A survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education conducted in 2013, found that one half of employers polled experienced a dearth of recent graduates with adequate skills. The skills cited include the ability to adapt, problem solve, and communicate effectively. Despite this, Nanci Hellmich of USA Today offers encouraging news for college graduates job seeking in a gloomy market.

A survey by Harris Poll, conducted for Careerbuilder, included over 2,000 HR managers and professionals from various industries.

  • The results show that 57 percent of employers surveyed plan to hire college graduates, which is up five percent from 2012 and up 44 percent from 2010. However, salary offers are reported to remain at existing levels, and only 30 percent of companies report that they will increase their initial offers. Starting salaries range from $30k or less (26 percent of employers stated that they would offer starting salaries below $30k) to over $50k (50 percent of employers reported that they would offer salaries between $30k and $50k).
  • Business graduates are in demand (39 percent of employers want to hire business graduates), followed by IT graduates (28 percent), engineering graduates (14 percent), and math and statistics graduates (14 percent). Other popular fields are health, communications, engineering, liberal arts, education, and science.
  • Hellmich reports that employers blame the schools for the unpreparedness of graduates for the current job market; a total of 53 percent of employers consider an emphasis on books rather than practical learning to be the culprit. But hiring managers contest that entry-level jobs are more complex than they have been for past generations. Rapid technology change in business is creating a challenge for academic institutions that are finding it hard to educate students at a similar pace.

Business and industry today demands both practical and theoretical abilities, which are hard to obtain without work experience. Many employers, therefore, are advocating for internships and apprenticeships.  For college graduates, it is important to demonstrate practical experience and knowledge built on a solid academic background. Any real life experience, such as internships or voluntary work, can supplement an impressive GPA.

Contact a Hire Standard Staffing recruiting professional to learn of the professional opportunities in your area.