By Allison Bradley Fleming, EDFUND Communications

College graduates in the class of 2004 can expect, overall, a more hopeful employment picture than their counterparts of the last few years, says the new Michigan State University national college employment survey. Hiring is expected to increase between 3 and 8 percent for graduates with bachelor’s degrees, while starting salaries will increase between 1 and 2 percent.

Researchers at Michigan State, who surveyed 450 large and small employers nationwide, found that 41 percent of employers have set hiring targets for 2003-2004 and that 60 percent will either increase hiring or hire at the same levels as last year, an increase over last year’s 55 percent.

Field of study will play a key role in graduates’ employment opportunity over the next year. Growth in the retail and finance sectors should prompt heavier campus recruitment of business and related majors, and companies hiring biological and physical science majors also report an expected increase in new hires. However, the technology industry has not completely recovered in the current economy, making job prospects for computer sciences and engineering students no more promising than last year.

Important segments of the economy that have traditionally offered in-roads for college graduates – manufacturing, information and professional services – will not increase hiring in 2003-2004. Additionally, most of the job growth will come from large companies, as small companies continue to rely on a more experienced pool of recruits who have already graduated.

As for graduate students, many employers cited recent position studies that have caused them to re-evaluate their requirements and allow undergraduate-degreed employees to take on jobs that previously required an MBA degree. The survey predicts a full 5 percent decline in hiring for graduates with MBA degrees.

Despite an overall improvement from last year, the 2003-2004 survey portrays a hiring environment still subject to the effects of a tight national economy.

“Because the economy is moving so quickly, candidates must enter their position already demonstrating command of key competencies,” the report says.

The employers surveyed expressed clear expectations that college graduates have not just a degree in hand, but well developed communication, teamwork, interpersonal and learning skills, in addition to a strong work ethic and motivation.

The 2003-2004 Recruiting Trends report is available from the Michigan State University Web site, www.csp.msu.edu/ceri/pub/rectrends.cfm.

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