By Daniel Scarpinato
Arizona Daily Wildcat

MATT CAPOWSKI/Arizona Daily Wildcat Computer engineering junior Ross Teske, left, and program coordinator Claude Netterville conduct a mock interview Friday afternoon at Career Services in Old Main. Career Services offers this as an option for students seeking to reach out into the job market.

Graduates can't be as selective, must start looking for jobs earlier, experts say

Fuss' recruitment team was set to do its yearly fall tour of West Coast universities - seeking out college seniors for jobs in the corporate office. But then the nation went to war, the economy took a tumble and the airline industry crashed, forcing it to put all its efforts on post-Sept. 11-security concerns.

"We've cut back drastically," he said. "We won't be doing any recruiting."

The effects of the national recession have been dramatic for America West and other companies in Arizona such as Raytheon, which laid-off more than 400 employees last month.

But the ultimate effects of a receding economy will be felt by graduating seniors - a group that faces a slimmer job market than job applicants were met with just last year.

Closed for business

Company recruiters say with hiring freezes and layoffs inevitable, recruiting efforts have been cut back, and in some cases, canceled all together.

"We have not communicated very much (with universities) because we've been pretty busy with security," Fuss said.

Based in Tempe, America West laid off 500 employees from its corporate office late last year, leaving a small chance for graduating seniors to land with the company.

The airline posted a loss of $147.9 million in 2001, compared with a profit of $7.7 million in 2000.

"Clearly, the market is not booming relative to what it was over the last four years," said Jose Mendez, a professor of economics who studies job market trends at Arizona State University. "Graduates can't be as selective as they were in the past.

"The recession is almost like a train that was going full blast," he said. "It's decelerated, but it's still going forward."

MATT CAPOWSKI/Arizona Daily Wildcat

Mendez said the economic forecast for this year is looking better than economists had predicted late last year.

"There will be a recovery, but it will still be weak," he said.

UA associate professor of economics Gerald Swanson said the unemployment rate, which has risen 1.6 percent nationally in the past year, will go back down, but first it will jump even more than it already has.

Early in the spring semester, Mendez sent an e-mail to his economics seniors, advising them to get an early start on job searching.

"Seniors can't be as selective as they were in the past," he said, recalling when companies paid for students to relocate and frequently visited college campuses like the University of Arizona and ASU.

"The companies are not visiting campuses as much," Mendez said. "They are scanning Web sites."

At America West, that's about all that's happening.

"Right now, if we have an open position, we put it on our Web site and we get an influx of resumés," Fuss said. "But most of our efforts have been on opening positions - gate agents, entry level positions."

W. L. Gore & Associates - which produces fluoropolymer, a product used in electronics, medical implants and fabrics - recruits graduates for its medical division in Flagstaff, said recruiter Mike Glemser.

But this year, the company has cut back on its recruitment by 60 percent, Glemser said.

"From a college recruitment level, we definitely cut back," he said. "At Gore, in all, there are not as many positions available."

Glemser said Gore recruits from 12 schools nationwide, particularly for chemical and mechanical engineering majors.

He said the company has still gone through the college recruitment process and is currently hiring for seniors graduating in May. Recruiters from Gore will attend the job fair through the College of Engineering later in the semester, he said.

Real-world experience

AMY WINKLER/Arizona Daily Wildcat Josh Berger, a business administration and finance senior, tries on suits at the Men's Wearhouse last week in anticipation of upcoming job interviews. "You go to college for four years. You don't want to settle. You want your dream job," he said about braving the diminishing job market.

With the cut in both the number of full-time and intern positions Gore will hire, Glemser said students will face a much more competitive job market.

"(Seniors) are definitely going to have to be proactive," he said. "Real work experience is really what we look for. Anything they can do to make themselves look more attractive."

Eric Dettmer, a Phoenix recruiter for Honeywell, said 75 percent of Honeywell's hires have internship experience.

Josh Berger, a UA finance senior, will begin working as a financial analyst for Intel in Phoenix after he graduates in May.

"You go to college for four years," he said. "You don't want to settle. You want your dream job."

But Berger's quest for a job was not an easy ride - he was told by some employers that they couldn't afford to hire interns.

"I'd say for me, it was pretty difficult, even last year at the end of the semester," he said. "I would go to interviews, and it seemed they already had candidates in mind."

Dettmer said recruiting has not stopped at the Honeywell's Arizona division.

"Absolutely we're recruiting," he said. "We still have a large concentration of recruiters at both ASU and UA."

Dettmer said the recruitment of Arizona graduates for the Phoenix division of Honeywell has not subsided, but for graduates outside the state, recruiting has leveled off.

"We have targeted schools," he said.

He said five students from the UA and 16 from ASU have been recruited so far this semester for full-time positions with the company.

At American West, however, the future is still uncertain.

"Right now its up in the air," Fuss said. "If we did do any recruiting, it would not be until August or September, but that is so undetermined."