For many graduates in the current economic climate, finding a job will be difficult. With more companies going under or downsizing, less jobs are becoming available. Many students who are desperate to find a job are using various outlets such as online job searches, career fairs, and various internship opportunities. Some students are trying to break into the job market on their own, while others are pursuing help from their university Career Center.
Dr. Darryl T. Stevens, Assistant Director of the UC Riverside Career Center, explained that 22 percent-32 percent of out-of-college hiring is down and that "nationwide, overall hiring is down more than that. May through July is the biggest hiring season and most employers are hiring out of college. Therefore, although overall hiring is down, you have a better chance getting a job if you are finishing college this year."
Many students are also skeptical of what the Career Center has to offer. Darshun Shamarao, a 2008 UC Riverside graduate and former business administration major, expressed his personal frustration with the Career Center, saying that, "I just felt like they could have done more for me. I went to two career fairs and it didn't help at all. UCLA brought in Google and UCR brought in Target." Shamarao had similar luck when he visited the Career Center twice.
Due to the thinning job market, Shamarao found himself bussing tables at the Pelican Hill Resort in Newport Beach, Calif. after graduation. He has since been hired to a full-time sales and marketing position. Asked if he would ever use the Career Center's alumni services, he said "No, I have given up on them."
This frustration is not rare among students graduating without a job this year. Although, much blame can easily be placed on the Career Center, student persistence and preparation is also very important in acquiring an internship or job. Although UCLA may or may not have brought in Google in previous years, no trace of Google was present at UCLA's May 2009 career fair, but Target was. As a matter of fact, UCR and UCLA had many of the same employers, including Wells Fargo Financial, the C.I.A., Raytheon Company, Prudential, Eli Lilly and Company and Aerotek.
With a tough job market and many students competing for the same positions, the Career Center has strengthened its efforts in helping students. This year alone, the Career Center had roughly 300 workshops to help students prepare for a career.
"Each workshop was well attended, so we made certain to continue having more in order to fulfill student's needs," Stevens said.
In addition, while UCR, like campuses such as UCI and UCLA, had to cut back on the number of employers attending their career fair this year, it remained highly competitive. With a student body of roughly 39,000, UCLA brought in 70 employers this Spring while UCR, with roughly 17,000 students, brought in 73 employers. UCI, with only 40 employers this spring, was even lower.
In a survey of 20 randomly selected UCR upperclassmen, the students who had visited the Career Center on four or more occasions were very satisfied with the center's help. The students who had visited the Career Center three times or less, however, were not as satisfied. The survey also concluded that of the students who had visited the career center four times or more, 50 percent received an internship or job opportunity. On the other hand, of the students who had visited the Center three times or less, only 7 percent received a job or internship through the Career Center's efforts.
What this helps explain is that utilizing the Career Center is increasingly beneficial to students who use it on a consistent basis. Being persistent and preparing for the competitive job market is very important in acquiring a position. The correlation between those students who actively use the Career Center to those who receive benefits is apparent.
Much of the criticism against the Career Center from those students who had been three or less times came from confusion around what the center actually does. As a matter of fact, one in five students did not even know where the Career Center was located. Most suggestions pointed towards a desired increase in marketing: more announcements, having website links from iLearn to career events, more knowledge of services, closer location ("out of sight, out of mind," one student joked).
Perhaps having the Career Center in a more central location would attract more students, as has been the case with many other organizations in the newly built commons area. Whether more marketing or easier accessibility will come soon is uncertain, but the Career Center continues to have many outlets that provide students with career related help.
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