SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SimplyHired.com®, the world’s largest job search engine, today announced insights from a survey of job seekers from the college graduating class of 2012. Students’ concerns about job security outweighed those for salary and benefits, and new grads were least likely to select a startup as a future employer. Twenty percent of the students surveyed had secured a job for after graduation, leaving the majority of college students actively seeking employment. Students surveyed were cautiously optimistic about opportunities in the job market after graduation, despite the current economy.
“The focus on job security is significant, as this year’s graduates entered college during the height of the recession,” said Gautam Godhwani, CEO of SimplyHired.com. “We’re now beginning to see positive growth in opportunities for this generation of college grads. On SimplyHired.com, nearly 10 percent of the total job openings in our index are entry-level positions that require a college degree.”
Job security is a top concern.
When asked what was most important about a future employer, the majority of new college grads selected job security (33 percent) over other characteristics, including salary (23 percent) and healthcare and other benefits (23 percent). Students also hoped for stability in their first job, with the majority (41 percent) planning to stay with their employers for at least a year, and another 38 percent aiming to stay two or more years. Forty-three percent of students surveyed were optimistic about the job market following graduation, compared to 32 percent who were not sure, and 26 percent who were not optimistic.
New grads steer clear of startups.
Of this year’s graduates surveyed, only 4 percent named a startup as their ideal place to work. The majority of students would prefer to work at small or medium sized businesses (39 percent), and 27 percent were interested in joining a large corporation. A significant percentage (19 percent) chose the public sector as their ideal employer. For most new graduates, geographic flexibility is an important distinction, with 78 percent of students open to relocating for their first job.
To provide additional insight into recruiting and hiring the new class of college graduates, SimplyHired.com has released its 10 Tips for Hiring New College Graduates. The report provides a summary of the survey results, as well as advice and best practices for employers and recruiters targeting this group of new job seekers.
About SimplyHired.com
With over eight million job listings, Simply Hired (www.SimplyHired.com) is the world’s largest job search engine -- 25 times the size of the biggest job board. Servicing 25 million monthly users across 24 countries, SimplyHired.com powers jobs on more than 25,000 network partner sites, including LinkedIn, CNNMoney, The Washington Post and Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Reaching passive as well as active candidates, the Simply Hired network delivers millions of targeted job applicants and boasts one of the lowest cost-per-hire rates in the industry. The company is based in Sunnyvale, California and is funded by Foundation Capital and IDG Ventures.