No invitation today? No problem, either

Yesterday, at 5:01 p.m., I hopped onto the On Campus Recruiting website, along with many other Penn students, checking interview invitations for my summer internship companies. Whether I got an interview or not, I won't say. But from what I have heard, many students were a little disappointed to be welcomed by a blank page. The desire to secure a job is not just limited to students here at Penn. Students nationwide are becoming increasingly concerned with job security. And although these concerns may be warranted, they need not consume the minds of future graduates. Both DaimlerChrysler and Worldcom laid off 26,000 and 11,000 workers, respectively, in January -- and they aren't the only companies downsizing. JCPenny and AOL Time Warner have recently decreased their staff too. These are signs of a slowing economy. It is hard for graduates to prepare to leave the security of college life and enter the working world when there seems to be less and less work to be done out there. There are a number of issues that are especially concerning to the recent graduate. First, when companies lay off workers, the process is usually based on seniority, meaning the last people hired are usually the first people fired. This includes recent hires as well. Some college seniors are worried that the offer letters they recently received from companies will be rescinded before they even start their first day on the job. Another worry for recent graduates is the domino effect of failing dot-com companies. Just a few years ago, many people left the comfort of their cubicles to branch out on their own in the dot-com world. Now, with so many of those companies going bankrupt, many former employees are seeking their nine-to-five jobs once again. This creates more competition for the few jobs that are left after downsizing because college graduates are competing with people who have college degrees and experience. This re-entry into corporate America by so many dot-commers is affecting internships at some companies as well. A few companies, who were originally signed up for the OCRS summer internship resume drop, have since sent letters to all interested students, letting them know that they will not be offering a summer internship program because of the re-entry of so many Internet workers. Another aspect that is related to job security is the re-entry of welfare recipients into the workforce. Most former welfare recipients do not have Ivy League degrees and often work at a lower wage, but do much of the essential work of the company. For example, when First Union National Bank began downsizing in 1999, they immediately got rid of some of the top managerial positions where the employees made over $50,000 a year and kept most of their lower-wage workers who made $25,000 a year or less. Some of the higher positions were the first to go because they would get an immediate return of more money to the company and some of the managers' jobs could be consolidated or handed to an assistant with little or no pay increase. When companies begin downsizing, they often start with their most expensive workers or departments and work their way down. This means the Ivy Leaguer may be the first to go. But while the former welfare recipients may have a job, their job won't last much longer either. Companies that are in the midst of downsizing are not going to hire more workers -- at least not long term workers. This means that many people may be off welfare, but have nowhere to turn for a job. However, there is still hope -- I promise. There are still plenty of jobs that require employees all the time. For students who are interested in fields such as community service and health care, there will always be a place for you in the job market. For students who are committed to education or government, your future looks pretty secure as well. The advantage that we have at Penn is that we have the opportunity to give ourselves such a diverse coursework background that we will be able to maneuver through a slipping job market with relative ease. So if you logged on to the recruiting web page and you didn't see an invitation, don't fret. You probably won't be without a job for long.

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