It's that time of year again. With a hint of summer in the air, final exams fading into memory, and graduates donning caps and gowns to celebrate a major life accomplishment — and face new ones — the future seems ripe with opportunity for UIC's 5,000-plus graduates. But is it?

According to the Bethlehem, Pa.-based National Association of Colleges and Employers, the answer is a tentative "yes." Although the job market improvement isn't exactly dramatic, the Class of 2004 does appear to be in a better position than 2003's. For the first time in two years, employers participating in NACE's Job Outlook survey projected an overall hiring increase of 12.7 percent, a definite improvement over 2003 statistics.

"Obviously, this is big news, and we're certainly moving in the right direction," says Camille Luckenbaugh, director of research at NACE. "But we're still taking baby steps. We're nowhere near where we were five years ago." And, says Luckenbaugh, employers continue to report that economic times are tough, and budgets are still being cut. "We haven't quite rounded the corner." However, as always, certain industries are predicting a more dramatic upturn in growth, namely food and beverage processing manufacturers, public accounting firms and retail and wholesale operations.

"I think students are more open to considering different fields of employment," says Kristin Macik, assistant director for recruitment at UIC's Office of Career Services. For example, students are considering positions in sales and retail management — something that was not the case three to four years ago. Michigan State University's Collegiate Employment Research Institute reports that the market shift appears to favor business, and biological and physical science majors, with increased hires in both disciplines.

On the other hand, the chemical, automobile, telecommunications and computer industries don't expect to see much growth. Computer science graduates, for example, continue to face a difficult market because the tech-world focus has shifted to bioengineering and health fields.

In regard to salaries, the Collegiate Employment Research Institute reports minor wage increases for new graduates across the board: an average of 1 percent to 2 percent — an improvement over last year's starting salaries, which remained flat compared to 2002.

According to NACE, more disciplines are reporting starting salary increases and fewer are posting losses, compared to last year.

Interestingly enough, the Collegiate Employment Research Institute has found modest gains in most sectors, even those in which hiring is decreasing. For example, despite the shrinking market for computer science graduates, average starting offers have risen almost 9 percent — more than half exceeding $50,000.

More conservative increases are being seen among management information sciences and business disciplines, including management and marketing, at 1 percent to 2 percent.

Similarly, conservative decreases are being reported in the engineering disciplines. Civil engineering graduates are seeing their first decrease since 1995. Their average offer dipped 1.2 percent to $41,046. Also experiencing a drop are electrical engineering majors, whose average salary offer slipped 1.4 percent to $49,926.

Signing bonuses are, for the third year in a row, few and far between. This year, 32.2 percent of NACE respondents said they planned to offer bonuses to select candidates, as opposed to 32.4 percent in 2003.

When it comes to getting hired, the Collegiate Employment Research Institute reports an increase in on-campus recruiting activity, a trend that's become apparent at UIC.

"Last spring, we had about 19 companies come in, which was down 40 percent from the previous year," says Macik. "This spring, we're back up to 35 companies — still down from our previous average of 60 to 80, but quite an improvement over last year."

The Institute also reports that internships and co-ops have become the preferred route to permanent employment, which can be good for students in more ways than one.

"Experiential education assignments are outstanding ways for students and employers to try each other out," says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. "Participating in an internship or co-op can help students decide if they really are suited to a particular profession or organization. In turn, employers can assess student performance onsite and in their corporate culture and, if they like what they see, can work to convert the student into a full-time employee upon graduation."

For those who don't get hired through internships, however, experts predict a lengthy search, despite the fact that things are improving.

"Graduates should expect that they'll have to work hard to find a job," says Mary Anne Buckman, vice president of the University of Illinois Alumni Career Center. Buckman estimates that if a new graduate invests 30 to 40 hours per week in a job hunt, he or she should be able to secure employment in three to five months.

"But not many people can put that kind of time in," she says. "Many graduates maintain the part-time jobs they had while in school or even convert to full-time while looking for something more permanent in their fields." She suggests that job seekers determine a realistic number of hours per week that they can devote to the search and hold themselves to that number. "People who lose motivation most quickly are those who do the search in their heads and spend time worrying about it," she says. "But in reality, when people tell me they've spent only two hours on it per week, I know they're setting themselves up to be frustrated. That's just not enough time to conduct a successful search."

Although minor signs of improvement indicate that an end to tough times is in sight, the job hunt for the Class of 2004 still won't be easy. As a result, graduates are developing more creative ways to catch — and hold — employers' attention.

"I recently heard about a student who created a credit-card-sized CD-ROM with her information on it that she handed out at job fairs. Employers are impressed by that kind of initiative," says Luckenbaugh. She also recounts a story about a man who offered to work for meals and lodging. "He ended up working in the Caribbean as a teacher."

Despite the approach, says Buckman, students must keep in mind one key point to help them find the right job.

"Focus," she says. "Identify what kind of work you want to do and what kind of industry you want to be involved in — and be able to express that to others. You can't even begin to network efficiently until you do.

"It's all about finding a target and focusing on it."