Graduation time is here for those students who have done their time at ETSU and these graduating students will face the daunting task of trying to find employment in one of the worst job markets in recent history.
Economic recession, oil prices and the United States being at war have had a negative impact on the job market across the country.
The local job market is probably in an even worse situation because of the recent and impending job layoffs in the area.
“The Tri-Cities are having problems, let’s just be honest here,” said Dan Emmel, director of Career Placement and Internship Services. “Just within the past month several companies have announced closures or layoffs.
“That hurts the job market because now you have several hundred people from three different companies that know they are going to be out of work in two or three months are starting to knock on a lot of doors and putting resumes out.”
Inland Container Corporation in Elizabethton, and Electrolux in Bristol will close in May. Sprint Yellow Pages in Bristol is moving their operations to Raleigh, N.C.
“So you have a lot of experienced people out there in the job market competing directly with the people graduating,” he said.
Emmel also said that there are certain fields where jobs are still needed despite the economy.
Nursing and other primary care fields are in a shortage currently. Education majors who are certified to teach in special education, math or science are finding jobs easier than other certifications. The federal government is also doing a fair amount of hiring.
Many graduates hope to find work in the geographic location of their choice.
More and more students are finding it harder to find that perfect job in that perfect location.
“Geographic mobility gives a job candidate somewhat of an edge,” Emmel said. “If they don’t have geographic mobility and they are basically trying to stay in one area, it becomes a needle-in-the-haystack problem.”
Emmel advises graduates to understand the kind of market they are going to be working in and to sit down and develop a plan for themselves.
Then they need to have a planned-out resume that targets the kind of employer they are going after. “The day of the generic resume is gone,” he said.
A student also needs to have very good interviewing techniques.
Career Placement and Internship Services offers workshops and one-on-one guidance to students and alumni in resume designing, interviewing skills, job etiquette and many other skills that give them an edge in the job market.
For information on any of their services, call 439-4441 or go to their web site http://www.etsu.edu/careers/.

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