Photo provided by Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
By Tomisin Alausa
It’s done! The years of dedication college students have poured into obtaining a degree are finally over. Now what?
This year’s graduates face a good chance of getting a job, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Statista. That’s a big change from just three years ago, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when unemployment among recent graduates skyrocketed, reaching 13.3% in June 2020. By last June, however, unemployment among recent grads had fallen to 4.1%.
Some college graduates are in high demand. Abigail Ball, a senior marketing major from Grapevine, Texas, picked her major because she is a “people person” and because of input from her father, but she has grown to love the study of why people buy things.
“It was kind of what I was supposed to do,” Ball said. “But it’s worked out really well, and I’ve found it really interesting.”
Ball already has a job lined up with Dell Technologies in Round Rock, Texas. Once she graduates, she will be an inside sales representative, selling products to the small businesses Dell is partnered with.
Over 93% of recent marketing graduates get a job right out of college, BLS data show. Among those, more than half are paid to use the skills they gained in college. Ball falls into both groups, as she already has a job matching her skills.
“I took a personal selling class, which was really beneficial,” Bell said. “I learned a lot about understanding your customer and how to sell, which I think has really prepared me.”
Ball had been keeping her options open, but Dell caught her eye because of its company culture. She liked how the company treated her throughout the recruiting and interview process, its regular updates and Dell’s commitment to helping new employees find apartments and roommates.
Recent graduates (meaning those between the ages of 22 and 27 with a bachelor’s degree) had a workforce participation rate of well over 70% in February of 2022 and 2023, according to Statista. In December 2022, 7.1% of jobs were available.
Those who graduated before the current job market expansion needed a bit more luck to get a job. Hayden Riegel, a Texas Tech graduate with a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in speech pathology, said she has her current job as a pediatric speech pathologist identifying auditory disorders because the head of her department offered her an internship in the midst of the pandemic. The internship led to a job.
“I was very blessed,” Riegel said. “I didn’t have the traditional route that other students had to take.”
Even in a great job market, work ethic and life skills are still required to land a job.
Erika Palmer, managing partner and creative director of Purpose Marketing, a small digital marketing agency in Lubbock, said recent graduates often have high expectations but lack the experience needed to hold conversations with clients or work well as part of a team. She advises anyone right out of college to be willing to accept an entry-level role and gain the needed experience over time.
Drive and willingness to take direction are the top traits she looks for in job candidates.
“I’ll pick somebody who seems more driven over somebody who has talent any day,” Palmer said. “I always think that people are teachable and can learn, especially if they’re driven.”
About Reece Nations
