Recruiting Trends Favor Students on the Job Hunt Date: March 20, 2000 By: Mary Bridget Reilly Phone: (513) 556-1824 Archive: General News More than a thousand University of Cincinnati students will be hunting down job prospects at the Bearcat Trackers Careerfest from noon-4 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the Great Hall, Tangeman University Center. During the strong recruiting seasons of the past several years, the event has routinely attracted close to 1,000 students and a capacity crowd of more than 100 employers. This year promises to be no different, according to Nickie Drake, assistant director in UC's Career Development Center. According to a recent survey of employers by Michigan State University, recruiting will be up 10 to 15 percent this year over last, with manufacturing, financial services, construction and professional and technical service sectors the strongest when it comes to hiring. The hottest geographical areas of the country, when it comes to hiring, are the eastern half of the country with the Southeast leading the entire nation. The only problem area seems to be the Pacific Northwest. Employers are routinely using the following recruiting tools: 86 percent recruit on campus while 81 percent attend career fairs. Also, 82 percent, are taking applications on the Web, and 30 percent of survey respondents offer signing bonuses. The typical bonus range is 3-10 percent of the base salary, although bonuses of up to 33 percent were reported in the survey. Engineers (computer, civil and electrical) and computer science majors were the most likely to be offered bonuses. Of business majors, accounting and finance majors were most likely to receive bonuses. Starting salary offers should continue to rise, said Drake. Salary offers to students rose between 1998 and 1999, according to figures from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Students earning bachelor's degrees nationally saw their starting salaries rise, on average, as follows: MAJOR 1999 STARTING SALARY 1998 STARTING SALARY BUSINESS Accounting $34,644 $32,825 Business administration $33,310 $31,454 Economics and finance $35,136 $33,691 COMMUNICATIONS Journalism $25,503 $24,248 Public relations $28,158 $25,140 EDUCATION Elementary education $26,291 $25,138 Special education $27,082 $25,686 HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Criminal justice $28,520 $25,004 History $28,378 $26,820 Political science $29,651 $27,967 Sociology $28,040 $25,665 ENGINEERING Chemical engineering $46,929 $45,104 Civil engineering $36,076 $35,335 Computer engineering $45,666 $43,865 Industrial engineering $43,666 $40,923 Mechanical engineering $43,275 $41,260 COMPUTER SCIENCES Computer sciences $44,649 $41,949 SCIENCES Chemistry $34,111 $33,892 Geology $34,892 $34,255 Mathematics $37,253 $36,203 Physics $40,025 $36,139 source: National Association of Colleges and Employers