@360JobInterview.Com blog

Today’s job market is nearly filled to the brim with college graduates, and this is a much different picture than the job market 35-40 years ago. In 1973 only about 47% of high school graduates were going on to college for higher education. In October 2008 about 70% of high school grads aspired to get a bachelor’s degree. This increase in degrees amongst the college graduate age workforce brought with it one primary downside. The college degree is not worth what it once was in a job search.

The higher education system in the US has a goal of pushing students along through school, and as a result employers see the value of a bachelor’s degree to be inflated. The degree is no longer the magic key to the door of employment. Because of how many people are getting degrees today, it should be viewed almost as a necessity, and gross work experience alongside it is becoming more of a deciding factor.

At the same time, the cost of average tuition has increased 6.5% just this fall, and more students are leaving college with more debt than ever before. Most unfortunately, fewer graduates are finding jobs after college, and the unemployment rate in this demographic is 10.6%, the highest it has ever been. And college students realize the plummeting value of the bachelor’s degree. In 1972, 38% of college students polled said that the bachelor’s degree was their highest education goal. Last year that number was down to 22%.

For now, the best thing to do in the job search process is to show you don’t need somebody to guide you through every single step of the position you’re applying for. The easiest way to find a job would be to direct your search toward growing industries. Once you’re up to applying, show that your degree wasn’t just a prefabricated printout for you because you went to college. You could amass any number of accomplishments while getting your degree to further qualify yourself for any position. With some kind of work experience, you’ve already put yourself far ahead of many out of the ranks of college degree holders.