by Adam Shear
WACO - According to TSTC and Baylor University the job placement rate for graduating seniors for the past few years has not been very good, but this year has been a completely different story.
Both schools claim that they have had a significant increase this year in the amount of employers and recruiters coming to their campuses. Each university says that during the spring semester they had roughly 100 interested employers on campus at job fairs.
"Not only have we seen [employers] attend our career fairs but we've also seen them very excited about individual recruiting visits," said Edgar Padilla, TSTC Organizer of Career Services. "That's always very encouraging because we know that our students are being courted."
Local colleges are not the only ones seeing an improving job market though. A recent survey done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers shows that employers are expected to hire 10 percent more 2012 graduating seniors than in 2011.
According to Baylor University, there is still room to improve.
"We are nowhere near where we were five to six years ago when the hiring was full speed," said Kevin Nall, Baylor University Career Services. "Its nice to see some positive movement back towards that direction."
While neither school could provide exact data on how many seniors would have careers prior to graduating, both say that they are estimating significant increases from last year.
With the 2012 graduation approaching the improving job market means more students have a sense of relief during finals week knowing that their summers will be spent preparing for their new jobs, instead of worrying about where to send resumes.
"I was so nervous before I got a job offer that I wasn't putting enough forward, that I needed to keep applying to different companies, sending off my resume, and talking to people," said Kathryn Brune, a Baylor senior who has a job lined up in Houston. "Knowing that when I graduate that I'm set. It's nice to not be worried about that anymore."
