“We’re a little concerned that all the negativity in the news media has completely discouraged a good number of seniors,” said Dean Allyson Moore, Director of the Career Center. “While these are certainly challenging economic times, the good news is there are jobs available for graduating seniors. We’re trying to combat what we believe to be this negative perception of the employment landscape. It’s not rosy, but there are opportunities, especially for bright, young, entry-level talent which we have lots of here at Amherst.”
The Career Center’s efforts include organizing alumni panels, reaching out to companies, helping students prepare their résumés and cover letters and identifying job positions. Though there are fewer jobs available, Moore discovered through a recent poll of seniors that many are not interested in the fields most affected by the economic climate, such as finance and banking.
“A large percentage of students are interested in joining non-profit organizations, pursuing professions in health sciences and medicine, arts and communications and education,” Moore reported. “So although there are fewer opportunities in those industries, there are significantly more available in those than, say, in financial services, management and consulting.”
However, this shift in student interest may possibly be the result of student pessimism about the job market.
“The biggest change I’ve noticed is that people have started expanding their job search to fields that they maybe initially wouldn’t have considered,” said Peer Career Advisor Michael Goldsticker ’09. “For instance, people who wanted to go down the finance route are now looking at something like law or not-for-profit, fields that maybe three or four years ago they never would have considered.”
Some seniors are also accepting job conditions that they would not have wanted previously. Elizabeth Dalton ’09 recently accepted a job at the Massachusetts General Hospital that will start a mere seven days after graduation.
“I would have preferred something that started a bit later,” she said, “but given the current job market I was really just grateful to have a job offer.”
Dalton was very grateful to the Career Center for their help during her job search process.
“The Career Center was quite helpful in my job search; I found this particular job posting using the Experience Web site,” Dalton said. “I also had a mock interview at the Career Center before my real interview, which was very helpful.”
Despite the difficult economic climate, students are still finding and accepting jobs, something Goldsticker attributes to the education students receive here.
“Amherst is a great, amazing school and we have wonderful opportunities,” Goldsticker said. “Although things are tough, it’s still one of the best places to look for jobs.”