Health & Sciences: The College Labor Market is Strong!

Posted in Announcements COVID-19 News  |  Tagged

December 1, 2021 – Upcoming Events, Opportunities & Resources

As you go into winter break and think about your search for Summer 2022 internships or post-graduate employment, my hope is to provide optimism by sharing hiring projections. Phil Gardner, PhD, with the Collegiate Employment Research Institute surveyed 1,998 employers to understand college-specific recruiting trends of 2020-2021. In short: the college labor market is strong with bachelor’s degree hiring expected to increase 15% from last year.  Gardner states that “employers who sat out last year or (had) lower hiring expectations in the face of uncertainty COVID projected into the economy return eager to hire.

Here are some relevant trends to share:

  • Health Services was amongst a few sectors reporting the most optimistic outlook for hiring new college graduates; Only laboratory services reports a slightly decline in hiring while ambulatory services (up 25%), hospitals (up 21%) and social assistance agencies (up 24%) are increasing hiring. Scientific research is up 22% along with hiring in the Nonprofit (17%) and government (50%) sectors.
  • 45% of employers seeking bachelor’s degrees will increase hiring over last year; 28% will decrease the number they expect to hire.
  • Some of the higher demand for major clusters include “all majors,” data analytics/stats, business, and computer science/IT. 
  • Smaller organizations (fewer than 100 employees) and larger organizations (over 500 employees) report the highest level of hiring.
  • Last year, 84% of employers reported that starting salary would remain the same as the previous year. This year, 47% stated starting salaries would remain the same and 53% reported an increase in starting salaries. This was particularly the case for employers hiring in the health services, social science, and computer science/IT.
  • 82% of employers will employ the same number of internships or more with 36% stating they will increase the number of interns; 46% of employers expect on-site assignments, 28% hybrid, 5% virtual only, and 16% are uncertain.

A few other random tidbits from Gardner’s report:

  • Amazon now employs 11 out of every 153 U.S. workers?! What?!
  • Virtual recruiting is here to stay in some hybrid form. Expect to encounter digital and AI assisted technologies as part of your recruiting process.
  • 50% of employers held 1-5 virtual interviews per hire; the other half required 6+ interviews and 15% indicated more than 10 interviews (some as many as 20- 30) to arrive at an offer.  Yikes!  Expect an average of 7 interviews to receive a full-time offer.
  • Most employers expect new hires made during the COVID period to remain 3-5 years before seeking new opportunities.

A few other trend reports:

My hope is this information will inspire you while you work on some of your job search prep during the winter break.  The article below shares tips to help you get started.

All the best,
Jodi Schneiderman | js4612@georgetown.edu
Assistant Director, Employer Relations and Industry Advising | Health, Science, and Technology

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Article of the Week

5 Job Search Preps During Winter Break

Source: CollegeGrad

Winter break is almost here! Create a plan for break that includes, in addition to a ton of relaxation, time devoted to exploring careers and/or searching for an internship or job.  This article highlights five job search preps to complete before returning to campus on January 12.  They include finishing your resume, networking, researching careers, researching jobs, and researching employers. Read this article  to learn more.

Career Center Resources

Industry Advisor:
Jodi Schneiderman
js4612@georgetown.edu

Online Resources:

Writing Resumes & Cover Letters
Networking Skills
Interviewing Skills
Industry Resources
What Can I Do with My Georgetown Major?

Virtual Drop-Ins: 
Drop-ins are Monday-Friday between 1-3 pm via georgetown.zoom.us/j/417727789. Get connected with an advisor for a 15-minute meeting on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Appointments: Virtual appointments are available via Handshake. Sign up under ‘Career Center,’ then ‘Appointments’, then ‘Industry Advising,” then ‘Health, Science, and Technology’.