High-Tech College Students in High Demand
At a recent recruiting conference, Northwestern University placement director William Banis casually mentioned a college freshman he had hired to maintain his office computer network. He was astonished when dozens of companies asked for the student’s name.
For college students, this is the hottest hiring market in almost three decades.
With the economy booming, employers expect a whopping 27.5% increase in job openings for 1998 college graduates, according to an annual survey by Michigan State University.
Employers competing for an unusually small pool of graduates this year are offering stock options, tuition reimbursement and, for some top law and business graduates, starting salaries of more than $100,000. One company offered a chance at door prizes such as a TV set just to get students to fill out job applications.
“This year is really a very fine year to be graduating,” said Patrick Scheetz, author of the Michigan State study.
The prizes in this cutthroat competition are young men and women who have grown up with their hands on computers, giving them an edge in the increasingly technology-based corporate workplace.
“We’ve seen much more aggressiveness on the part of employers that has led to the class of ’98 doing very well and doing very well a lot earlier, with large salary increases and bonuses,” Banis said.
Average starting salaries jumped 4% to 5%, the biggest increase in 10 years, according to the survey, which contacted 497 companies this year. Starting salaries are up for a fifth consecutive year and will rise as much as 15% in some undergraduate fields.
Last year, the number of job openings rose about 6%. This year’s increase represents the biggest in the survey’s 27-year history. The previous biggest increase in openings was 9.2% for the class of 1985.
The recruiting competition is fierce in part because the number of college graduates this year and next is expected to be lower than in previous years because of a drop in the number of U.S. births years ago.
Rebecca Ingis, a University of Pennsylvania psychology major, chose a marketing job with Chicago-based Quaker Oats Co. over three other offers, all promising salaries in the middle five figures. Location determined her choice.
“I know people who’ve gotten six offers, eight offers,” she said. “It’s been pretty difficult to decide.”
College placement directors say recruiters are pressing to come to campus as early as October instead of January, and are working to secure new hires through junior-year internships. Recruiters are also increasingly pressing students to accept an offer quickly or lose it.
“We’ve found an unusual amount of job stress and job-search burnout,” Banis said, “not because of an inability to find jobs, but because there are so many opportunities out there and because of employers’ push to fill their labor needs early.”
Employers are stressing perks and resorting to gimmicks to get recruits. GE Capital Auto Financial Services, trying to hire 250 new employees for a new installation in Barrington, Ill., said those submitting applications would earn a chance at door prizes, including a television, Chicago White Sox tickets and a $100 Ticketmaster gift certificate. The company also touted its large cafe and health club, and complete dental and eye care insurance package.
While corporations still are making thousands of layoffs, graduating students are highly prized, said John Challenger, general manager of the job outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“Technology is a part of the way companies operate today, everywhere and in every field,” he said. “Older people have a hard time adapting to it, but these kids have been doing it since they were 10. That’s a very powerful force.”
Top average starting salaries include $44,557 for chemical engineering, up from $42,758. For electrical engineering, it was $41,167, up from $39,811, according to the Michigan State survey. But in many cases, students were being offered far more, plus signing bonuses of up to $30,000.
For graduate students, the picture is even better. MBAs in investment banking and consulting are receiving offers of more than $100,000, up from $88,000 last year. And law school graduates in major cities for the first time are seeing their salaries top $100,000.
