'It feels like there are more job opportunities now'

David Simon graduated from the university in spring 2008 with a degree in mathematics. He took a month off, started working at a moving company he'd worked for during past summers, and when the summer ended, Simon began looking for a full-time job. He has been looking ever since.       

Although Simon graduated before the recession caused millions of workers to lose their jobs, he is experiencing the same frustration of laid-off workers and 2009 graduates who can't seem to find a job.   

"I wanted a break between college and work, which was a bad idea," Simon said. "You have to get a head start on it. It was relaxing, but I feel like I might have missed out on some good job opportunities that got filled. And by the looks of things, they were the last ones remaining."      

Simon worked for the same moving company again this past summer, but even it is too short on resources year-round to hire him full-time. He has also helped out with his father's business.       

"The work I did paid for them supporting me while I've been searching for a full-time job," Simon said.      

The economy has forced Simon to keep his job searches very broad, rather than focusing on a certain field. He said he has used job-search websites such as Monster, CareerBuilder and Usajobs.gov to land six or seven interviews since he began his hunt for a job more than a year ago.      

"Those sites have a lot of good leads, but I've realized you can't rely too heavily on them," Simon explained. "It's a good idea to branch out and search for individual companies, go to their websites and search their employment opportunities sections for openings. It's also a good idea to e-mail a résumé and cover letter to their human resources representative. I've gotten a few interviews that way."      

Simon acknowledged the fact that companies receive hundreds of résumés and said he is careful not to set himself up for disappointment by expecting an interview every time he applies.       

He also recommended that students enroll in computer science classes because he has found employers are looking for someone with that background.       

The good news, Simon said, is that the job market seems to be improving      

"Actually, it feels like there are more job opportunities now compared to when I got out of college," Simon said. "I'm constantly hearing about government jobs looking for people, especially the Census Bureau. The 2010 census is coming up, so they will be hiring like crazy."

Simon is interviewing with the Investment Company Institute, which is the national association of U.S. investment bank companies, on Thursday.  

ga@umdbk.com