Spring 2002
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Spring 2002 |
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Rose-Hulman seniors are reacting to a tighter job market by being more aggressive, less concerned about job location, and using all the resources available to seek information about career opportunities, according to Kevin Hewerdine, Rose-Hulman director of career services and employer relations. “Seniors have reacted very well to market trends,” he
stated. “Overall, they’re being
very proactive in their job search.” The number of job offers accepted by seniors is down
slightly compared to mid-January a year ago.
“Seniors are accepting offers sooner than their counterparts last
year,” he explained. “Interview
schedules have been full. The
number of on-campus interviews per company has increased compared to a year ago.
The increase illustrates that students are being more aggressive.
They’re taking advantage of every opportunity.” National news stories about fewer job opportunities for
2002 college graduates have mostly reported about the job market in general
rather than the outlook for specific degree areas.
While agreeing that the market is not as strong as last year, Hewerdine
notes that some engineering majors will find excellent job opportunities. “It’s a favorable job market for chemical engineering
and civil engineering graduates,” he said.
“The job opportunities for chemical engineering grads have markedly
improved over the past few years. There
will be more job offers than we have civil engineering seniors.” Companies doing the most active recruiting are
pharmaceutical, energy, government, construction and technical security
businesses. Despite a sag in the national economy, Rose-Hulman’s annual Career
Fair last October attracted the second largest number of employers ever.
A Job Fair in late January that focused only on internship and co-op
opportunities was attended by 43 companies. Although Rose-Hulman has not avoided the slowdown in
recruiting that is common on campuses nationwide, Hewerdine is beginning to see
a “slow turnaround in the job market.
I’m encouraged that we may experience an upswing in hiring if first
quarter corporate financial reports are positive.” Alumni and other Rose-Hulman supporters play a key role in
helping students find that first full-time job or summer internship, Hewerdine
stated. “Students are sending more
e-mails and making more calls to alumni and others associated with Rose-Hulman
than I’ve seen in previous years.” “Alumni do a great job letting us know quickly if their
company’s hiring is going to resume or increase. We especially need leads on job opportunities for mechanical
engineering majors, which represent the largest number of Rose-Hulman
seniors,” noted Hewerdine. Seniors know they’re going to have to be more patient
than students in previous years, he said.
“Instead of completing the job search in three months it could take
four to six months.” About 15 percent of Rose-Hulman’s senior class enrolls in the top graduate school of their choice. Hewerdine sees a slight increase in seniors applying to graduate school. “Some are still pursuing a job, knowing that they won’t find out about graduate school admissions until spring.”
The number of entrepreneurial internships available to
Rose-Hulman students has increased compared to a year ago, thanks to funding
from the Lilly Endowment and the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
Thirty summer internships are available to sophomores or juniors through
this program. The funding enables
Rose-Hulman to help subsidize the wages of students placed in summer internships
with small, entrepreneurial companies in Indiana.
Companies must have less than $15 million a year in sales and have fewer
than 150 employees to qualify. “There are more co-op opportunities than students who are
applying for them,” said Arleen Anderson, assistant director of career
services and coordinator of internship and co-op programs at Rose-Hulman. She pointed out that co-op positions usually last at least
two academic quarters. Many cop-op
positions give students the opportunity to work during a spring/summer or
summer/fall time period. At least half the companies at the Career Fair and the Job
Fair in January were offering co-op jobs, she noted.
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