These days a Penn State degree in finance can get you a temporary job packing boxes in a perfume factory.
At least that's what happened to University graduate Chris Dolfi, who wanted to be a stockbroker after graduating in May. But all the places he applied turned him down. Dolfi said he can't even depend upon his current employment -- his employer has told him he will be fired after the Christmas rush.
"They don't even want to send you a rejection letter," Dolfi said, adding that he had to call to inquire about the majority of his resumes because he received no responses.
Jeanne Lachman graduated from the University in May with a degree in mathematics. Her career goal was to work for either an insurance company or an engineering firm. But all her resumes yielded only rejection letters, so she was stuck with a temporary job as a secretary.
"No one's hiring. A lot of people got laid off in my area, so I'm competing with people who have a lot more job experience," the recent grad said. "Right now, this job is just temporary to hold me over and give me some cash."
Due to the economic recession, many college students who graduated in May or August this year may encounter difficulty finding a job, said Jack R. Rayman, Director of Career Development and Placement Services. Exact figures of graduates who have jobs are not yet available because CDPS conducts a follow-up survey of students three months after graduation, Rayman said. This survey is just beginning for the May graduates, he said.
But other evidence, like the decreasing numbers of companies that interview, shows the effect of the recession on the graduates, Rayman said.
CDPS helps students arrange interviews, Rayman said. In 1989-90, 28,162 interviews were conducted on campus, while in 1990-91, only 24,373 interviews were conducted, according to the CDPS 1990-91 annual report. These figures show a 13 percent drop in number of interviews.
"There's no question it is significant," Rayman said of the percentage decrease.
Many other universities experienced decreases of about 20 percent in number of interviews, he added.
And more students, worried about finding a job during the recession, signed up for interviews last year, Rayman explained.
In 1989-90, 5,433 students registered for on-campus interviews, according to the report while 5,693 students registered for interviews in 1990-91 -- up 5 percent from the previous year.
The number of organizations recruiting on campus decreased also. In 1989-90, 1,132 separate organizations conducted interviews on campus, Rayman said. That number dropped 6 percent in 1990-91 to a total of 1,066 organizations.
As far as the outlook for this year's recruiting, Rayman said he expects the number of interviews this year will be comparable to the number last year.
Although some companies may cancel and some may request times later in the year, for now the numbers are steady -- not higher or lower -- with those last year, Rayman said. Those estimates are based on the number of corporations that have already booked recruiting dates for this Fall Semester, he said.
