2006 is bringing promising job prospects and salary increases for graduating college seniors, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual survey. Seventy percent of hiring managers say they plan to recruit recent college graduates this year, up from 62 percent in 2005. Nearly one-in-five hiring managers expect to hire more recent college graduates in 2006 compared to last year and one-in-four plan to increase starting salaries. The new survey, "College Hiring 2006," was conducted from February 21 to March 6, 2006 and included more than 1,000 hiring managers.

"The increased demand for educated labor is translating into a robust hiring outlook and bigger payoff for college graduates entering the job market this year," said Brent Rasmussen, Chief Operating Officer of CareerBuilder.com. "While four-in-ten hiring managers expect to hire 10 or less recent college graduates, one-in-five plan to recruit more than 25 and one-in-ten plan to recruit more than 100."

Twenty-seven percent of hiring managers anticipate increasing starting salaries for recent college graduates in 2006 and only five percent plan to decrease them. Thirty-four percent of hiring managers expect to offer between $20,000 and $30,000 and 28 percent expect to offer between $30,000 and $40,000. An additional 10 percent will offer between $40,000 and $50,000 and 7 percent will offer more than $50,000.

In terms of recruitment timelines, 36 percent of hiring managers say they will do the majority of their hiring of recent college graduates in the second quarter. Thirty-one percent say the majority of their hiring will take place in the third quarter. The most popular positions recent college graduates are being targeted for are sales, accounting/finance, healthcare, education, customer service and administrative positions.

When evaluating candidates, hiring managers say the top five things they look for are:

  1. Relevant experience (23 percent)
  2. Good fit within the company culture (21 percent)
  3. Educational background (19 percent)
  4. Enthusiasm (12 percent)
  5. Offers up ideas and asks good questions (8 percent)

Earlier this year, CareerBuilder.com launched CBcampus.com , a new job site tailor-made for college students and alumni. Equipped with special search capabilities, CBcampus.com provides instant access to jobs matching the student's major, experience level, skills and interests. The site also provides information on local career fairs and campus events, news on leading companies and industries, and advice for everything from building compelling resumes to moving ahead in the real world.

Survey Methodology

The new CareerBuilder.com survey, "College Hiring 2006," was conducted from February 21 to March 6, 2006. Methodology used to collect survey responses totaling more than 1,000 hiring managers for this study involved selecting a random sample of comScore Networks panel members. These Web Panel members were approached via an e-mail invitation, which asked them to participate in a short online survey. The results of this survey are statistically accurate to within +/- 3.09 percentage points (19 times out of 20).

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more than 20 million unique visitors and over 1 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. , Tribune Company , and Knight Ridder, Inc. , the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 800 partners that reach national, local, industry and niche audiences. These include more than 170 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. The nation's top employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings, 15 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. Millions of job seekers visit the site every month to search for opportunities by industry, location, company and job type, sign up for automatic email job alerts, and get advice on job hunting and career management. For more information about CareerBuilder.com products and services, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com/ .

  Media Contact:
  Jennifer Sullivan
  (773) 527-1164
  Jennifer.Sullivan@careerbuilder.com

SOURCE: CareerBuilder.com