Strong Economy Greets College Graduates Large Companies Return To Campuses Across Country To Recruit Employees

It’s a good year to graduate from college.

With national unemployment dropping below 5 percent in April for the first time since the 1970s and large companies returning to campuses across the country to recruit fresh talent, school officials say graduates are facing bright futures.

“This is one of the strongest years that we’ve had, definitely, in the last four years,” said Al Jamison, director of career services at Washington State University.

In Washington, preliminary figures for April’s unemployment rate showed a drop to 5 percent from 5.6 percent in March, according to the state Employment Security Department. Spokane County’s unemployment was 4.7 percent in April.

“It’s a strong economy, and business is booming. In the Northwest, we’ve also been lucky that Microsoft, Boeing and some of our predominant employers have had a very successful year,” Jamison said.

According to Jamison, the number of interviews held at WSU’s Pullman campus this year grew 29 percent, from 3,116 last year to 4,014.

Peter Katzler was one of the students interviewed. Five months before he received his bachelor’s degree, he was given a $3,000 signing bonus for accepting a job at a Portland-area electronics firm.

The 27-year-old mechanical engineer had been interviewed by 11 companies before he landed the $41,000-a-year job with Tektronix in Beaverton, Ore.

Other schools have also seen the hiring trend take shape. Western Washington University in Bellingham had 73 employers interviewing on campus through May 6 this year, compared with 58 employers by the end of June last year. Seattle University had to turn away employers from its fall job fair after accommodating 75 companies.

At Seattle Central Community College, 1,000 job notices have been posted at any given time while more than 300 companies and small businesses - especially technology companies - targeted the University of Washington.

“It seems like a lot of the small and medium-sized companies are getting savvy about this being an ideal, well-educated pool to take advantage of,” said Jean Hernandez, director of the UW’s Center Career Services.

Even international students are getting drawn into the booming job market. More than 1,000 students showed up for the UW’s international job fair, most of them looking for opportunities to work in an American company when they go home. The fair, hosted by Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University and the UW, drew 30 companies, including software companies and consulting firms, said Garrett Stokes, associate director of the career development center at Seattle University.

Aggressive recruiting also signifies a shorter time in school for some.

Jonathan Martin, an accounting major, had planned to graduate in June 1998 on the five-year plan. Instead, he submitted his resumes last fall to test the waters.

Martin got five on-campus interviews, and two follow-ups. The six-hour interview at Arthur Andersen, a major accounting firm with an office downtown, went so well the company offered him an entry-level accounting job on the spot. The position generally pays a base salary of $31,050.

Martin also will get paid for overtime, is entitled to four weeks vacation to start and can sign up for a tuition reimbursement plan that will cover the bulk of his graduate coursework.

Engineering, computer science and business are high-demand majors. The average starting salary for a computer information sciences grad rose 7.8 percent to $36,666 this year compared with last year’s average. The biggest money earners, chemical engineering graduates, were offered starting salaries averaging $42,450, according to an April 1997 survey published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Liberal arts majors, typically, do not earn as much. History majors were looking at salaries of $22,238, 9.7 percent lower than those paid last year.