News Flash for the Class of 2008
The US economy is very likely to be in or near a recession by June of 2008. This means companies will be cutting non-essential spending and even laying off employees. This is probably the first time we’ve seen these conditions since 2002 and for many spring graduates, the first time in their adult lives.
Most companies hate to lay off employees and will cut virtually anything else before they do. This means new hires, particularly recent college grads are particularly vulnerable.
I would also predict that economic uncertainly will continue in the private sector through the election. From my experience, new jobs in the private sector are fueled by venture capital investment and VC money may dry up if congress fails to renew the Bush tax policy when it expires in 2010. In addition, the democrats are talking about increasing corporate taxes and McCain is talking about lowering them to spur expansion. Until this picture clears up, companies will be reeling in their spending. None of this bodes well for someone entering the private sector job market for the first time in 2008.
If you’ve interned in the last few years — congratulations! Your chances of landing a job are much better than those of your classmates who have not. Don’t wait until graduation to shake the job offer tree. Contact the companies you interned for and start soliciting job offers NOW, before other 2008 graduates enter the pipeline.
If you are graduating this spring and you have never interned, it may not be too late to make up for lost time. Start making cold calls to companies you’d like to work for. Tune up your pitch and make sure you can clearly articulate WHY you want to work for your target employer. Understand that you may need to intern through graduation since you’re starting so late. Also, you may have to work without pay in exchange for the opportunity to get your foot in the door.
Finally, if you’re not graduating until 2009 or 2010, you should prepare yourself for a tougher internship market. Most internship programs cost money and it’s a very easy budget to slash. You may need to create your own internship by directly cold calling companies and offering to work without pay.
The worst thing you can do is to ignore this economic sea change and stick your head in the sand. Although it may get a lot tougher to find your dream job, companies will still be doing some hiring. If a company knows you and you cost less than a long time employees who are underperforming, they may actually lay someone off and hire you to save money.
Just keep in mind that the tighter the job market becomes, the more competitive it becomes. As an intern or a job candidate, you will need to work even harder to stand out in the crowd.
GOOD LUCK!
Dave
