Job Placement Key for College Students

Rebecca Nuttall |

Special to the NNPA from the New Pittsburgh Courier

One in four college educated adults is currently working in a field unrelated to their college degree. Approximately 10 percent of those under the age of 25 are working in retail or the food service industry.

In light of the ever-suffering economy, the days when a college degree guaranteed a job might be gone forever. Still, when choosing a college or university to attend many students are concerned with what job placement services these schools offer.

At the National College Fair, hosted by the National Association for College Admission Counseling at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center recently, college administrators and recruiters listed similar catalogs of career services all designed to help students find a job upon graduation.

We have a career services office and that offers career fairs. It really just depends on what your major is, said Patrick Scott, a recruitment officer with Howard University. Theres no such thing as the best college; its about whats the best fit for you. Its about doing your research and finding what works for you.

Every college or university has a career office offering students services such as resume writing and practice interviews. While these services are free to all students they are not a mandatory part of academic curriculum and some students might be unaware they exist.

Career fairs give students information about careers related to their academic major and can also connect students with actual prospective employers. Internships are also a great way for students to get a foot in the door at prospective companies.

With the great internships we have, students are able to get experience in their fields, said Eric Tarpley, assistant director of admission at California University. We found out that 84 percent of our students went on to jobs or graduate schools.

In order to adapt to the changing economic climate, colleges and universities must go a step further to ensure their students job placement upon graduation. Many schools are integrating cooperative education into their curriculum to give students more professional work experience.

Co-operative education is an integration of classroom experience with real world job experience. Theres a long history of doing that at Northeastern, said John Clark, a recruitment officer with Northeastern University.

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