Job Seekers Told To Stand Out In Tough Market

BOSTON -- If you're a recent college graduate, you know the job market is not a very welcoming place right now.

NewsCenter 5's Bianca de la Garza reported that cut-backs and layoffs are making for fierce competition, but there are ways to stand out from the crowd.

Job Seekers Told To Stand Out In Tough Market

"I'm actually coming back from trying to look for a job and it's tough. It's tough," Boston College student Jonathan Comeau said

Comeau said that the field he's looking in is making it even harder.

"I'm looking for finance. A lot of people are getting laid off and they are not looking for new hires," Comeau said.

"This time last year the job market was fabulous. Now, it's quite the opposite," career expert Anna Ivey said.

Ivey tells students the way you launch life after college can set you up or set you back.

"You have to get out there and interview all the time," she said.

Being aggressive is vital and so is connecting with college alumni.

"I think it's a big loss if you don't use that in your job search. It's vastly more effective than sending a resume to a random person," Ivey said.

She said that job seekers should not rule out temping.

"I know it doesn't sound glamorous, but honestly, no starting job is glamorous anyway," Ivey said. "You can try on different things for size and see different jobs up close."

Don't automatically opt for grad school. There's competition there, too.

"When the economy takes a dive that's when everyone rushed off to grad school," Ivey said.

Focus on growing fields, such as health care, accounting and engineering.

"I'm not at that point. I'm still looking finance because that's what I studied, but it might happen in the future," Comeau said.

The future is bright for Bostonians. The Web site CollegeGrad.com listed the top 25 U.S. cities that account for 40,000 entry-level positions, and Boston made the top five, ranking fourth.