Economic Downturn Causes Changes, but Prospects Still Bright for Degree-Holders

As college undergraduates prepare for final exams and commencement, those who are seniors also have begun their job searches. While the current economic downturn has caused increased anxiety among students, experts from the Career Center at DePaul University say that there still is a wealth of opportunities available for 2001 graduates.

Although reports have suggested that hiring has slowed down both nationally and regionally, companies still have steadily maintained their need for new graduates, said Carol Montgomery, director of the Career Center.

“Rather than a drop-off in overall hiring, what we’ve seen at DePaul is more of a shift in the types of companies that are doing the hiring,” Montgomery said. “However, the opportunities and positions are still there.”

While the dot-com boom is long over and dot-com companies are scarce during campus recruiting efforts this year, many traditional technology companies are looking to hire–some in large numbers. As evidence, Montgomery points to participation at a recent Technology Job and Internship Fair held at DePaul, that featured a 40 percent increase in the number of companies participating over last year.

In addition, a job fair to be hosted by DePaul at Chicago’s Navy Pier on April 20, from noon to 4 p.m., has registered more than 100 companies to participate. A good portion of those are technology companies, said Career Center Job Fair Coordinator P.J. Powers.

“While there is a slight drop in the number of companies participating in our upcoming job fair, every other fair we have hosted at DePaul in the past 12 months has shown an increase in both company and student participation over the previous year,” said Powers. “We don’t know if the slight decrease is an aberration or part of a larger trend at this point. However, the high level of interest from participating companies sends a clear signal that companies are still hiring, despite the economic volatility.”

Several sectors of the job market are particularly hot right now, according to Montgomery. Consulting is, by far, this year’s most popular field, she said.

“Not only is there a high demand for consultants at the moment, but there is also an unprecedented level of interest in consulting positions by our students,” Montgomery said. “We have students in our offices inquiring about consulting jobs nearly every day.”

Other fields in high demand by employers are accountancy, finance and marketing. In the technology sector, employers still have a strong need for Web developers, systems analysts, applications programmers, business information specialists and software engineers.

Montgomery added another possible reason that DePaul students continue to hold the unwavering interest of potential employers is the university’s emphasis on internships in every major.

“DePaul has a unique, workplace-focused curriculum designed to prepare our students for success in the workforce,” Montgomery said. “We like to say that experience is a graduation requirement here, and employers respond to that.”

In addition, officials at the Career Center have seen one positive development in the current economic uncertainty–a more proactive approach by students toward the recruiting process.

“Students are concerned about the economy, so they are taking more ownership of their job searches and being more assertive,” said Montgomery. “Employers appreciate that sort of responsiveness to change.”