What’s the Job Outlook For Recent College Graduates?

For anyone who is a recent college graduate, the job market is one of the main things to be concerned a bout. It’s always tough to find a job, but when you are brand new to the job market as all recent college graduates are, then it’s incredibly stressful.

The truth is that finding a job as a recent college graduate is incredibly tough. You are competing with a huge amount of other recent college graduates. And it’s not just this current years crop of new graduates that you are competing with. You also have to compete with last years new college graduates.

One recent issue that recent college graduates have to contend with is the closure and shut down of in-person offices. Many companies have reduced their in person staff and because of this, there are fewer job openings available for the recent college graduates who are looking for work.

The job outlook is grim, but not terrible. And it also depends upon what type of work the student is seeking. Recent college graduates who are looking to enter medical work or government roles will find that there is a better job outlook than in recent years. The major slowdown has been in fields that are in the professional realm.

The Competition For Jobs: The Unknown Story

The competition for entry level jobs is huge. And the downside for recent college graduates is that there is a tightening in the industry. While certain job sectors have a very positive outlook (mainly medical and government programs) the corporate sector is seeing a tightening in the workplace.

See stories such as Goldman Sachs having to fire a huge number of employees.

Now, much of this can be explained due to loss of revenue and shutdowns after a multi-year cycle of stagnation, however there are larger stories such as competition and increased numbers of people looking for jobs.

Because of these issues, it follows that people who are new to the job market are going to face incredibly competition.

Anyone who is a recent graduate is therefore advised to spend as much time prepping for interviews, preparing a good resume, and networking with recruiters to maximize their chances of finding work.

Having a exemplary resume is one way to approach the problem. However, it is important to be aware of the current job market so that you do not become overwhelmed with issues once you start submitting your resume to different job posts online and do not immediately hear back.

The Salary Question: How Much Do Entry Level Jobs Pay?

The salaries for entry level jobs is always going to depend upon the field. If you are a recent college graduate who graduated with a degree in STEM, and you have a good resume and experience, then you’re entry level salary is likely going to be higher than someone with a liberal arts degree.

Entry level jobs in non-stem related fields is going to be lower than their counterparts.

Not only is this an issue that needs to be understood, but the overall entry level salaries is something that is going down across the board. Part of this is due to the influx of new workers, other reasons include increased automation and remote working situations.

The increase in remote work allows for companies to source workers from across the country. This includes finding people who live in areas where the cost of living (COL) is much lower.

As a recent college graduate, it’s important to be familiar with the entry level salaries for the region that you are in. The entry level salary in an area such as New Jersey or New York is going to be quite higher than an area in areas of the country such as Alabama or Florida.

In general, entry level jobs are going to not pay a lot of money. The exception are certain STEM related jobs such as Software Designers, UX, and other jobs in FANG type companies. Investment Banking roles are also well paid.

Finding Work In the Remote Era: Things to Consider

Recent college graduates need to consider the advantages and challenges of working remotely. It’s no longer an issue of only applying to jobs that are located in the areas where you live. Recent college graduates are no longer restricted to location.

Recent college graduates can look for jobs that are remote. This is something that was not always available. Most companies would not even interview someone who did not live in the city where the company was located.

The idea that a recent college graduate could relocate for a job is, in most cases, a pipe dream. Companies know how unreliable young people are as a rule, and so they only want to interview and hire people who already live in the area. It’s not a realistic expectation to have someone interview online via Zoom for a job and move to a city, especially if it’s a high cost of living city like New York where it’s very difficult to find a place to live.

Recent graduates underestimate the difficulty in finding a place to live in a city like NYC. There are stories galore about the problems dealing with brokers, rental agencies, and the like. The problem with not living in a major city such as New York, LA, Boston, Atlanta, or another hub of economic activity, is that it was traditionally very hard to find work without living there.

That’s no longer the case due to online interviewing. Many companies will now recruit using online assessment tools and screen candidates using Zoom or other portals that can be an excellent way to find and vet potential candidates.

