CU Grads Must Adapt To Tough Job Market

Amidst news of corporate scandals and tumbling stock indices, Columbia graduates are probably wondering where their Ivy-League education will land them in the job market. Recent graduates from the School of International and Public Affairs, the Graduate School of Journalism, and the Graduate School of Business have managed to make the required adjustments to survive in the current market.

At Journalism, most students spent a full year looking for work even before graduation. "People really scrambled ... they knew they needed to get out there and look," said Melanie Huff, Career Services Coordinator at the Journalism School. Forty two percent of the Journalism School's graduates had jobs, significantly above the usual 22 percent. The increase, however, is partially attributable to students accepting more paid internships and training positions, which accounted for roughly 60 percent of accepted job offers. Huff emphasized that the journalism job market is not directly comparable to other job sectors like business and law. In journalism, "you're not appealing to an employer unless you can show up tomorrow," she said. The Journalism School typically places 90 percent of graduates, and Huff is not sure if they will make that quota this year.

Journalism had been hit especially hard by the dot-com collapse on two ends. First, Huff says, dot-coms had been major purchasers of classified advertising in print media as part of their recruitment efforts. Now that these firms are no longer hiring and advertising, news organizations need to cut back on expenditures. A second factor is the journalism graduates who went to work for websites. Many of these companies have also gone through layoffs, which means a larger than normal pool of journalists are competing for a smaller number of spots. This has had an effect on workplace attitudes. "It's difficult to get excited about what you're reporting when you're looking over your shoulder for a pink slip," Huff said.

Business School graduates have not fared much better than their journalistic counterparts. According to Maria Graham, Director of Public Affairs at the Columbia Business School, an estimated 25 percent of the Business School's May graduates still have not found jobs. Although Graham claims that this percentage corresponds to figures at peer institutions, in previous years the Business School could count on placing close to 100 percent of its graduates. Nevertheless, Graham said that the business school is still "guardedly optimistic" about placing the remaining graduates before the official class of '02 employment rate is tabulated in September.

Mark Friedfeld, an account manager at University of California at Berkeley's Haas School of Business's career center, was able to provide further insight in the financial services job market. Friedfeld has noted a general contraction in financial services, with a decrease in recruitment and new hires. However, "even in a time of downturn," Friedfeld added, "there is still growth and positions that need to be filled." One division of a corporation may cut staff, while another may hire in response to growth. For example, while the investment banking and consulting industries are in a general slowdown, the health care, consumer goods, and biotechnology practices are doing well.

A significant change that Friedfeld cited is the reduced ability of students to change industries. Employers, he says, are focusing on the transferable skills that a potential employee brings from his or her previous jobs, and are not as willing to take on employees making job transitions. Not only have companies become more selective, according to Friedfeld, but students have also narrowed their focus. "Pre-IPO status used to be a big selling factor for recruits, today students are going with more established companies," Friedfeld said. Firms hiring prior to an initial public offering, particularly in rapidly growing areas like technology and web-based commerce, were popular with graduates because they offered the opportunity to buy into the company at a low price compared to the company's expected future market value.

More established firms are also likely to be more visible at the top business schools in a slow economy. "Businesses want to keep relationships with schools ... They want to keep a presence on campus," Friedfeld said.

Graham agreed, saying that businesses often shorten their campus recruiting itinerary during hard times, but schools like Columbia "stay on people's lists." Graham added that there are many advantages to coming to Columbia for an MBA these days. "Columbia is one of the best schools in a down economy," Graham said. In addition to continued on-campus recruitment, Columbia's closeness to Wall Street--a major employer of business school graduates--simplifies the logistics of students' interview process.

Friedfeld, on the other hand, emphasized the importance of a diverse student body and leadership experience in addition to industry expertise as key factors in a hiring decision. Geography for him plays less of a role. "I think companies are looking for the highest quality students, and they're willing to go to New York, Chicago, San Francisco to get them," Friedfeld said.

Turning to international and public affairs, SIPA graduates, who usually enjoy a 50 percent hire rate at graduation, reached only 35 percent this year. International students have particular difficulties in this job market, often coming from a culture in which norms for the job search differ. For example, Meg Heenehan, Director of the Office of Career Services at SIPA, cited that handwritten cover letters in France are encouraged, while in America they signal unprofessionalism. Similarly, Heenehan said, Asian students have particular difficulty with the necessity in American-style interviews to almost brag about your accomplishments. In Asian cultures, one is expected to remain modest and trust that the superior will recognize worth in the potential employee.

The Investment Banking and Consulting industries present SIPA grads with difficulties similar to those experienced by their peers in MBA programs. In Heenehan's words, "Investment banking and consulting were slammed," referring to the wave of layoffs and hiring freezes coming out of the industries. Concerning the magnitude of layoffs, Heenehan said, "It appears that Wall Street fires too many, too quickly, so they have to rehire and train new people." The pattern of overhiring followed by deep cutting layoffs is confirmed by a high-level equities analyst at Schroders Salomon Smith Barney, who said that after layoffs, companies can wind up in a situation where they have to rebuild capacity in a tight labor market, therefore paying out larger sign on bonuses and compensation packages.

Despite the industry slowdown in Wall Street, the outlook for SIPA graduates is not totally grim. The Federal government is expected to increase hiring, as 50-60 percent of its existing workforce is due to retire over the coming years. The effect, said Heenehan, is that "it could take three to five years to reach upper level management," when in the past it used to take 10.

Public Finance, the business of raising capital through debt financing for public institutions, is another area with growth opportunities. Don Matthewson, associate in Public Finance with Lehman Brothers, said that the sector's business volume is fueled by cheap debt through low interest rates--usually the case in a down economy. The supply of qualified people, however, still exceeds the number of spots available. Matthewson states that in a typical recruiting case he can receive resumes from 1,000 people, four of whom are qualified, for two available spots. He echoes Friedfeld's comments on soft skills as key factors. "As much as you want to get the best and the brightest, you also want people who fit the company culture and even the section's culture," Matthewson said. Leadership is particularly valued, since it shows the applicants' skills in client interaction and client acquisition.

Regarding his own job search, Matthewson said it was "nose to the grindstone for nine months." There is often a conflict between the security of conducting a broad job search and developing the specific knowledge necessary for a successful interview. Matthewson advised, "If you're interested in a particular field, it's good to find out who the players are ... it's more about understanding the industry, targeting who you want to work for, and being open to unexpected opportunities." This understanding requires a large time commitment--in Matthewson's words, "the key is to make your job search your full time job before you get your full time job," he said.

All interviewees emphasized the importance of networking and contact building as the cornerstone of the job search. Employers are sometimes unwilling to post jobs in papers or the Internet, since they know they will be swamped with resumes. Kaylan Baban, CC '02, said that she got most of her job offers, including the one for the job she finally accepted at Mount Sinai Hospital of interviewing Sept. 11 survivors by making contacts through her work in the field of public health as an undergraduate. "The things that I was interested in doing are things that I've been involved in for the past few years, so I knew a lot of people who were in the field," she said.