New Grads Worried about Finding Jobs, says Vault

Business Wire,  May 19, 2008  

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Only 50% of Graduating Students have Received Job Offers, according to New Survey

NEW YORK -- According to a new survey by Vault.com, the source for insider career information, students are concerned about finding work in the current economic environment. Of those graduating this year that do not yet have a job offer, 44% say they're very worried about finding employment after graduation, while 42% say they are somewhat worried about getting jobs. Only 14% say they are not worried at all.

One business student said, "Everybody is worried, especially since we invested so much in getting an MBA and now jobs are scarce, especially in finance and consulting." According to another student, "It's tough even getting a response, let alone an interview. I worry daily about finding employment."

Vault's Job Market for New Grads Survey was conducted from May 2 through May 8, 2008 and consists of responses from 298 students (undergrad, law, MBA and other grad students) across the United States.

The weak economy is resulting in few job offers for new grads; only 50% of those graduating this year say they have received one or more offers; 37% have accepted an offer. One small bright spot: those that do have offers do not seem to be losing them, as just 8% of survey respondents say their offers have been rescinded.

Vault CEO Erik Sorenson said, "It is a tough market out there for new grads right now, especially in the professional services industries such as banking and consulting. The best thing any job seeker can do is to be as well informed as possible about the industry, the company they're applying to, and the specific skill set required for the job. Doing your research and presenting yourself accordingly is the best way to increase your chances of getting that offer."

As a result of the tough job market, new grads are making unexpected compromises that they may not have had to in the past. Many (48%) have expanded their job searches to include a wider array of geographic locations than originally intended, and even more (56%) have explored employment in industries in which they had not initially been interested.

Survey respondents who do have jobs lined up have also made concessions; 19% have accepted their first job offer for fear of not getting another one, while 22% have compromised on salary, title or benefits and perks.

According to one respondent, "I fully intend on accepting the first job that I receive. I have interviewed and am waiting on results. I applied for many positions that I never would have even considered only a semester ago."

About Vault.com

Vault is the leading media company focused on careers. Vault offers over 120 guidebooks, and is celebrated for its online resource, www.vault.com, which features thousands of company and university profiles, information on hundreds of occupations and industries, articles on a multitude of workplace topics, a network of message boards for professionals and jobs-related video, blogs and research tools. Maintaining offices in New York, London, Mumbai, and Hong Kong, Vault was founded in 1996 by Hussam Hamadeh, Samer Hamadeh, and Mark Oldman.

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