January 20, 2012
A degree of value: Students find more career opportunities with increased job listings, placement
Submitted by Communications and Marketing
A 30-percent increase in job listings for Kansas State University students coincides with an increase in graduate job placement, according to recent university data.
The university's career and employment services offers an online system for students to access job listings from companies seeking K-State students and graduates. These postings increased by 30 percent in fall 2011 compared with fall 2010, said Kerri Keller, director of career and employment services.
"In this challenging job market, we've had to be more proactive in developing leads for job opportunities, internships and career fairs," Keller said. "Combined with an economy that is beginning to slowly recover, our outreach efforts have contributed to this increase."
These efforts included the addition of two employer relations coordinators to the career and employment services staff, whose responsibilities include reaching out to employers to identify job listings and assisting employers in developing plans to guide employers in their recruitment of K-State talent.
The postgraduation statistics echo the success of this hard work. Keller said data was collected from 86 percent of the K-State graduating class of 2010-2011, or 2,943 individuals. Within six months after graduation, 92 percent of these graduates were employed or going on to further education. This is a 3 percent increase from the previous year, Keller said.
"There is some progress in the job market for a college graduate," she said. "Students still need to be proactive in making the most of their college experience through getting involved with student organizations, taking on leadership positions and pursuing internships."
Keller said national data has shown that internships are the top way employers recruit college graduates. She added that many K-State students to utilize this experience.
"Our employer relations coordinators are going to be emphasizing this in the coming months," Keller said. "Companies are interested in accessing talent and partnering with the university. We will continue to make it easy and convenient for external constituents to engage with K-State."