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College Graduates Look For Jobs In Recession

This spring, college graduates enter the real world as the real world is in the midst of a recession.

“Right now, they’re saying, ‘there’s no jobs out there so what is the next step?'”

Recruiting at colleges across the country is down. A new national survey shows companies expect to hire 22 percentfewer graduates from the spring class of 2009 than the class of 2008.

Carol Lasquade with College of the Desert’s Extended Opportunity Program and Services talks about just one of many college students who decide to continue their education.

“He thought he was going to go out and just get a job and he decided what with the economy so bad that he applied for a masters of art degree to be a Spanish instructor,” Lasquade says.

Job fairs attract college students who are now competing against recent graduates and experienced workers with the county of Riverside’s unemployment rate at more than 13%. Cherise Delgado is a full-time psychology student and a single mother working two part-time jobs. And while she chose schooling not because of a lack of jobs but for a love of the field, she understands what her peers are going through.

“I’m hoping things will get better and there will be more jobs available for that field. But right now no, psychology is not something people are going to be paying for,” says Delgado.

Lasquade says the best thing to do is build up your resumeeven if it means doing an unpaid internship or volunteer work.

“If a student can do work experience, internships, anything over the summer that’s going to improve their chances in the job market I’d highly recommend it.”

A little advice, so students don’t graduate with a degree of uncertainty.

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