Bakersfield College students and BC graduates would like to graduate to employment.
The Web site CollegeGrad.com purports that it can assist college students and college graduates on the quest for employment to segue into the brave new world of careers.
However, some interviewed BC students have never heard of Col-legeGrad.com, although some have used Web sites to find employment.
The Web site, which is based in Cedarburg Woolen Mill in Cedarburg, Wis., claims that the entry level employment market has risen dramatically; the site quotes the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Report which states that as of August 2006, the unemployment rate for people with a college degree plunged drastically to 1.8% from 2.1% in July 2006.
CollegeGrad.com founder and president Brian Krueger reported that the site published a record-busting number of entry-level job offerings in September 2006.
“The top fields across the board now are in the engineering field, and in accounting and in business,” said Heidi Hanisko, co-founder of CollegeGrad.com. “The tech field is at the top.
“College grads this year have greater job options than grads had just last year.”
However, Hanisko admitted that she could not quote a statistic in regard to Grad’s success rate; she says Grad is not a “traditional job placement service.” Rather, Grad is, she says, “more of a resource.”
More than anything else, Grad features entry-level jobs; it is our “niche,” Hanisko said.
“This (CollegeGrad.com) should be the first stop when using the Internet for a job search.”
“This is especially exciting for college students or recent grads who have heard any doom and gloom rumors about the entry level job market,” Krueger said in a recently released statement. “The reality is that entry level hiring is up and college grads are in demand. The jobs are out there, they (college students and grads) just have to take the time to find them.”
CollegeGrad.com offers advice on how to write resumes and cover letters, and it provides job postings, interview preparation tips, as well as general job search advice.
Bakersfield College student Sonia Vasquez, 18, and an accounting major, said she never heard of the site and has never used any Web site to find a job.
“I just walked in (to the place where she now works) and asked for an application,” said Vasquez, who works at Mercado Latino, a clothing store.
“I just go in and apply,” said BC student Kimberly Presswood, 19, and a liberal studies major. Presswood currently works at MacDonald’s, and she says that she has never heard of CollegeGrad.com, nor has she ever used a Web site to secure a job.
BC student and BC library student employee Adriana Arana, 21, and both an architectural design and a real estate major, says she also has never heard of the Web site CollegeGrad.com. However, she says, “I’ve used Yahoo, Monster, and HotJobs (Web sites) to find a job. ”
Some BC students simply have the right people connections to get a job.
“Usually I get it (a job) from family; they know people,” said Ashley Hoskison, 18, and a business major.