How suburban college grads can get jobs
Andrea Gertz of Wheeling is 27 and expected to be an elementary schoolteacher by now.
Instead, the 2006 graduate of Winona State University in Minnesota works full time at Staples and substitute-teaches for Wheeling Township Elementary District 21.
She's searched online for jobs, attended job fairs and passed out her resume to schools and contacts. She's worked with job counselors at Jewish Vocational Services to fine-tune her resume and interviewing skills. But a tough economy and education cutbacks have sidelined her efforts to get into teaching full time.
“Teachers often stay at a school until they retire,” Gertz said. “It's hard to get in.”
Gertz is one of many twentysomethings around the suburbs who have college degrees and ambitions to succeed, but few opportunities in their chosen fields. The recession, along with cuts in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, forced many young job seekers to accept work in restaurants or retail to get health insurance and much-needed income. And with economic recovery, some new grads are leapfrogging over those a few years out of school.
From 2009 to 2010, those age 20 to 24 had the highest rate of unemployment — ranging from 13.2 percent to 16.3 percent — compared to all the jobless both nationwide and in Illinois, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Although the economy has been recovering this year and some professions are hiring again, job prospects still aren't at pre-recession levels, experts said.
“The rules for job searches don't necessarily apply anymore,” said Joy Dooley, director of Youth and Family Services in Lisle and head of the Lisle Township Job Club. “If you're in school yet, you need to volunteer or do part-time jobs and become a better job candidate. Now, after the degree, a lot of them think they can get a job right away, and they can't.”
More young people have been attending Dooley's job networking groups, which had tended to draw mid-career or older job candidates. About 30 percent more young job seekers are coming for help compared to a year ago, Dooley said.
But a twist of fate now shows that those who are more than a year out of college are finding it even harder than this year's graduates to find a job in their profession.
More employers who are now hiring entry-level workers are turning to college campuses and recruiting this year's graduates, not necessarily those from previous years, said Lonnie J. Dunlap, executive director of University Career Services at Northwestern University in Evanston.
“It's the nature of recruiting,” Dunlap said. “We're always checking with employers if they'll consider young alumni or mid-career people, because they're still struggling. They're having a harder time than this year's graduates. It's all about timing.”
Still, Dunlap sees the economy improving and finds his office getting about 50 percent more job postings than last year.
Geography sometimes works against young job seekers, said Kathleen Canfield, director of the Career Center at Harper College in Palatine.
It often takes six months or longer to find a job, and candidates need to go farther from home, even out of state, to get something.
“They usually look close to home, and it is a challenge now,” Canfield said.
Still, even when you do the right things, a job in your profession just doesn't materialize, as Gertz found. Some strategies, like job fairs, didn't even produce a nibble.
“Nothing came of it but a lot of standing in line. I didn't really like it, but I didn't know what else to do,” Gertz said of job fairs.
In the meantime, she has been focusing on her work at Staples, where she has advanced to head the copy center department. She said she keeps trying, the same advice job counselors have offered.
“I'm hoping there will be some opportunities in this company and I can use my degree to do corporate training,” Gertz said.