BRITTANY YEAROUT
Assistant News Editor
Besides finishing up school projects, writing papers and studying for finals, graduating seniors have another priority on their to-do list: finding a job.
Senior Clint Harp, a religion major with a marketing minor, has already finished 10 interviews, and said he hasn’t had as much time as he wished to pursue a job.
“It is kind of crazy because by the time you are a senior you are involved in so many different things on campus or outside of campus,” Harp said. “It is extremely difficult to even do that and do school work as well and find a job. Trying to do those huge three things is almost impossible. I know my grades have suffered because of it.”
One resource seniors can use to help them find a job is the Career Center. With approximately 614 graduates cleared to walk, the Career Center is getting an increase of seniors needing help with cover letters, resumes and job searching.
The Career Center serves students in a variety of ways, including helping students select majors, determining career paths, providing individual counseling, searching for jobs and summer internships, organizing career fairs and fostering relationships with employers.
Although this year the Career Center has had approximately 500 meetings with students, 60 percent of them being juniors and seniors, and have reviewed about 400 resumes, senior Spencer Pfeil said not many students realize how beneficial it is.
“The Career Center is extremely helpful but it is such an untapped resource at Pepperdine,” Pfeil said. “I went there thinking it was going to be some silly thing but those people know what’s up, they know what the deal is and they are current on what internships and jobs are available, and what to do and what not to do.”
Katrina Davy, one of three career counselors for the Career Center, advises students to come in as freshmen. However, for those seniors who are still looking for a job, her advice is to be more proactive. Davy said finding a job is a full-time job.
“Proactive is the No.-1 thing,” he said. “Too many students are passive and waiting for a job to fall on their lap, and that is not how it happens. You have to be active. You have to tailor your resume to each job you apply to, and when you apply to a job online you have to do more than just send your resume in, you have to follow it up.”
In March of last year, 30 percent of graduating students from Pepperdine looking for a job obtained one. Six months after graduation the number jumped to 80 percent, according to the Career Center. On a national level, more than 51 percent of those seniors who applied for a job had one to go to after graduation, according to the National Association of College and Employers.
However, Dave Horne, a former CEO of Xporta, senior vice president for Aspect Development and chief marketing officer for Concentra, said those statistics are deceiving for the class of 2008.
“The economy has been strong in the last few years that they were hiring without experience,” Horne said. “If you don’t have a job yet, you need to launch a strategy. First, kiss a lot of frogs, looking for your prince. You have to grapple because you have already gotten yourself in trouble. Lean on parents or neighbors, basically anyone you can find. Do gorilla networking, and start now.”
Horne is now an aspiring writer whose book, “Career Secret Sauce,” will be coming out in June. His goal is to help younger folks ages 20 to 30 and guide them through early college life and a very successful first job. His nine-step strategy starts with an internship and ends with greener pastures.
“Internships give you some experience, if you don’t have any experience in this economy, no one will hire you,” Horne said. “Basically, if you have not interned, you have no practical experience in the field you graduated in. With internships the employer might hire you and you are infinitely more employable and rejuvenating your image so you look like an experienced employee.”
Harp and Pfeil agree with Horne. Pfeil said most of his friends that have jobs locked down had a really good internship their sophomore or junior year.
“Employers don’t just want someone who has been educated for four years in college — that is great in itself, but if you can have that with some leadership experience and an internship it is really beneficial,” Pfeil said. “It is amazing that you go into an interview as a senior in college and realize that just going to college isn’t as valuable or enough anymore.”
Besides getting an internship, the Career Center wants students to be aware of their online presence or reputation.
“Employers Google names or have their own Facebook account,” said Katrina Wills, the events and employer relations coordinator for the Career Center. “Google your name so that you know what is written about you online, or set all your settings on Myspace and Facebook on private if you don’t want people you don’t know to see them or your pictures. Think about who you are online, and think about who you are connected to.”
04-10-2008
