Job Prospects Looking Up--A Bit--For College Grads
UPDATED 06/14/11 8:26 p.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As recent college graduates continue to look for work amid the worst economic downturn in decades, there is some encouraging news among the grim employment numbers.
CBS 2's Jim Williams reports on some DePaul University graduates hitting the job fairs, looking for that big break.
Mel Safford is one of them. She just graduated from DePaul with honors. She was attending a job fair for DePaul alums on Tuesday.
"Knowing that I'm going for the same job that my roommate, or I'm going for the same job as someone I had a group project with, it's definitely making me work harder," Safford said.
But that competition might not as tight today. There was a sign here that the employment picture may be improving for recent college graduates.
Twenty six percent more companies signed up for the DePaul job fair this year than in 2010.
Gillian Steele, of the DePaul career center, is encouraged by those numbers. She was walking around the job fair "hearing what the employers are saying about our students and what the students are saying."
"I'm very, very optimistic that the majority will end up with jobs," Steele said.
Safford had an interview with Tek Systems, a technology customer support company, which is paying a starting salary of roughly $40,000. She was told she could potentially be earning a six-figure salary in five or six years.
To reach that potential, Safford knows this job fair was only the beginning.
"I got some business cards; got some emailing to do later tonight," she said. "The process goes on."
Safford was joined by more than 300 DePaul graduates. Nearly 50 employers took part.
Some of the alums finished school years ago. One said he got a job right after graduation in 2009 but lost it only a few months later when his company was bought a bigger firm.
He hasn't had a job since.
