Ashley Jones snagged a job before she even graduated from Indiana University Northwest.
The communications major and Crown Point resident had a fall internship with WBBM-AM, the CBS affiliate in Chicago. By the spring, Jones, 22, had an offer for a full-time job as the radio station’s promotions coordinator.
Internships, she said, are a great way to get into the job market. Without her internship and resulting job offer, Jones knows what she’d be doing instead of going to work every day.
“I would be applying like crazy for a job,” she said.
The good news for Jones and other college graduates is, the jobs are out there. The region’s universities report they saw an uptick this year in recruiting by businesses, and saw growing numbers of companies attending career fairs. They also are upping the services they offer to help graduates find employment.
In fact, employers reported they would hire 19 percent more new college graduates this year than they did last year, according to a survey released last month and conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, or NACE.
Responding organizations reported the number of job applications has risen nearly 45 percent since last year at this time, while the total number of positions reported by respondents has tripled. As a result, the average number of applications per opening fell from 40.5 in 2010 to just over 21.
“We are seeing a lot of interest in Valparaiso students by the employers and there are several ways of measuring that,” said Tom Cath, director of Valparaiso University’s career center.
The number of employees on campus for job fairs and recruiting is up substantially from a year ago. A February job fair attracted 80 employers. The number of job postings and internships for the university’s electronic job board also is up.
“You hear more and more positive things in general than you did two years ago or three years ago,” Cath said, adding more seniors are leaving VU with jobs.
The university also is offering more services and programs for students to explore job options, he added.
Allison Ebeling, 21, graduated from VU with a nursing degree. The Schaumburg, Ill., native is moving to Ohio to be with her boyfriend and is looking for a job there.
She is looking for jobs online, particularly in pediatrics, which was her focus of study. “I am feeling confident, because I know even if I can’t specialize right away, it’s really likely I’ll find a job,” she said.
At Purdue University Calumet, Shelly Robinson, director of career services, said this spring’s career fair drew 100 employers, while last year’s event had 65, a significant increase.
Employers are seeking out PUC who haven’t done so in the past, she said, “so there’s an obvious need. They’re looking for internships as well as full-time employment.”
Students also are taking a proactive approach, applying to graduate schools or for internships, which can provide an entry into a full-time job. “I think employers are looking at it as an extended job interview,” she said.
The job market is getting a little better, slowly but surely, said Sharese Dudley, director of career services at Indiana University Northwest.
In past years, students found jobs within six months of graduation, while that search may take up to a year now, she said, so the jobs are out there, it just takes students more time to find them.
Still, Dudley sees an increase in online job postings and campus recruiting — good signs for graduates — and encourages students to get internships that may lead to full-time jobs.
“I just hope it continues to increase and not go backwards,” she said.