The Daily Tar Heel
Printing news. Raising hell. Since 1893.
Friday, March 29, 2024 Newsletters Latest print issue

We keep you informed.

Help us keep going. Donate Today.
The Daily Tar Heel

Job Market Tight

"Learning how to do a job search takes time, and the earlier you start, the better you will be at it," said Tim Stiles, associate director of UCS.

"When you get to the interviews that really matter, you will have a lot of practice."

For many graduates, getting the interview can be a challenge, Stiles said.

In recent months, the economic recession has forced many jobs to be cut in the fields of telecommunications, consulting, technology, advertising and public relations.

In industries with limited job opportunities, some graduates have been forced to go to their second, third or even fourth choices of what field to enter, Stiles said.

He added that UCS is preparing students to be flexible in their searches with regard to salary and job location.

Others have chosen graduate school to make themselves more marketable in a bad economic time.

"Some students say they will stay in school longer and maybe ride the recession out that way," Stiles said.

But Stiles said the outlook is not completely bad, as jobs are still readily available in nursing, pharmacy, education and consumer products companies.

"Some industries are a little more recession-proof than others because people can't do without them," Stiles said.

"Even if they had been hurt by the economy, they were in such a shortage that they have not been affected greatly."

Many people think the market is so bad because they compare it to the wide-open pre-recession market of two years ago, Stiles said.

Compared to that period, the market is bad now, but it is not much worse than normal.

"We have a tendency to compare things to really recent history," Stiles said.

"It is really an unfair comparison because it makes it look really gloomy now."

The lack of jobs has carried over to create a lack of internships for undergraduates, Stiles said.

He added that many opportunities that would have been summer internships are now being used as full-time jobs by graduates.

R

To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.

Special Print Edition
The Daily Tar Heel's Collaborative Mental Health Edition