plus 1, Northern Illinois, Miami (Ohio) coach focus on title game, not job offers - Detroit News

Northern Illinois, Miami (Ohio) coach focus on title game, not job offers - Detroit News

Posted: 02 Dec 2010 09:57 PM PST

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Winter grads break job recruiting cycle - Chicago Tribune

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 06:23 AM PST

The average university recruitment process assumes that students will graduate in May or June and then be ready to enter the workforce. But each year, most colleges have a considerable number of December graduates, who may have to tailor their job search differently based on their availability for employment.

University of Michigan student Michael McCloskey received his bachelor's degree in industrial and operations engineering this December and plans to start working as soon as possible. He's entering an industry in which recruitment starts early and said he's having some difficulty finding companies that break the traditional recruiting cycle.

"I've kind of given up on trying to find something that starts immediately in January," McCloskey said. "The majority of companies are looking to hire spring graduates because it's kind of unusual to be graduating in December."

McCloskey said he's been taking advantage of the University of Michigan's career resources, like career fairs each semester and the university's online database, but plans to visit the career fair again next semester after he's graduated, hopefully with greater success.
According to Mimi Collins, director of communications for the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), McCloskey is not alone.

"We've seen that most employers invested in college recruiting will do so in the fall," Collins said. "The trend we're seeing is front-loading recruiting. Many of them do go back in the spring if their hiring needs increase."

Recruiting cycles, though, are highly dependent on the industry. Where companies in need of budding engineers like McCloskey may be more inclined to recruit far in advance, there are certain fields where hiring is more last-minute. Mark Rush, an Indiana University senior who's studying sports communication, said his December graduation hasn't been much of a problem because of the nature of sports industry recruiting.

"Let's say I want to work for the Chicago Cubs," Rush said. "Their internship program begins in the winter. Unless you've been with a different pro team and have significant prior experience, they want you to go through the internship program, so for me it works out perfectly."

In addition, as the experts advised, Rush is using his networking chops and hoping to outsmart the recession.

"Obviously everyone is worrying a little bit, but I'm fairly optimistic," Rush said. "I'm lucky enough to have contacts with some different sports organizations so I'm hoping that will help me."

The million-dollar question, of course, is the job market, which can be difficult to gauge for December graduates because, as Collins puts it, they're in a "no-man's land" when it comes to hard numbers. However, based on statistics the NACE does have, employment projections are improving.

"I don't want to make it seem too rosy, because obviously we have a long way to go," Collins said. "But this year looks more positive than last."

The NACE's member employers have projected a 13.5 percent increase in hiring 2011 graduates and also indicate an increase in on-campus recruiting. Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, associate director of employer relations and development for the University of Chicago's career services center, said the university has indeed seen an increase in the reported number of job offers.