William Nadolski, instructor of economics, knows what it’s like to graduate with an uncertain future due to a bad economy.
“I graduated at the height of the recession,” Nadolski said. “It was not easy to find a job out there. Many of my classmates thought that [a job] would be waiting for them when they got out of college, and that didn’t turn out to be the case.”
However, there may be good news for students that are graduating soon.
“The labor market has improved substantially since 2009,” Nadolski said. “It’s not as good as we would like it to be, but still better than before.”
Lesa Shouse, assistant director of the BGSU Career Center, is also optimistic about the job market now as compared to four years ago.
“There has been a definite increase from four years ago,” Shouse said. “There has been an increase in job postings as well as an increase in the employers that come to our job fair.”
At the University’s 2009 spring job fair, there were 109 employers that came to recruit students. Just three months ago, more than 150 employers attended this year’s job fair at the Field House.
Along with that, the National Association for Colleges and Employers conduct an annual survey of job outlooks, and they stated employers will hire two percent more college graduates than they did last year.
Even with this increase, Shouse thinks that things could get better.
“It’s still difficult,” Shouse said. “Sometimes it’s not enough to have a degree in something secure a job.”
Nadolski has seen an increase in job openings, but that some careers stick out more than others and feature more opportunities for graduates.
“The big winners are health care, hard science, engineering and actuarial science and statistics,” Nadolski said. “The math or hard sciences are available because they are hard to do, so there aren’t many people available in the field. The health care is increasing because the baby boomers are aging.”
Justyn Shipley is senior biology major hoping to graduate this coming fall. He is looking for a job in medical technology and doesn’t think he will have a problem finding one.
“I always thought a job would be reasonable to find, but people have to be willing to travel to find it,” Shipley said. “The jobs available are growing and hospitals always need workers.”
Even though Shipley is confident in his search for jobs, he has seen the effects of the recession.
“I work for the city of Bowling Green,” Shipley said. “Where I work, we only have two part-time workers. Eight years ago, we had 20.”
Shouse has some advice for the students heading into the job market.
“Using your networks can really make a difference,” Shouse said. “Also, alumni are available to [students] if they want to network through the school.”
Nadolski agrees with Shouse about how to stand out among other graduates.
“Don’t give up,” Nadolski said. “There are always jobs out there. Networking is huge, and be willing to do an internship so the company can see whether you are a good fit for them. Be creative, the company isn’t checking a list, you need to convince them that you are the best candidate out there.”
