For many students graduating from the University this holiday
season, their most welcome gift may come in the form of a job offer. Like their
counterparts nationwide, graduates participating in Winter Commencement ceremonies
Friday, Dec. 17 and Saturday, Dec. 18 at Arco Arena, are entering the best
job market since the dot-com days, says Marilyn Albert, director of the Sacramento
State Career Center.
DIPLOMA DAYS— Caps and gowns—rather than jerseys and shorts—will
be the uniform of Arco Arena during winter commencement ceremonies this
month. Ceremonies for each of the University’s seven colleges will
be held Friday, Dec. 17 and Saturday, Dec. 18. For details, visit www.csus.edu/commence.
“Students are getting more offers and they are getting
them sooner,” Albert says. “Usually students have to wait a while
but this year many are finding out before graduation.”
And the opportunities are across the board, even in areas such as technology
which had seen slowdowns as of late. “We’re definitely on the upswing,”
says Eva Gabbe of the center’s management recruitment program.
Accounting students have been particularly sought after, Gabbe says, because
of the rigorous demands of the accounting programs, which requires Sacramento
State students to take 30 units of auditing coursework. “So they are more
prepared when they get out than their contemporaries from schools that don’t
demand the courses we have here,” she says.
Other employment sectors are showing strong demand too, particularly in areas
relating to construction. Albert says the employers aren’t looking for
people to do construction per se, but to fill the support functions that go
with housing developments such as interior design or recreation and leisure.
There has also been a resurgence in recruitment for students from all majors
by the CIA and the FBI.
Albert says that employers are increasingly drawn to the campus because they
are looking for students with work experience. Nearly 60 percent of students
at Sacramento State participate in at least one internship before graduating,
helping them gain the leadership skills, decision-making skills, organizational
skills and language skills that come from experience in a work setting.
For students still on the job search, the Career Center provides walk-in counseling,
access to job listings, and opportunities to meet with a career counselor for
resume preparation assistance. And once they have graduated, services are still
available for a fee to both Sacramento State grads and those who’ve attended
other CSU campuses.
The schedule for Sacramento State Winter Commencement at Arco Arena is: Friday, Dec. 17
1 p.m., College of Education
3:30 p.m., College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary
Studies
6:30 p.m., College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Saturday, Dec. 18
8:30 a.m., College of Health and Human Services
11:30 a.m., College of Business Administration
3 p.m., College of Arts and Letters
6 p.m., College of Engineering and Computer Science
