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&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;College graduation is always a time for trepidation.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Face it, the college years are wonderful times filled with relatively minimal pressures on time and responsibility.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;The transition from ivory tower to the employment meat market is always challenging, even in good times.&lt;?xml:namespace prefix=&quot;o&quot; ns=&quot;urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office&quot;?&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;As some of you in the class of &#39;09 may have noticed, these are not particularly good times.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;After several years of growth in campus hiring, 2009 is looking to be flat at best. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;A recent survey by the National Association of Colleges &amp;amp; Employers,&amp;lt;A href=&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;http://www.naceweb.org/&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; target=_blank&amp;gt;NACE&amp;lt;/A&amp;gt;, puts hiring at +1.3% but since that figure has been falling, it is likely to be uglier by spring.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;And 2009 will produce the largest graduating class in U.S. college history which makes the numbers game even worse.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;As always, certain sectors will be tougher than others.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Naturally, banking and finance top this list. &lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Consulting will be tough.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Advertising and marketing will yield fewer jobs, as will the major retailers.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;And clearly, some of the&amp;lt;A href=&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122464035263357361.html&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; target=_blank&amp;gt; difficulty for you &#39;09 graduates&amp;lt;/A&amp;gt; could be regional, with northeasterners getting squeezed the most.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;b style=&quot;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Silver lining, anyone?&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Do not lose hope.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Many companies rely on entry-level college grads to perform important basic functions, and in times like these, to help replace thousands of the more-senior employees who will be laid off over the next few months leading into summer.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Hundreds of thousands of you will be offered jobs in 2009, though it&#39;s likely to take longer and be more last-minute than in recent years.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;And there are sectors which will be adding employees despite, or because of, the economy.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Clearly the federal government will be adding employees.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Due to baby boomer retirements, there was already hiring pressure in the government sector and with Uncle Sam supporting (even owning) so much of the American economy, oversight must increase and oversight takes employees.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;If you haven&#39;t already, you should certainly consider a job with the U.S. Treasury, the Federal Reserve, a federal health department or a national security agency.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Along with the U.S. Military, they are all hiring.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;On the private side, look at energy, technology and healthcare companies which are likely to grow in spite of the economy.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;And consider small or mid-size firms that may not have the brand names but may have the growth opportunity in this market.&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot; style=&quot;MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;FONT-SIZE: 12pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 115%&quot;&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Finally, while interview opportunities may be few and far between this long before graduation, it&#39;s a good time to sharpen your personal brand presentation and packaging.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;My Vault colleague Connie Thanasoulis-Cerrachio has some great pointers in our Executive Careers section on&amp;lt;A href=&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot; size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;http://www.cnbc.com/id/27417679&lt;/font&gt;&lt;font face=&quot;Arial&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; target=_blank&amp;gt;CNBC.com&amp;lt;/A&amp;gt;. Hey, if it&#39;s good enough advice for executives, it should be good enough for you.&lt;span style=&quot;mso-spacerun: yes&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;As always, I appreciate your comments &amp;#8230;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Vault Consulting Editors

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