Despite rampant unemployment, university says Class of 2009 doing well

Susan Frentz once got paid to watch six hours of ESPN every day for an entire summer. Another job sent her to the Washington Capitals locker room, where she interviewed Alexander Ovechkin while he was wearing only a towel.

These are stories from just two of the six internships Frentz held in her four years at the university - internships that she hoped would give her a head start in the job hunt.

Frentz, who graduated in May with a degree in broadcast journalism, is one of thousands in the class of 2009 trying to navigate the job market during a tumultuous economy. They came into college when unemployment was at 5.1 percent, when "bailout" was how you got a friend out of jail and before "subprime mortgage" was a dirty phrase.

Four years later, the unemployment rate is up to 9.4 percent, and, as of the end of July, 14.5 million Americans are unemployed.

Those between the ages of 20 and 24 have it even worse: 2.3 million unemployed translates to a 15.3 percent unemployment rate for college-age individuals, a number that has gone up despite overall numbers improving slightly in the past month.

But despite the international financial crisis and a prediction by the National Association of Colleges and Employers that 22 percent fewer graduates would be hired this year than last, the university's graduating class hasn't taken a very big hit.

According to a survey of 4600 graduating students, 44 percent of them are employed - last year's number: 45 percent.

But Mark Kenyon, associate director of the University Career Center, isn't too surprised. He says the university's graduates are helped by a number of factors, including the university's proximity to Washington and Baltimore and connections with big employers, such as the federal government.

"It's much more than just a good reputation," Kenyon said. "Some of it is connections made through alumni, but agencies are really starting to identify the University of Maryland as a place they want to do a lot of recruiting."

Ben Offit, who graduated with a degree in entrepreneurship, experienced this first hand in March.

"I was working really hard at trying to find a job, and it just kind of fell into my lap," Offit said. "I got a call at 8:30 in the morning. I didn't have class until 11, so I answered still half asleep and she was like 'Would you like to come in for an interview?'"

Two months and four interviews later, Offit graduated with a plan and, more importantly, a job - with Northwestern Mutual, a financial firm in Baltimore. He says he was expecting to graduate with a job; he just didn't expect it to happen the way it did.

He said most of his friends have jobs, too. Those that don't, he suspects, aren't really trying.

"A lot of my friends have kind of used the economy as a crutch," Offit said. "They're just kind of chilling now."

Frentz is on shakier ground - she moved out of her house in College Park after graduation and has been living in a friend's apartment so she can work on the campus while she waits to hear back from employers, including ESPN.

An internship she had at Comcast SportsNet turned into a job offer, but the work isn't consistent. She's in limbo while she waits to hear back.

"I was planning on either being in a for-sure job or going back home. Instead, I've got this bizarro transit thing going on," Frentz said. "I can't say I was expecting a full-time job, but it's still frustrating. It's frustrating not knowing where I might be living next month. It's frustrating knowing I can't make plans for two weeks from now because I might have to leave."

rabdill@umdbk.com