A few numbers can help illuminate the plight of today's jobseeker, whether fresh out of college or an experienced veteran. In 2007, 51 percent of college graduates had a job securely in hand by the time they walked for their diploma, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). In 2008, the number had dropped to 26 percent. This year? Down to 19.7 percent.

In addition, says the NACE, starting salary offers are down 2.2 percent, employers are hiring 22 percent fewer recent graduates--although some companies are realizing they need to return to recent college graduates to keep their pool of young talent--and internships, which help students gain experience and can lead to full-time jobs, are down 21 percent.

SERVING STUDENTS AND ALUMNI

For Donna Cassell Ratcliffe, director of Virginia Tech Career Services, another set of numbers hits closer to home. In March 2008, an estimated 350 to 400 people attended the National Capital Region (NCR) Chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association's 17th Annual NCR Job Fair, which is free to anybody. In contrast, 2,000 people attended the 2009 NCR job fair, requiring Tech officials to halve the time of their presentations and double the number of sessions.

But the added workload wasn't the difficult part, says Ratcliffe--it was that many of the attendees were from the baby boomer generation. "It was kind of painful." She adds that every day, increasing numbers of alumni are calling Career Services or accessing its website. On campus, Ratcliffe says, while the spring job fair attendance remained decent, there was a "significant" drop in one-on-one job interviews. "We've heard that some companies from the fall had to pull back on their offers or have had to delay start dates," Ratcliffe says. "So we had some students two weeks from graduation who thought they had a sure thing who are upset."

One common reaction, Ratcliffe says, was for students to look at the economic situation and "throw up their hands and say, ‘Why bother?'" Instead of searching for jobs, many students--if they can afford it--are taking extra courses, going to graduate school, or taking time off to travel. Others are taking unpaid internships for the job experience.

			"The job search clubs have been a really great way to meet on a weekly basis and to talk with students about their anxieties," says Donna Cassell Ratcliffe, director of Career Services. "The students have responded very well."

To further help students, Career Services has significantly increased its visibility with tent cards in dining halls and ads in The Collegiate Times and by starting a new electronic newsletter. "We put a lot more time into promotion and instruction," Ratcliffe says.

Career Services also has introduced college-based and graduate student job search clubs, which welcome students who have not yet found jobs and are willing to commit to weekly meetings to discuss and practice job search skills, techniques, and strategies. "The job search clubs have been a really great way to meet on a weekly basis and to talk with students about their anxieties," Ratcliffe says. "The students have responded very well."

These programs expand an already extensive range of services the office has to offer. What's more, alumni are equally welcome to use Career Services programs, including an important addition, Hokies4Hire (H4H), which was last utilized in the early 2000s, when economic times were also tough.

"H4H is an electronic resource that allows students and alumni to post their resumes and search for and identify job listings," says Ratcliffe, who hopes the program will get alumni and even parents involved in offering and finding jobs. Employers can review resumes of students only or, Ratcliffe says, "If they're looking for experienced folks, they can search that way." Alumni who live nearby can come to campus for interviews, and there's no charge to alumni for H4H, although they will have to apply for an account to gain access. For more information, go to www.career.vt.edu/H4H-OCI/FAQsH4H.html.

In addition, the Virginia Tech Alumni Association recently launched the Hokie Nation Network (HNN), a free social and professional networking site to connect Hokies around the globe. It allows Hokies to communicate and collaborate with alumni, faculty, staff, and students based on shared interests, professions, and geographic locations. Alumni can post career opportunities, while those seeking employment can share their résumés and promote their professional interests and skills. To join, go to www.alumni.vt.edu and click on the link for Hokie Nation Network.

Ratcliffe also recommends joining LinkedIn, a business social networking site that allows registered users to maintain a list of contacts they know and trust in business, which has become the preferred professional way to network. (For more information, go here). By starting a contact network with colleagues, job seekers can gain an introduction to someone through a mutual contact or find jobs, people, and business opportunities. In turn, employers use LinkedIn to list jobs and search for potential candidates.

REAPING THE BENEFITS

Ratcliffe has plenty of advice for finding a job in today's economy. For example, she suggests contacting Career Services for help in fine-tuning a résumé and finding career-related resources.

Additionally, "People really need to reel in their networks," Ratcliffe says. This can range from online social networks to fellow alumni and alumni chapters, some of which might also have a job search club. Alumni who can afford to do so should also learn new skills to make themselves more marketable.

"Sometimes the issue is just getting a job. Make the best of it," she says, adding that people who have children and a mortgage to pay cannot to be too particular about what jobs they'll consider.

Students and recent graduates need to be equally flexible and to think broadly in terms of career and where they're willing to work. "Be a dedicated employee even if you're on plan C," Ratcliffe says.

Gaining experience is also key. In the past three or four classes, 88 to 90 percent of students graduated with career-related experience, but 28 percent of those students wished they had gotten more. "Any job experience gives you a framework of reference and a professional head start," Ratcliffe says.

Although Suzanne Layman (business information technology '09) acknowledges that her field still has high demand for graduates, she says that without help from Career Services in finding a co-op experience and in her job search, she wouldn't have begun a systems-engineering job with Lockheed Martin this summer.

"It's kind of like getting your foot in the door because I wouldn't have a job right now otherwise," she says. "Most of my interviews I got through Career Services. I used a lot of Career Services' resources." Layman advises students and alumni who are in the job hunt to "use the Career Services website. The website is the best resource you can find."