The Local Market is Strong, Too

Charley Hannagan
January 28, 2007

The job market appears to be picking up for local college graduates.

Le Moyne College and Syracuse University say they've seen an increase in the number of company recruiters on campus and in the number of students who already have jobs lined up after graduation.

"I think it's going to be a very good year," said Linda McGraw, director of the Office of Career Services at Le Moyne.

The college has received more calls than usual from alumni making connections for their companies. With an expected worker shortage coming, companies may be trying to make connections early to put themselves in the best position to gain talent, she said.

For example, a political science alumna who works in government contracts at Lockheed Martin came to campus this year to speak with political science majors about job openings in the private sector, she said.

Certified public accountants are in more demand than ever. The Defense Financing and Accounting Systems consolidated some of its offices to Rome. That office does all of the accounting for the Army with the exception of payroll, and the government has decided that it now wants to hire workers with four-year degrees, rather than two- year degrees, McGraw said.

The career center at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University also has seen an increase in interest from companies across the country, said Angela Petrucco, the career center's director. The center is one of 16 career centers on campus.

Petrucco has worked in career services for a decade, through the boom of the late 1990s to the bust of 2000. The past year's robust economy has encouraged companies that had held off to begin hiring, she said.

"It's probably the best employment situation for students that I have seen in four years," Petrucco said.

The general Fall Career Fair at SU brought recruiters from 160 companies to the Carrier Dome. The Whitman school also had four career fairs in the fall that drew 78 companies. Whitman expects 325 students to graduate in the spring.

Companies have offered undergraduates from the school an average of $50,000 a year to start and a $5,000 bonus for signing on, Petrucco said.

"That's a nice package for an undergraduate," she said.

The school has seen a lot of recruiting for careers in investment banking, accounting, and supply chain management, Petrucco said.

To give their graduates a leg up on the competition, the school holds a mock career fair.

"In order to perform well, it's important that they be polished and articulate about their strengths and how they can contribution to the team," she said.

You can contact Charley Hannagan at 470-2161 or channagan@syracuse.com