HATS OFF: Despite a sluggish economy, hiring in New York City is up more than 25 percent since last year. (
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OLD COLLEGE TRY: If you’re a recent grad still seeking a job, look in the areas of healthcare, e-commerce, tech or hospitality. (Getty Images/OJO Images RF)
SALES FORCE: Fab.com, the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce site, needs “crackerjack” salespeople. (
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Congratulations, grad! You’ve bagged the diploma — and now it’s time to look for a job. Despite what you might hear from other sources, the prospects for the Class of 2013 are pretty good — especially here in the Big Apple, says Bjorn Hanson, dean of NYU’s school of Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management. He has more employers knocking on his door looking for freshly minted matriculates than will graduate this year.
“New York City is an extraordinary market,” he says. “There are more jobs than we have students.”
According to SimplyHired.com, a Google-like search engine for jobs, hiring in New York City is up 25.7 percent since last year. And starting salaries for the class of 2013 are up 5.3 percent from 2012, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
And industries including retail, e-commerce, technology, professional services, hospitality and health care are rolling out the welcome mat for new grads who show great passion and have something extraordinary to contribute.
That doesn’t mean landing your first gig will be a cakewalk. But don’t let that dissuade you; take it on as a challenge instead. And we’ve got your back as to where to look for work and what it takes to get hired.
We consulted researchers, recruiters and hiring managers to discover which industries are hiring, what kinds of roles are available for new grads and what catches employers’ eyes on a resume. So pack up your cap and gown, put down your celebratory glass of bubbly and polish up your resume — here’s the skinny on the job market for the Class of 2013:
HOSPITALITY
New York City keeps breaking its own tourism records: Last year it welcomed more than 52 million visitors, who slept in the city’s 92,000 hotel rooms and were served by the 356,000 individuals working in the city’s hospitality industry.
An increasing number of workers in this sector are well-paid college grads who are called on to put everything they learned in academia to work — and the demand for these types is high: Hanson predicts 97 percent of students who complete NYU’s program will be hired by June 15.
While some might think most of these new hires work in hotel, restaurant and entertainment back offices reconciling accounts, balancing budgets and marketing venues, many actually work incustomer-facing positions. “Starting in guest services teaches you the business,” says Hanson.
Jay Stein, chief operating officer of Hampshire Hotels and Resorts, which owns, manages, and provides food and beverage services for hotels like The Plaza, The Chatwal and the Time Hotel, says he’s hiring college grads for managerial, front desk and accounting roles as they open up. “We have 35,000 hotel rooms; we’re open 24/7, 365 days per year, and we’re almost always occupied,” he says. “You can’t do that without having lots of help.”
Hannah Kluger, talent manager at the Union Square Hospitality Group, which owns world-famous restaurants such as Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and Maialino, agrees that new grads should be willing to start out at the entry level.
Does that mean you should be willing to work as a server after you’ve earned you’ve earned your degree? Yes. USHG’s approach is to nurture the potential in who they hire: Many college recruits who have started as servers successfully rose through the ranks into manager and operations positions.
“Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty,” advises Kluger. “Time spent in operations will allow you to become a better manager and leader.”
HEALTHCARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
The large baby-boomer population is reaching its golden years which, almost inevitably, means they’ll need more health care. Eighteen percent of the city’s wage-earners work in the healthcare and social-assistance sector and, according to NYCEDC, that number might skyrocket when the Affordable Care Act kicks into gear in October.
Although many of us picture doctors and nurses when we hear the word healthcare, there’s actually a far wider variety of positions available, says Shawna Trager, executive director of the New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare.
“Each hospital is like a mini city,” she says, adding that jobs are available for new grads to do just about every kind of work from patient-facing activities such as nursing and post-op therapies to nutrition, social work and accounting.
Kiersten Kanaley, director of talent acquisition for New York Presbyterian Hospital can easily add to Trager’s list; she’s hiring physician assistants, lab technicians, IT professionals, administrative assistants and more. Her tip for new grads? “You really have to be open to taking an entry-level position and not expect to be a supervisor or a manager from the start,” she says. “First, get your foot in the door; from there you can grow.”
The fastest-growing industry in healthcare, however, is in ambulatory care, which calls for healthcare professionals who work outside the hospital. Here occupational and physical therapists who have just received their degrees are in highest demand, says Joan Chaya, vice president of talent acquisition and college relationships at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. Workers hired into those roles are given two months of one-on-one support when they first start their jobs. Roles in social work, customer service and call service are also available at VNSNY.
