Special Report
FACING THE FUTURE
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Life After College from page 39
•
MSU senior Aaron
Levine is working to
combine his passion
for Jewish heritage
with his love for the
outdoors.
Thomas
Zurbuchen
of U - M
in East Lansing, overall total hiring will
decrease by just less than 2 percent, indi-
cating that the market has hit bottom.
"The market runs from tentative opti-
mism to doom and gloom:' said Dr. Phil
Gardner, Institute director. "There is room
for some cautious optimism among col-
lege graduates, but also a need to be aware
that it will take at least three or four years
before companies begin hiring in large
numbers:'
Baby Boomer Dynamic
A significant factor contributing to the
lack of corporate jobs available to college
graduates is delayed retirement of many
"baby boomers:"
"The pipeline is plugged up with skilled
boomers staying in the labor market five
to seven years longer than planned in
order to maximize retirement funds and
await a less confusing health care situa-
tion:' Gardner said. "If they can stay lon-
ger, they do."
This situation leads to new challenges
— and opportunities — for college
graduates.
"Students need to continue to be
focused, directed and connected:' Gardner
advised. "There are jobs out there. They
just might not be with the larger compa-
nies that offered them in years past."
Gardner explained that small businesses
with less than 500 employees are offering
an increasing number of jobs, up by 15-25
percent.
"Despite being more volatile, small
companies tend to consistently provide
more opportunities:' he said.
Lynne Sebille-White, senior assistant
director/employer relations at University
of Michigan's Career Center in Ann Arbor,
sees the increase in small business and
entrepreneurship opportunities firsthand
as she assists employers seeking to recruit
students.
"We've been approached much more
this year by smaller entrepreneurial
organizations:' she said. "Based on our
experience in the Career Center, smaller
organizations hiring one or two people
at a time are the future trend rather than
larger organizations coming in and hiring
50 people at a time."
Rising Entrepreneurship
The idea that small employers might be
the source for job seekers is no surprise
to Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, founder of U-
M's Center for Entrepreneurship (www.
cfe.umich.edu). The Center's mission is
to empower students, faculty and staff to
pursue entrepreneurial achievements that
improve people's lives, drive the economy
and help innovators bridge the gap
between inventor and the business.
40
February 11 • 2010
The Center grew out of a report in
which the College of Engineering's
Committee on Entrepreneurial
Environment and Programs recognized
that young inventors can help stimulate
the state's economy.
"I believe the downturn overall has pro-
vided students with more options than they
used to have Zurbuchen said. "In an econ-
omy dominated by larger companies able to
absorb college graduates, entrepreneurship
is very hard to justify because it is risky,
tough and may not make a lot of money.
"Because many of the traditional places
that hire students have really struggled,
there is a daily recognition of entrepre-
neurship as an alternative for students
who can afford to take the risk of starting
their own business or joining another
already existing startup business."
With this mission, the Center is con-
tinually developing ways to help students
turn good ideas into businesses and con-
nect them with other startup companies.
To that end, Doug Neal, managing direc-
tor of the Center, was instrumental in cre-
ating a specialized "Small Business Career
Fair" where students could connect with
80-100 small businesses looking to hire.
"The Small Business Career Fair is
where several thousands of our entrepre-
neurial students will be exposed to the
kinds of businesses that are the future
of job creation:' Neal said. "It takes the
crisis and challenges facing the economy
in Michigan and uses them as a stage to
promote the types of businesses that will
eventually become the solution to the
problem."
For Eddie Rubin of West Bloomfield,
a 2009 U-M graduate with a bachelor's
degree in film and psychology, the oppor-
tunity to be an entrepreneur is perfectly
aligned with his ability to take advantage
of Michigan's generous film incentives.
In 2008, Rubin formed his own film
production company, Deep Blue Pictures,
and has been specializing in financing and
producing narrative feature films, narra-
tive shorts and music videos.
"I know I am taking a risk right now,
but everyone at this point in time has a
huge risk on their hands:' he said. "Some
people just aren't even working and are
trying to figure out what to do. There is
no better time to be an entrepreneur and
start a company."
Jewish Resources
Scott Kaufman, CEO of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit in
Bloomfield Township, believes that the
Jewish community must take an active
role to mitigate the so-called "brain drain:'
where graduates leave the state to get
employment in more favorable job markets.
"We have to help provide resources for
college graduates with new and exciting
ideas',' Kaufman said. "If we don't have the
jobs available for new graduates, then let
us help them incubate their own ideas and
take advantage of the tremendous entre-
preneurial spirit of young adults."
As a result, Federation has created
CommunityNEXT, a strategic initiative
to retain and attract young people to
the Metropolitan Detroit Jewish com-
munity. Hebrew Free Loan of Bloomfield
Township, in conjunction with Wayne
State University's TechTown in Detroit, is
managing a similar program that acts as
a clearinghouse similar to the U-M Center
for Entrepreneurship, vetting fresh ideas
of Jewish startups and exploring potential
ways to find funding for them.
"If job opportunities don't exist, then
let's help create them." Kaufman said.
Networking, Networking
For graduates who might not be pursu-
ing entrepreneurial opportunities, U-M's
Sebille-White said, "The key to a success-
ful job search is through connecting with
people that are working or practicing in
fields of interest to the job seeker.
"At any given time and for any given
market, most of the jobs out there are
never advertised anywhere and the only
way of finding them is to be connected to
a particular community of interest:"
Extensive networking has been the
path to Joe Elrom's success in finding jobs
since graduating from Eastern Michigan
University in 2007 with a bachelor's degree
in electronic media and film studies.
"I just kept networking to try and get
the jobs to come in:' said Elrom of West
Bloomfield.
Like Rubin, Elrom also has been able to
take advantage of the jobs brought here
because of Michigan's film incentives.
Initially, Elrom worked unpaid on Clint
Eastwood's 2008 film, Gran Torino.
He continues to work on different film
productions, taking advantage of the
opportunity to network and meet others
in his field.
"You really have to know the right
people to get the job:' he said. Elrom
is currently working on the set of The
Wannabes, a new TV show shooting in
nearby Howell, Mich.
Developing Diverse Skills
Employers are relying more and more
on internships and part-time employees.
Many graduates are taking advantage of
internships and part-time employment
opportunities to develop different skills
that will help them get a full-time job in
the future.
Life After College on page 42