By Tim Woods

Tribune-Herald staff writer

It’s a tough world out there.

And for many new college graduates looking for jobs, its getting tougher.

The nation’s sliding economy has led to devastating job cuts— the U.S. Department of Labor says that more than 1 million jobs have been lost since Jan. 1— and many college and graduate students are finding work hard to come by.

Tommy Gordon, an MBA student at Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, is set to graduate this month, and he’s getting nervous about his dwindling options.

“I’ve been looking (for a job) since March or April of this year, and when I first started my search, everything was going well and people were giving me the idea that they wanted me to get back in touch with them after my summer internship,” Gordon said. “Then, when I began to get back in touch with people in the fall, they started to push things back . . . and I’m talking to some people who are saying, ‘Well, we’ve decided to push off this position until the first of the year, or we’ve decided to put this position off until next March.’ ”

McLennan Community College students walk across campus earlier this fall. Many people are going back to school or staying in school while the economy is down, though MCC officials say they're not sure how it will affect their ever-growing enrollment. (Rod Aydelotte photo)

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Baylor University students Jonathan Aclin (right) and Keri Bowman study at Baylor's Hankamer School of Business. (Duane A. Laverty photo)

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Gordon added, “There’s several different companies that I’m talking to right now who are saying they’re putting a freeze on their hiring and recruiting.”

Because of the dire outlook, at least in the near future, Gordon said he and some of his classmates who also are looking for work might have to settle for jobs that pay less than their education level and qualifications might otherwise command.

“I got one offer that wasn’t even comparable to (compensation) offers that we’ve received in the past. They’re undergraduate (level) offers,” Gordon said. “There’s three or four guys that I talk to that are actively searching with me, and they’re under the same umbrella as me, thinking we might have to make some concessions and not getting as much as we originally expected. Now that we’re getting closer to graduation, some of us that are still looking are resigned to thinking that maybe we’re not going to make as much money as we thought we would.”

Less recruiting on campus

John Boyd, Baylor’s director of career services, said many fields are going to be affected by the lagging economy, and it is reflected in the number of businesses recruiting on campus.

“There is a definite downturn, no question about it, particularly in the financial sector,” Boyd said. “We’re concerned about our job fair in February and what kind of response we’re going to get there.”

The February job fair is the school’s largest each year, but that might not be the case in 2009. Boyd said this fall’s job fair saw about 125 companies, “but I don’t believe we’re going to get those kinds of numbers next semester.”

Not all college students are losing out, however.

Ron Sanders, Texas State Technical College’s vice president for student learning, said TSTC students are still in high demand, particularly in fields like welding, diesel mechanics and engineering technologies. Many of those students are being hired well before they complete their coursework, Sanders said.

In fact, Sanders said this fall’s record enrollment could be due, at least in part, to the failing economy and people wanting to get trained and become more marketable.

“It’s always the unskilled people who get hit the hardest in times like these,” he said. “We did have an increase (in enrollment) this semester, and it would be hard to attribute all of that to the downturn, but I think next semester we’ll definitely see more of that.”

McLennan Community College students, many of whom contribute overwhelmingly to the county’s health care workforce, have stayed relatively immune to the downturn, as well.

MCC spokeswoman Lisa Wilhelmi said the school hasn’t seen any great effect on its enrollment numbers, but that could be because the numbers have been skyrocketing in recent years, anyway.

“We generally go up, whether there’s a downturn or not,” Wilhelmi said. “And that’s what’s been happening here, we just keep going up.”

Jonathan Aclin, a senior accounting major at Baylor, said he’s confident he’ll be able to find work before he graduates in May but said a number of his classmates have opted to get additional degrees while the job market is slow.

“I’m also a finance major, so I know a few people who are up against it right now,” Aclin said. “Some of them are going to have to stick around a few more years and get that extra (major or degree).”

Baylor offers a five-year degree track in which students can get their bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance or accounting, Aclin said.

“A lot of people didn’t want to do that, but some are now going to get that degree and saying, ‘Hopefully, the market will change by the time we get out.’ ”

Increasing odds of hiring

So what can soon-to-be graduates do to improve their chances on the job market?

Both Boyd and Chris Zane, a classmate of Gordon who has taken a job with Launch Pad Capital of Waco, say persistence is the key.

“I think they need to ensure that their resume is in great shape, and they need to be persistent,” Boyd said. “There are jobs out there, but the competition is going to be much more fierce. They are fewer in number, therefore you need to somehow make yourself more distinctive.”

Zane, who says he began his job search on the first day he began his MBA coursework in August 2007, said: “Be persistent and realize that the vast majority of jobs are not listed in the paper. It’s also a matter of networking. You’ve got to network to find jobs. You’ve got to talk to people and find the key players in that area.

“If you do that, eventually you’ll be able to sell yourself,” he added.

And for those fortunate enough to have jobs, keep them, said Baylor economics professor Kent Gilbreath.

“Right now, the most important financial asset everyone has is their jobs,” Gilbreath said in September.

twoods@wacotrib.com

757-5721