People come to college for a multitude of reasons. People come to college from different places, to study different things and they get different grades - but there is one thing that all college students have in common. They all hope to find employment when they are done.
For some, it is not as easy as it sounds. Claudia Cortazar graduated in August 2008 with a bachelor's of business administration in international business, and despite applying to companies all over the nation, Cortazar said she has not been asked for an interview.
"I've been applying online to company Web sites," she said. "They say I don't match their requirements."
During her college career, Cortazar said she maintained a steady job at Compass Bank for three years, had a marketing internship at Texas Tech, studied abroad in Germany, maintained a GPA above 3.0, is nearly trilingual and graduated early. She said she was in regular contact with the Career Management Center, a career counseling service specifically for the Rawls College of Business.
"When I was a sophomore, I started going to the career fairs, but I was so young, I didn't know what to do or what to learn," she said. "Most of the businesses wanted engineers and accountants."
Cortazar said she started looking for jobs two months before graduation. She gave her resume to friends in Germany and Mexico in hopes of sudden opportunities presenting themselves.
"I think it might just be the field of international business," she said. "It must be very competitive."
Tammie King, director of the Rawls College of Business Career Management Center, has advice to prevent this from happening to future graduates.
"Students should begin to participate with the CMC their freshman year," she said.
Between 85 and 90 percent of the college's graduates secure employment within three months of graduation, according to information provided by the college. King said international business is not necessarily a competitive field, but most students have to work domestically before they are offered an international position.
King emphasized that the center offers services to alumni.
"We have approximately 150 to 200 companies on campus each semester interviewing students for full-time employment and internships," she said.
David Kraus, director of the University Career Center, said students should start searching for jobs six to 12 months prior to graduation, and also thinks students should be involved with the Career Center in their freshman year.
"September and October are very active months for employer recruitment, as are late January, February, and March," he said. "Students who don't start early may miss out on some excellent opportunities."
Kraus said if students take advantage of everything available to them, are proactive in their job searches and remain upbeat and positive with every contact with a potential employer, it will help ensure job-search success.
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