I am one of the for­tu­nate seniors that have a job lined up after grad­u­a­tion in May.

Many of my friends have had trou­ble secur­ing jobs after grad­u­a­tion and some have cho­sen to go to grad­u­ate school. For those stu­dents who do not wish to con­tinue their edu­ca­tion after grad­u­a­tion, the num­ber of days before May 7 is dwin­dling quickly. The final 73 days of the semes­ter will be stress­ful for many grad­u­at­ing seniors.

The Career Services Center offers stu­dents help in attain­ing intern­ships and full-time posi­tions, but is not uti­lized by many stu­dents. The Career Services Center pro­vides help regard­ing resumes, inter­view­ing, career plan­ning, and intern­ship place­ment. Many stu­dents com­plain about not being able to find a job or intern­ship, yet they apply to three or four places and that’s it.

It takes more than a few online appli­ca­tions to get a job in this econ­omy. Students have to fol­low up with poten­tial employ­ers so their appli­ca­tions are not dis­re­garded or for­got­ten. Networking is also a key com­po­nent in secur­ing a job or internship.

Michigan’s job mar­ket has improved slowly since the end of the Great Recession, but its unem­ploy­ment rate still ranks in the bot­tom five nation­ally. As jobs have become scarcer, com­pe­ti­tion has increased. Career Services Coordinator, Angie Roman, said there are approx­i­mately 80 appli­cants per job opening.

It is vital for stu­dents to set them­selves apart from other appli­cants. Employers want to see involve­ment in stu­dent orga­ni­za­tions, work expe­ri­ence and intern­ships. Grades also play an inte­gral part in secur­ing a job after grad­u­a­tion as many employ­ers use GPA as a quick way to sift through a stack of applications.

Earning a col­lege degree is arguably the most impor­tant asset a stu­dent can have on a resume. Not far behind that, how­ever, is work expe­ri­ence. Hands-on train­ing shows employ­ers that you are capa­ble of learn­ing in a work­place envi­ron­ment and that you can apply the knowl­edge learned in the class­room. n