Having the degree isn’t always enough

John Mittelstedt didn't expect his postcollegiate job search to be easy - he just thought it would be easier.

Mittelstedt had all the tools for successful employment: 13 years in the military, work experience (he logged about 30 hours in the Veterans Affairs office in addition to his class schedule) and a bachelor's degree in December from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in organizational management.

But after months of job-hunting and almost 200 applications, Mittelstedt was forced to work a temporary position to make ends meet.

With rising costs and a weakening economy, this year's college grads are feeling the strain of the job market as they search for their first full-time employment here and across the country. In Colorado, the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent in May, the highest it's been in three years, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

"Last spring, I had 85 vendors at my career fair; this spring I had 60," said Beverly Kratzer, career center coordinator at UCCS. "A lot of that had to do with (employers) holding back because they weren't sure what their hiring opportunities were going to be like."

Though the hiring market is not hope less for young graduates, the students may have to settle for a lower salary or different position than expected, Kratzer said.

"I think they will possibly have to settle for something that's not their benchmark, or not their perfect job, or their perfect salary," Kratzer said. "They have to be understanding in being flexible because it is an employers' market. They have to be a little bit flexible on their expectations."

According to a report last month by the Economic Policy Institute, hourly wages for recent college graduates, which were $21.09 for men and $18.17 for women in 2007, are not expected to rise for this year's graduating class.

Elise Gould, an economist with EPI who co-wrote the report, said hiring numbers are not expected to improve much from 2007 either.

"(Hiring numbers) were up a little bit from the previous year, but they were still not where they were at the beginning of 2000 or 2001," Gould said. "As this recession settles in, it's hard to see where this will improve, and I don't see it improving quickly."

To land a position, graduates might have to go beyond searching Monster job site.

After receiving few replies from Internet postings, Rose Vail, who graduated from Colorado College in May with a bachelor's degree in geology, found her job as a geologist with Geologic Data Systems, a mapping firm in Denver, by e-mailing a CC alumnus.

"A lot depends on word of mouth," said Vail, a native of Walsenburg. "I started out looking for jobs through the Internet and applying online and that never came to anything, not even an interview."

It was a specialized EMT certificate that gave Jane Casselton, a Colorado College grad with a bachelor's degree in biology, the edge she needed to find a job at Memorial Hospital as a patient care technician.

"I applied to Memorial, interviewed there, and then got a job - that was it," Casselton said.

While her salary can support her current lifestyle, Casselton is worried about paying for medical school, which she hopes to attend next fall. She recently met with a military recruiter and is looking into other service options to pay the bills.

According to Louie A. Lujan, a field services director for the National Association of Colleges and Employers, college hiring remains strong, particularly in Colorado, which is one of his top three regions for hiring recent graduates.

"There aren't as many people moving out (to Colorado) as in any other region. When I go out to Colorado there's just a huge demand. If you have the education and you have the degree, you'll find a job," Lujan said.

Peggy Kohl, who graduated from UCCS a few weeks ago with a degree in political science and history, hopes that giving herself time to perfect her applications will maximize her chances.

Kohl is working temporary jobs for the next few weeks while she works on her résumé and continues networking to prepare for an upcoming round of applications.

"I figure I've only got one shot at first impressions," Kohl said. "I just keep telling myself that I only need one job, not a whole bunch - just one."

Mittelstedt, who begins a full-time job this month in the UCCS employment office, sums up his job search in a single word: "terrible."

"With the degree and other experience, I thought that I would be a great employee or somebody to look at for a job," Mittelstedt said.

"(What happened) was very surprising and frustrating of course."