Professional Entry Level Roles: How To Break In

This is going to be a brief section which will cover a larger and more complex subject: getting your foot in the door.

The problem that every recent college graduate has is that it’s incredibly difficult to break into the corporate business world, especially if you do not have any connections.

Finding an entry level job without any sort of connection or networking can  be next to impossible. Sure, there are things such as job fairs and job sites like Indeed, but in reality most people who graduate college and are looking to work in corporate America have to find a better approach.

There are recruiters who can assist people with finding an entry level job, but as a rule recrutiers work on hard to fill jobs, not jobs that are hard to get. That’s the big difference. The main difference between a hard to fill job and a hard to get job is that one has far too many applicants and the other has far too few qualified people.

People who are recent graduates from college are in the category of inexperienced. A lot has been written about the problem with finding entry level jobs when they require multiple years of experience.

The entire discussion has even become something of a joke: you need experience for a job, but many jobs won’t hire people without experience. It’s a vicious problem that all new recent graduates have to deal with.

There are a few different approaches that the recent graduate can use to tackle this problem. One way, which is something all colleges should be instructing their students to do, is to have internships on your resume.

College internships are vital for any recent college graduate. It’s the only thing that potential employers will believe is indicative of work ability as it relates to the professional world.

If a recent college graduate doesn’t have a professional internship on their resume, then the odds of them finding work is next to zero. There are instances where someone can find work through friends and family, but that’s not that common. While everyone would like to have a friend of family member in a company that can get them in, it’s not something you can rely on.

Finding Work With The Government or Hospital System

There’s always another path to take if you are a recent college graduate who is seeking work and you’re running into a wall when applying for jobs. Two of the best areas to find work is in the Government or with the Hospital System.

The big difference between Government jobs and hospital jobs and those in the corporate setting is that there is funding. Hospitals and Government funded entities have funding from tax dollars, and so they can hire more people. A corporate company will have to be tight with their budget because they are focused on profit.

Government entities are not concerned with profit and the same with hospital systems.

The application process for government and hospital locations are significantly different than corporate jobs.

The best approach would be to become familiar with these application processes and it would help to get yourself setup with the large systems and apply for any related job category.

The process is much different with government and federal or city and state jobs. These roles are more of a waiting list. You simply add your name to a list and eventually you’ll be called in and as long as you’ve passed an exam or have whatever certification the hospital system requires you can be hired. Note, that these can take years. They are highly coveted roles because the pay is good and there is job security (once someone gets a union job in a hospital or government role, they have that job for life).

Resumes, Recruiters, and Job Sites: Which One Is Best?

Recent college graduates face a somewhat overwhelming array of choices when it comes to job seeking.

What is the best approach to finding that perfect first job? Should you connect with every recruiter you can on LinkedIn? Or should you stick to sending your resume in to ever job posting on Indeed or Monster?

Are there advantages to using job fairs? There are

As you can see, the variety of paths to finding a job are many and this can be confusing.

The best approach for the recent college graduate is to be diligent and comprehensive. What does that mean?

Well, it helps to create a method and track your activity. For instance, you should keep spreedsheets or some sort of tracking list and maintain dates for all activity.

Apply to listings on Indeed, Craigslist and other job sites, but be aware that job sites often post jobs written by temporary agencies and recruiters as well as repost old jobs that no longer are available.

By keeping track of the jobs you apply for, including jobs on company websites and other areas, it will help you gauge how your progress is coming along.

How Much Will Recent Grads Earn?

Before we close up this article, it’s a good idea to have some idea as to what recent college graduates can earn.

Remember that this will vary significantly depending on the industry, but if you’re interested in getting a general idea, then this would be a good start. Here are a series of links that will provide you with some starting off info.

CNBC article about recent grads and starting salaries

Forbes coverage on recent graduates and average salaries

Intersting article in USA Today on salary expectations amongst recent grads