Moving On 2008: Student Approaches and Attitudes Toward the Job Market for the College Class of 2008

Although 70 percent of graduating students in the Class of 2008 said they wanted a full-time job after graduation, only 40 percent actually applied for a job before April 2008. Nearly 75 percent said they would review job offers with their parents. More than half expect employers to view their social networking profiles (Facebook, MySpace) as part of the recruiting process.

Moving On: Student Approaches and Attitudes Toward the Job Market for the College Class of 2008 is NACE's annual graduating student survey summary like you've never seen it before. This year’s survey was conducted online, and the results cover the opinions of more than 19,000 college students from 385 schools in 43 states and the District of Columbia. This year's survey includes an interesting comparison between classes of 2008 and 1982.

Watch the Class of 2008 as they explore the job market. Discover:

How they approach the job market as they neared graduation;
The four most important employer/job attributes;
The top five benefits as ranked by more than half of the respondents;
Which resources they used to obtain their first full-time employment; and
How they choose an employer.

Look beyond the usual statistics and examine whether this a unique generation of college graduates and how they differ from previous generations.

The answers will surprise you and may force you to reexamine the strategies you use to reach the newest generation of workers entering the job market. You'll want the all the details from the full survey to really begin to understand this group as they enter the work force.

View the Table of Contents

$125 for NACE members; $250 for nonmembers. 58 pages. 8 1/2 x 11 in., wirebound. Order your copy today! Use our printed order form, or use your VISA, Mastercard, or AMEX to order using our online form. You can also order by phone: 800/544-5272 or fax: 610/868-0208.

About the Survey
Executive Summary
Post Graduation Plans
- Graph A: Plans After Graduation
- Figure 1: Plans after graduation, by gender
- Figure 2: Plans after graduation, 2008 vs. 1982
The Job Search
- Salary Expectations
  - Figure 9: Salary expectations
  - Figure 10: Salary expectations, by gender
  - Figure 11: Targeted industries, by gender
  - Figure 12: Salary expectations, by gender and industry
- Job-Search Strategies
  - Figure 13: Job-search strategies – 1982
  - Figure 14: Job-search strategies – 2008
  - Figure 15: Expect employer to view social network profile
  - Figure 16: Employer ads on social network sites
  - Figure 17: Contacted by employer through social network site
- Job-Help Sources
  - Figure 18: How helpful in the job search – Alumni
  - Figure 19: How helpful in the job search – Career Services
  - Figure 20: How helpful in the job search – Faculty
  - Figure 21: How helpful in the job search – Friends
  - Figure 22: How helpful in the job search – Parents
  - Figure 23: How helpful in the job search – Relatives
- The Role of Parents
  - Figure 24: Invite parents to orientation
  - Figure 25: Invite parents to interview
  - Figure 26: Who students would review job offers with
  - Figure 27: How influential in the job search
Job Attitudes and Generational Change
- Work-Life Balance
  - Graph B: Work Hours, 2008 vs. 1982
  - Graph C: Nights Away From Home, 2008 vs. 1982
- Work-Life Trade-Offs
- Ethics and the Workplace
  - Figure 30: Percent responding “nothing wrong” to selected employer actions, 2008 vs. 1982
  - Figure 31: Percent responding “would not work for the employer” to selected employer actions, 2008 vs. 1982
- Preferred Job/Employer Attributes
  - Figure 32: Employer attributes – scores
  - Figure 33: Top 10 job/employer attributes, 2008 vs. 1982
- Employer Benefit Packages
Conclusion
Appendix

Demographics
- Figure 36: Respondents by gender
- Figure 37: Respondents by race/ethnicity
- Figure 38: Respondents by immigration status
- Figure 39: Respondents by age
- Figure 40: Respondents by major
Job Search Figures
- Figure 41: Plans after graduation
- Figure 42: Have you started to look for a full-time job?
- Figure 43: Looking for how many months?
- Figure 44: Have you applied for a full-time job?
- Figure 45: Where did you apply?
- Figure 46: Number of interviews
- Figure 47: Number of offers
- Figure 48: Accepted a full-time job
- Figure 49: Have you had an internship or co-op?
- Figure 50: Offered a job through internship or co-op
- Figure 51: How helpful in the job search – Alumni
- Figure 52: How helpful in the job search – Career Services
- Figure 53: How helpful in the job search – Faculty
- Figure 54: How helpful in the job search – Friends
- Figure 55: How helpful in the job search – Parents
- Figure 56: How helpful in the job search – Relatives
- Figure 57: Invite parents to orientation
- Figure 58: Who students would review job offers with
- Figure 59: Invite parents to interview
- Figure 60: Use in job search – Career Fairs
- Figure 61: Use in job search – Company Web Sites
- Figure 62: Use in job search – Company Podcasts
- Figure 63: Use in job search – Company Reps
- Figure 64: Use in job search – Employer Information
- Figure 65: Use in job search – Recruitment Brochures
- Figure 66: Use in job search – Employment Agencies
- Figure 67: Use in job search – Career Center Job Postings
- Figure 68: Use in job search – Postings on Company Web Site
- Figure 69: Use in job search – Commercial Search Sites
- Figure 70: Use in job search – Networking
- Figure 71: Use in job search – Newspaper Ads
- Figure 72: Use in job search – Career Center Print Postings
- Figure 73: Use in job search – Professional Associations
- Figure 74: Use in job search – Virtual Job Careers
- Figure 75: How influential in job search
- Figure 76: Social networking account
- Figure 77: Do you expect employers to view your social networking profile?
- Figure 78: Have you been contacted by an employer through your social networking site?
- Figure 79: Have you noticed employer ads on your social networking site?
Job Attitudes

Figure 80: Salary expectations
Figure 81: Targeted industries
Figure 82: How long will you stay with first employer?
Figure 83: Number of nights per month you are willing to be away from home
Figure 84: Salary – Move Trade-Off
Figure 85: Preference for frequency of performance appraisals
Figure 86: Weekly work hours
Figure 87: Expected number of employers, first 5 years
Figure 88: Religion vs. job
Figure 89: Family vs. job
Figure 90: Ethics vs. job
Figure 91: Community vs. job
Figure 92: Happiness vs. job
Figure 93: Free time vs. job
Figure 94: Vacation vs. job
Figure 95: Health vs. job
Figure 96: Reaction to producing a harmful product
Figure 97: Reaction to restricting foreign competition
Figure 98: Reaction to using company resources for an outside business
Figure 99: Reaction to hiding spouse expenses
Figure 100: Reaction to paying off foreign officials
Figure 101: Reaction to paying women and minorities less
Figure 102: Reaction to preventing unions
Figure 103: Reaction to lie detectors for theft
Figure 104: Reaction to lie detectors for employment screening
Figure 105: Reaction to dating a supervisor
Figure 106: Employer attributes - scores

Participating Schools by State

Order your copy today! Use our printed order form, or use your VISA, Mastercard, or AMEX to order using our online form. You can also order by phone: 800/544-5272 or fax: 610/868-0208.

NACE is a founding member of International Network of Graduate Recruitment and Development Associations (INGRADA).


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