But to keep her options open, she sent out six resumes in January. When I started interviewing, I got such an overwhelming response that it seemed best to begin working right away. Say what you want about a slowing national economy.
Many employers continue to beat the bushes for new graduates with construction-related degrees.
There is such an overdemand for good help that recent graduates are writing their own ticket. Today, recent graduates are getting signing bonuses, excessive salaries and benefit packages that are accustomed to a veteran of 10 years. Besides offering salaries that sometimes exceed those paid to existing employees in similar positions, many construction-related employers are spending more time and money on recruitment tactics. From shmoozing professors to sponsoring student events and contests, from advertising in college newspapers and on the Internet to participating in career fairs, from offering summer internships to dangling management training programs, recruiters are trying just about everything. For all the talk of multiple offers, though, no one knows the number of jobs available for majors in construction-related disciplines.