By Meredith Mitchell
Every college student wants to know: Will I be able to get a job when I graduate?
Shifts in the national and local economy and job availability in a particular field of study all help determine whether students will find a job after they have finished school.
ETSU alumnus Lauren Putnam graduated with a degree in elementary education in December 2007. Putnam said she had to get in her application early, and also started substitute teaching, in order to get her name out there.
"I turned my application in to three different school systems and only heard back from one," said Putnam. "I had three interviews in Johnson City, but it was all about who you knew."
Putnam later submitted her resume in and around the Raleigh, N.C. area when it was decided she would be moving out of state after her wedding.
"The process was about the same in North Carolina," said Putnam. "The only exception is that you have to e-mail the principal your resume when a job pops up and they ask you to interview, instead of Human Resources. I turned in my application and went to a job fair and talked to the right people."
Networking through job fairs is one way to make contacts and to also make people aware of your interest in a specific job market.
ETSU's Career and Internships Office provides an employer partnership with more than 40 local and national businesses. Their Web site also features a calendar of dates when the office hosts job fairs as well provide job listings and helpful employment information.
Networking and job fairs can only take one so far and sometimes the economy has more control over job hiring.
Each month the Current Employment Statistics program surveys around 150,000 businesses and government agencies. This survey represents approximately 390,000 individual work sites, in order to provide detailed industry data on employment, hours and earnings of workers on non-farm payrolls.
According to their Web site, "Within professional and business services, the employment services industry shed 51,000 jobs in October. The pace of job loss in this industry has picked up in 2008, averaging 37,000 per month through October; in 2007, monthly job losses averaged 11,000 in employment services.
“Health care employment continued to expand in October, with an increase of 26,000. Over the past 12 months, health care employment has grown by 348,000."
ETSU nutrition and dietetics major Hayley Dupre is worried that an undergraduate degree won't be enough preparation to find a job in the medical/health field.
"I am about a year away from graduating, and I actually recently went to an open house for internship/grad programs," said Dupre. She has only gone to one because she will be going to graduate school and she believes that she probably won't be getting a "real job anytime soon."
Others have chosen to not attend graduate school and have pursued jobs in their field. However, ETSU alumni Adelaide Yoder and Robert Prowse both earned their degrees in public relations but have had differing experiences trying to get hired.
Prowse did not find a job in public relations but was hired as the as the business development specialist at the Bristol Herald Courier.
Yoder is still searching for employment.
“I am willing to move, but I guess you could say that I am more or less waiting for my opportune moment,” said Yoder. “In September I went on a one-month tour with the Crocs Next Step Campus Tour and there is going to be a spring tour, which I am going to be a part of. Also, I am trying to network with as many people as possible, which means I go to as many events as I possibly can.”
Putnam’s networking in North Carolina ended up getting her the job.
“The principal from Middle Creek Elementary School contacted me about a fourth-grade position,” said Putnam. “I interviewed with the fourth-grade team to see if they thought I was a good fit. I was then called the same day and offered the position. It was a very long process but worth the wait to be in a great school.”
