Graduates focus on jobs
10:59 PM 5/20/04
Karen Rivedal Wisconsin State Journal

Here's one way for a college graduate to beat the hamster-wheel indignities of getting that first real job: <

Bypass it. <

Why worry about joining a business when you can start one yourself? <

That's what Ilene Gold did, along with her two best friends at UW-Madison, fellow spring graduates Katie and Morgan Wendelborn. The trio formed Benna - taken from Gold's middle name - to fulfill their dream of running a custom-designed clothing line. <

"We all have other things we could do," said Gold, 22, of New York. "But we would love to have our own business and work for ourselves. What's nice is the three of us work very well together and we all have a specific goal in mind." <

In that sense, they aren't so different from any of the roughly 5,000 UW-Madison seniors who graduated last weekend. They're all focused on new goals now, whether or not getting a job right this minute is one of them. <

In the Career Services Office for students in the College of Letters and Science and the School of Human Ecology, director Ann Groves Lloyd is used to working with graduates who aren't always as driven as your typical hard-charging Business School matriculant. <

"Liberal arts students tend to put career decision-making off until late in the process," she said. "When the economy is in a slump, it just reinforces procrastination, unfortunately." <

Lloyd described the current job market for graduates as coming out of that slump. Campus recruiting was down a little bit this year, she said, but not enough to be "too concerned," while employer postings on the center's job list is picking up. <

"There are jobs out there," Lloyd said. <

In some fields, the employment picture was brighter. Karen Stauffacher, director of the Business Career Center, said about 55 percent of spring business graduates had jobs or solid offers - up 4 percent from last year - while starting salaries are up 5 percent, averaging $41,446. The strongest demand this year was for students majoring in actuarial science. <

Holding steady are job prospects in journalism and strategic communications, said Erica Salkin, a career services expert in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Most graduates will do reasonably well this spring, she said, as long as they bear in mind that their first job may not be at a large newspaper or firm. <

Lloyd said liberal arts graduates leave college with the skills to handle many kinds of professional jobs. Bosses prize their communications and critical thinking skills, their ability to do research and their tendency to be flexible on the job, she said. <

"It's amazing what employers find our graduates are well suited for," Lloyd said. "I heard one employer say they love foreign language and music grads because the skills they had learned were ideal for developing pension and trust funds." <

As for Benna's chances, the fledging clothing company now is operating out of a spare bedroom in Madison. But the three friends hope to be in full-scale production by the end of August, with Ilene dealing with public relations, Morgan handling finances and Katie doing the designs. <

Their aims are modest in the short term - just getting some buzz going about the company and landing a few of their handmade shirts in stores - but long term they want their brand to be a household name. <

"We have this on a two- to five-year plan," said Gold, who has a bachelor's degree in family and consumer journalism. "We want to focus on trendy but classic (clothing)." <

Contact Karen Rivedal at krivedal@madison.com or 252-6106. <