After the diploma, a brighter outlook

On her laptop screensaver, Kristen Grieco sees a miniature version of herself - wearing a white mortarboard for preschool graduation. A friend sent the photo as a reminder that soon they'll be donning caps and gowns to mark the end of college. And the beginning of ... what, exactly?

The only thing Ms. Grieco knows for sure is that she's got a ticket for a one-month visit to Europe this summer. Like hundreds of thousands of college seniors in the throes of The Search, she's hoping to have a job lined up before commencement.

Yes, she's been to job fairs, networking nights, and career-center workshops on her Boston College campus. But the aspiring public-relations professional is also savoring her last few months of school. With tan skin and seashell-pink nails still fresh after spring break, she's not fazed by news about the economy's struggle to recover.

"Most of us feel like, statistics are statistics, but you're one person, so if you work hard enough, you'll find a job," she says. "It's probably not going to be as easy as it was for people who graduated from college when we were finishing high school ... but no one is panicking yet."

Grieco's blend of optimism and persistence has replaced the "Why bother?" attitude of last year's seniors, say recruiters and career counselors.

Students have good reason to be hopeful: Hiring of new graduates is expected to increase nearly 13 percent over last year, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Many companies have boosted campus recruiting and job advertising. And about a third of the companies surveyed plan to offer some signing bonuses.

Yet this year's crop of 1.3 million graduates will be lining up for interviews alongside several million recent grads who still find themselves counted among the unemployed.

"For the last three years the supply has greatly exceeded the demand," says Brian Krueger, who is president of CollegeGrad.com. "Even though it's an increase [in hiring], we're not back to the heady days of the '90s.... It's still very competitive."

Government and defense were considered hot industries a few years ago, Mr. Krueger says, but this year there's a resurgence in corporate entry-level jobs in engineering, management, finance, and information technology. Education and healthcare are wide open.

While bigger companies tend to dominate the recruiting season on campus, students shouldn't overlook smaller companies, often the quickest to add jobs as the economy bounces back.

Starting salaries in some fields are inching up, too. Average offers to computer science majors are expected to be just over $48,000, up nearly 9 percent from last year, according to NACE. Business majors can expect starting salaries in the $35,000 range. And liberal arts graduates will probably see just a slight increase, to about $30,000.

One part of the job scene that hasn't changed: what employers are looking for.

Good preparation starts before senior year with internships or summer jobs. When students attend job fairs and interviews, they should already have realistic expectations and relevant skills for entry-level jobs in their field.

"Far too many take summer jobs based upon how fun they are and how much money they can make," says Steven Rothberg, president of College Recruiter.com in Minneapolis.

Employers are impressed with good grades, he says, but experience ranks higher. "To get the plum jobs, you need both."

If students find a workplace that's a good match before senior year, their prospects are especially strong: NACE reports that companies go on to hire 38 percent of their interns and about half of their co-op student workers.

Even students with obscure liberal arts majors can be contenders in the practical job search.

Susan Harrison is finishing up a double major in classics and Italian at Brown University in Providence, R.I. But she's set her sights on the finance industry, sending out more than 50 résumés and landing a dozen interviews so far.

An internship with a telecommunications company her freshman year prompted her to take economics and management courses.

Subsequent work with a nonprofit group, an insurance agency, and a Wall Street firm has helped her zero in on what she wants.

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