TECH
Move over, Wall Street! New York’s tech sector rocks the Big Apple now. According to New York City’s chief digital officer Rachel Sterne, the city’s 900 start-ups are seeking to fill 3,000-plus jobs.
Although some of these jobs will no doubt go to experienced geeks, many others have been designed specifically with the fresh-faced college grads in mind. ”We’re ready to teach new hires, with a passion for learning, new things,” says Hagos Mehreteab, senior director of talent acquisition at Chelsea advertising technology firm AppNexus.
The company’s entry-level positions reside in three primary areas: sales, services and engineering. Since new grads aren’t expected to have real-world experience in these roles, you must be able to articulate why you’ll be successful in them — via your cover letter and resume, letters of recommendation from professors and more. “We want to know what makes you tick,” says Mehreteab.
Alex Moazed, CEO of Applico, which designs and develops web and mobile apps, says enthusiasm is key to scoring a job at his firm, which is hiring at least a dozen new grads. A technical background that accompanies a bachelor’s degree is an added bonus, but above all, if there’s no passion an offer simply isn’t likely. “You need to be passionate about something, it doesn’t matter if it’s related to the job position,” says Moazed.
Mike Sherov, who hires entry-level engineers at Snap Interactive, which develops, owns and operates the social dating app AYI, also says passion is key in hiring at his company. “But you can’t just talk about it,” he says. “You have to demonstrate that you’ve taken action on your interests.” This can be done by talking about blogs that you read, showing off projects you’ve completed and providing examples of how you participate in your professional community.
Basically, these companies want to know investing in you is a good bet — because you’ve succeeded when you’ve invested in yourself.
RETAIL AND E-COMMERCE
New York is where the world flocks to shop. And why not? The world’s finest retailers, fashionista trendsetters and market-makers are all here. What does this mean for new grads who have a passion for fashion? The city has career opportunities like no other.
Macy’s, for instance, will soon welcome more than 1,000 new grads into its executive development program, many of them in NYC. But the world’s fastest growinge-commerce company, Fab.com, is also hiring “crackerjacks” — empowered customer service reps and a common entry-level role for new recruits. And Birchbox, a company that delivers deluxe, hand-picked beauty samples right to your door, is seeking grads who are active on Tumblr and Twitter.
While all of these companies want to hire the crème de la crème of this year’s graduating class, the roles they recruit for and the people who win their jobs are very different. Macy’s, for example, expects its job candidates to show up in professional business attire (i.e., a suit). But if someone walked into Fab.com dressed that way, “We’d think the auditors were here,” says AllisonRutledge-Parisi, who is responsible for Fab’s culture, hiring and compensation as its chief people officer.
“Do your homework — know the culture of the company before you apply,” adds Renee Harper Lee, Fab’s director of recruiting.
At Birchbox, meanwhile, job candidates have to tell a tweet-sized story about themselves. “We want to know in 140 characters what makes you unique,” says Melissa Enbar, Birchbox’s recruiting manager.
ACCOUNTING
As long as the government keeps making rules and collecting taxes, companies will keep needing accountants, tax consultants and compliance experts. The public accounting firms, which hire thousands of grads who have majors in accounting, math and technology, extended most of their offers to summa cum laude types earlier this year; but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have any open jobs — provided you have a sky-high GPA, have held leadership positions on or off campus and have been of service to your community in a big way.
Good grades and membership in a frat won’t cut it, say hiring managers from Accenture, KPMG and PwC. “Anyone can pay dues, show up and eat pizza,” says Sean Treccia, national director of campus recruitment at KPMG. “I’m looking for leaders.”
What these companies want to see is that you can do well in school and excel at an extracurricular activity at the same time — and put it on your resume: Showing you can juggle responsibilities is an important asset to these employers. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s playing an intramural sport or participating in competitive online gaming,” says Alexa Hamill, PwC’s US campus sourcing leader.
Not everyone has the kind of curriculum vitae big firms find attractive — or perhaps the rigor of consulting isn’t the right fit for you. If so, you might want to open yourself up to corporate America, says Daryl Pigat, metro market manager at Robert Half International. “Companies in healthcare, technology and construction are looking to hire accountants, business analysts and people who know analytics.”
New grads also might consider starting out as contractors. It’s an option that will let you gain experience and see what it’s like to work at a number of different companies while earning the same pay as your salaried peers. “Plus you get paid overtime,” adds Pigat.