Seniors Hustle for Jobs
The Class of 2010 faces a daunting task to find meaningful work in the worst economy since the Great Depression. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 2010 released very conservative data showing unemployment stalled at 10 percent.
Figures released by Nichols Office of Career Services in January 2010 (below) indicate that for the first time in twelve years, Nichols graduate full-time employment dropped in 2009 to 87 percent, although the average starting salary remains in the high $30Ks. “Whew!” was the collective sigh heard around campus; it could have been a lot worse.
While the report shows, in fact, an outstanding outcome when compared to graduate placement from other institutions of higher education, it is also a gut-level reality check for Nichols 2010 seniors who are now making it their business to start careers.
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Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way
“Can-do” snapshots are provided of four Nichols seniors who have secured employment before graduation. They all told us that they felt “very prepared” to meet the competition head on, thanks, in part, to the Professional Development Seminar’s focus on practice interviews and the development of resumes and portfolios, as well as the Office of Career Services ramped-up effort with recruiting sessions and job clubs.
Our four successful job hunters made intelligent career decisions by taking incremental, critical steps to hone their talents and skills. And they strategically planned to get what they want by “getting out there,” putting in long hours at internships (some multiple), making contacts in their area of career choice, and staying focused on the goal of realizing a return on their educational investment.
We salute these Nichols new hires as they embark on their road to success, and thank them for offering astute advice to their classmates who are still scrambling to get off the starting block.
Michael Nichols
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Mike Nichols (left) with two of his colleagues, in a need to stay as sterile as possible, don hospital "scrubs" as they work on the Cisco wireless router/access points in the operation rooms at Boston Medical Center. |
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Hometown: |
Burlington, Mass. |
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Major: |
MIS |
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Interned: |
Town of Burlington, summer 2006, 2007, 2008 |
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Employed by: |
Platform Solutions Inc., Boston, Mass. |
Michael Nichols spent his summers wisely, using his “know-how” at information technology (IT) help desks for the Burlington Town Hall and then, for the Fallon Health Clinic. While at Fallon, a networking miracle occurred.
He was given the business card of the president of Platform Solutions, a privately held company specializing in advanced networking, security, and application infrastructure solutions. The Platform president was curious about what an IT college intern did, so, Nichols called him directly about his capabilities.
After meeting the company’s vice president of sales, human resource manager, and the president at lunch, Nichols realized that he wasn’t being interviewed for an internship position, but rather, for a network/systems engineer position, which he landed for a handsome salary with benefits.
Nichols ultimate career goal is to become a chief information officer able to optimize business operations. “I know that technology demands a lifetime of continuous learning,” he says, “and that’s why I love it.” Good thing, considering the rigorous upcoming training he faces as a Cisco Certified Network Administrator.
Nichols’ advice to other seniors: “Everyone you meet has contacts. Ask them for help.”
Sara Bailey
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Sara brings her field hockey team leadership skills to her job. |
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Hometown: |
Athol, Mass. |
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Major: |
Accounting/Management |
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Interned: |
Spring 2009 and 2010 at Graham, Huckins & Shepherd, P.C., Worcester, Mass. |
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Employed by: |
Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli, P.C.; Worcester, Mass. |
As a field hockey star, Sara Bailey holds two Nichols career records: most goals (50) and most points (115). She made an equally aggressive off-the-field effort to find an experiential, paid internship which ultimately opened doors for an accounting career. She arranged her schedule in the spring to take classes in the morning and intern in the afternoon.
And Bailey used her student-athlete accomplishments as a conversational ice-breaker when interviewing for an entry-level accounting position. “Interviewers were particularly interested in discussing my time-management skills and discipline juggling both academics with sports,” she comments.
Bailey recalls how she was with her parents when she got a call from Nichols alum and Greenberg, Rosenblatt, Kull & Bitsoli Vice President David Mayotte ’91, stating that she had gotten a job at his firm with a handsome salary package with full benefits. She is the first member of her Athol family to graduate from a four-year college, and her parents were ecstatic.
Bailey’s advice to other seniors: “Get your face out there and shake a lot of hands.”
Ashley Ford
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Ashley in her City Island office cubicle making sales calls for the Harrisburg Senators. |
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Hometown: |
Naugatuck, Conn. |
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Major: |
Sport Management |
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Interned: |
Summer 2009 New Britain Rock Cats |
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Employed by: |
Harrisburg Senators |
“I knew at an early age that I wanted to work in sports,” says Ashley Ford, “and even managed my high school baseball and basketball teams.”
After searching a job website and electronically submitting a resume, she completed a telephone interview, which enabled her to show off her engaging phone presence. (She credits her experience with the Nichols Fund phonathon for helping to polish those skills.)Today, she makes 250 telephone sales calls a week for the Harrisburg Senators, an Eastern League baseball franchise. This spring, she’s living in a Harrisburg, Penn., penthouse with eight other interns and receiving a small internship salary with commission until she graduates in May. Then, she officially begins her professional career with the Senators.
Ford’s close-knit family is thrilled that she is living her dream (in baseball and as the first member of her family to graduate from a four-year college), but both parents wish she lived closer to home.
Ford’s advice to other seniors: “Make sure you learn to budget so that you can pay your first-year bills.”
Derek Cassell
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Derek believes new business is just a call away at Liberty’s Auburn office. |
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Hometown: |
Oxford, Mass. |
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Major: |
Marketing |
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Interned: |
Summer 2009 to present, at Liberty Mutual |
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Employed by: |
Liberty Mutual, Auburn, Mass. |
In the summer of his junior year, Oxford native Derek Cassell hit the jackpot when he starting working in a paid internship for $18/hr. at the fifth largest P&C insurance company in the United States, Liberty Mutual. He wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, a sales manager for Liberty, by prospecting for new business and working closely with branch sales representatives.
Cassell states that his favorite professor, Larry Muller, prepared him for his new business career, as well as the practice he received doing mock interviews and writing resumes, part of his coursework in Nichols four-year Professional Development Seminar.
When Cassell starts his full-time position after graduation, his base salary will be $40K during several months of intensive training and then, incrementally decrease until it is substantially dependent on commissions.
Cassell’s advice to other seniors: “Everyone you meet is a potential employer…or customer!”