Jobs scarce in sagging economy

For college students entering the job hunt, formation of career relationships can be significant in securing employment upon graduation. \nYet recently, younger students have also been advised to focus on their future career, especially with a blurred business forecast marked by sequential corporate scandals and plummeting stock markets.\nThe United States, among some other nations in the world, has been in an economic slump, especially after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. A new report released Wednesday said consumer confidence in the American economy sank to a nine-month low in August, the third straight monthly decline. \nOne of the indicators of this economic situation is the unemployment rate, which was 5.9 percent in July, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. But, the annual rate has stayed below five percent between 1997 and 2001. \nThe seasonally adjusted unemployment rate suggests the same trend. \nAfter it reached five percent in September of 2001 for the first time since June of 1997, the rate has hovered between 5.4 and 6 percent. \nThe unemployment rate for college graduates however, has varied based on gender -- with a rate of 7.5 percent for men and 3.4 percent for women. \nThe lower unemployment rate for female graduates can be attributed to more companies filling job vacancies with a gender-balanced approach, said Mercedes Enrique-Garcia, associate director of corporate recruitment at the Business Placement Office Undergraduate Career Services.\nAmong the hardest hit economically by the terrorist attacks was the airline industry -- resulting in rigorous corporate downsizing throughout the industry. The nation's sixth-largest carrier, US Airways filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Aug. 11, 2002. American Airlines, one of the world's largest airlines, announced on Aug. 13 that it would slash 7,000 jobs by next March.\nUnder the murky economic conditions, networking is a key word at the Business Placement Office Undergraduate Career Services in the Kelley School of Business. \nAs many as 2,000 employers visit the office per year to seek possible interns and full-time employees from the business school, said C. Randall Powell, assistant dean and director of placement at the BPO. \nPowell said that between 1,200 and 1,300 students graduate from the business school each year, and between 3,000 and 3,500 students are enrolled at the Kelley School.\n"Opportunity for networking is tremendous (through the BPO) because the amount of visitors that we get each semester is enormous," Powell said.\nHe added that employers normally do not pay the media to post their available jobs.\n"The No.1 way to get a job is through networking," Powell said. "Eighty percent of the jobs are never listed and filled by word of mouth, and the listed jobs are only the tip of the iceberg."\nNetworking has always taken precedence over any other methods in obtaining full-time work and internships for students in the lower grades, Powell said, recalling his 40 years at the BPO. \n"We encourage even freshmen to shake hands and walk the tables," Enrique-Garcia said. \nShe said students should start their job hunt as soon as their freshman year, such as by participating in career fairs.\nJody Hestand, associate director of student services at the BPO, said she thinks students are not taking full advantage of the services they are offered. Many students think they have to get a job themselves, not through networking or any office, she said. \n"Students feel they've cheated or been lazy if they used contacts for helping them in their job search," Hestand said. "In reality networking is the most beneficial tool."\nPowell said even parents and faculty can serve as great sources for networking because they can help students get known to companies. \n"Get your name in front of people and stay in touch over the years in college"