Encore Extra: College grads facing bleak job market

Last December, Raina Fox graduated with a degree in art history and humanities, media, and cultural studies from Macalester College.

That degree got her an unpaid internship at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

"Hopefully, at some point, once I get more education (and) have had more experience -- experiences like this -- then I will be able to make money at it," Fox said.

The internship will pad her resume while a second job, at a coffee shop, helps pay her bills.

And her attitude - that the internship represents a solid down payment on her future - is the attitude most of this year's graduating seniors probably want to adopt as they enter this difficult job market.

A survey this month from the National Association of Colleges and Employers confirms this spring is looking particularly grim. It says employers plan to hire 22 percent fewer college graduates than last year.

Denise Ward, the associate dean for student services at Macalester, summed it up succinctly.

"It's bad."

And Paul Timmins, director of career services at the University of Minnesota's College of Liberal Arts, agreed, "It's a tough job market."

Both career counselors said smart students, like Raina Fox, will make the best of this brutal time.

"The message to seniors becomes, hey, you know, when you graduate, if you have a job, that's great," Timmins said. "If you don't, there are still steps that you need to be taking, and an internship might be one of the things that you consider."

Ward said she tells students to stay optimistic.

"That is certainly one plus that they bring to this challenging situation, is their optimism," she said. "But they have to balance that with realism."

That realism is on full display at college job fairs, which are heavy on participants but light on actual jobs.

"I'm even hoping just to get better at interviewing, and more comfortable about talking about my strengths, and learning about positions and networking," said Katie Clifford, a Macalester senior attending a non-profit job fair earlier this month.

Clifford will graduate this spring with a degree in environmental studies. She already landed a summer job related to her degree, but she is looking for something after that.

"My plan is to keep trying to do things in my field," she said. "If I need to, (I will) work a second job as a waitress while I'm doing an unpaid internship or low-paid internship."

She will be up against candidates who have already spent time in the work force and were laid off.

"Instead of just a few people competing for jobs, now it's 8 to 10 people competing for that that same job," said Bao Vang, the leadership coordinator for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

Vang said non-profit organizations are struggling with the same money problems as for-profit companies. In the case of non-profits, fewer grants from charitable foundations mean fewer job openings.

Denise Ward said some fields are worse than others.

"Certainly (in) the financial area, banking, things have really become much more competitive," she said.

On the other hand, the federal government is hiring. Thousands of openings are posted on the website usajobs.gov.

And Ward said there are other bright spots, such as education and health care, where "we're seeing activity."

Timmins said corporate recruiters are still coming to campus, but they're not recruiting as many students as they used to.

"What they tell us is that, whereas, a year ago they might've had several openings, this year they might have a small handful," he said.

In any case, counselors say students should work harder than ever to build a network of contacts and they should plan productive ways to fill the time gap between college and career.

Timmins said volunteering is a good way to spend the time.

"I mean, there are ways to continue building experience that allow students to move forward, even while they're still doing their job search," he said.

"They really need to stick to it," Denise Ward said.

At the art museum, Raina Fox is content with the experience and new connections she is making.

"Oh yeah, I love being here," she said.

Even if it means this college grad is getting paid to serve coffee.

"It's only on the weekends," she said with a laugh. "And it allows me to get some money, so that I can do this."

By Scott Goldberg, KARE 11 News   Read Scott's Blog

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