Seniors Prepare to Face the Job Market

Aaron Thomas | Staff Writer

There are two weeks left until the end of the spring semester at N.C. State and students are on edge.

While some are struggling to beat deadlines for final projects and papers, graduating seniors are faced with more pressure as they prepare for graduation and putting their degrees to use.

“It’s stressful,” said Alex Carrasquillo, a senior in communication. “The prospect of having to find a job either before or after graduation, combined with all the things you have to get done at the end of the year, is mostly stressful.”

Although Carrasquillo currently works as a production assistant at WRAL-TV, he’d like to find a job as a television news producer after graduating. With more than two years of experience working in news production, the future college graduate plans on using his skills to his advantage to jumpstart his career.

With graduation around the corner, it is expected that seniors will be prepared for entry-level positions once they walk across the stage. However, the sluggish economy has made the jobs outlook grim, leaving some students with no plans at all.

“I do not have anything lined up,” said Victoria Ohegyi, a senior in communication and history. “I’m extremely nervous about the future because I’m not sure about what type of job I can get, considering my major.”

While some students aren’t able to put their degrees to use immediately, others find temporary jobs that don’t require degrees. According to a 2013 money report from CNN, more than a third of recent college graduates are working jobs that don’t require degrees.

It is common for students to experience difficulty landing a job after graduating because they don’t have any guidance. According to Dr. Woody Catoe, the associate director of the Career Development Center, these students are the ones he worries about most.

“You [students] do not have to do this career process by yourself,” Catoe said. “It’s not about the résumé, it’s about developing career strategies. If someone doesn’t have a job, I want [him or her] to show up here.”

Serving students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Catoe’s said, his goal is to ensure students start searching for jobs early. By doing so, students are able to prepare themselves for more opportunities. His advice isn’t tailored for seniors only he said when he meets with incoming CHASS students during Orientation, the first words he tells them is “your career has just begun.”

Whether a student has a temporary job in their prospective field like

Carrasquillo or no job at all like Ohegyi, the future is still hopeful.

Catoe offers a number of suggestions for students struggling to find work after graduation. “Be sure you have an ePack account up and running,” he suggested. “It only takes ten minutes to set up an account.”

Another benefit of the CDC is that services are extended for a year for students who have recently graduated. In addition to recommending students take advantage of the services at the CDC, he suggests students go out of their way to make themselves known.

“Be as flexible as possible,” Catoe said. If you can get your foot in the door at a company you’re interested in, you can work your way up rather than holding out.”

Although working a dreadful job is an option college graduates try to avoid, both Carrasquillo and Ohegyi realize that it’s only temporary.

“Take your time, figure out what it is that you want to do, even if it’s not your ideal first job,” Carrasquillo said, offering advice for other future graduates. If students are faced with this situation, they should be making an effort to “work on skills that will get them where they want to be,” according to Ohegyi.

Students interested in N.C. State’s Career Development Center should visit careers.ncsu.edu