Career Services Follow Up Survey - Class of 2011 Executive Summary

The following pages detail the results of the Follow-up Survey for the Class of 2011. This report is a summary of the career fields and graduate schools in which members of the Class of 2011 were engaged seven to ten months post graduation. The survey is an important component of Career Services’ efforts to understand the kinds of work and graduate programs new graduates are interested in pursuing. The information is also shared with the St. Lawrence community including University Communications, Admissions, and University Advancement to assist other staffs in accomplishing their work objectives.

To summarize the final report, 407 of the 529 graduates reported their career status for a 76.9% return rate. This is slightly higher than the 75.7% return rate for the Class of 2010. All respondents completed the survey on-line or over the phone with a Career Services staff member. Graduates were mailed a postcard with the survey site address, and subsequent follow-up was conducted through personalized emails and phone calls. Career Services also collaborated with faculty and coaches asking them to contact non-respondents to have them complete the survey. Data was collected between December 13, 2011 and March 11, 2012.

According to the Michigan State University Recruiting Trends Survey for 2010-2011, published in Fall 2010, “hiring at the Bachelor’s level is expected to surge by 10%...the Bachelor’s market will enjoy its first expansion in two years. With this good news comes a word of caution. This step is the first out of a deep hole; yet, many organizations are still not in a position to contribute positively to hiring.” (p. 5). The report also states that networking will be the best strategy for obtaining a position — “The best recruiting strategies still depend on connections between faculty, students, career services professionals, alumni and hiring staff in organizations” (p.5).

Members of the Class of 2011 faired well with a total placement rate of 95.3%, the first increase in placement since 2007. Of the 95.3%, 77.6% were primarily pursuing a career and had obtained a full-time or part-time job, 16.7% were attending graduate school either full-time or part-time as their primary function, and an additional 1% were pursuing professional post-baccalaureate education. The percent of respondents “in transition” decreased to 4.7% from 6.8% in 2010 (a 2% drop). The results for the Class of 2011 show that most of those “in transition” were continuing to pursue employment.

The percent of respondents from the Class of 2011 who found full-time employment through some form of networking rose to 72.5%, a jump from 68.3% for the Class of 2010. The Class of 2011 also saw a nearly 4% increase over last year in obtaining jobs through participation in recruitment events, and approximately 15% of respondents indicated they found their job through their internship—a 4% increase from last year. These figures highlight the need for students to engage on multiple levels and to participate in internships during their time at St. Lawrence. Education remains as the top career field in which respondents are employed with Finance/Banking in second, and Retail/Wholesale in third. The top job functions performed by respondents from the Class of 2011 are Teaching/Coaching/Training, Sales, Administration/Management, and Customer Service.

Graduate/Professional school attendance (as the primary activity) was down roughly 3.0% this year to 16.7% from 19.6%. Education, Business, and Social Sciences were the top three fields of study for respondents enrolled either full-time or part-time in graduate or professional school, with Law a close fourth. 53.2% of survey respondents attending graduate school chose to study in one of these top three areas, while an additional 10% chose Law. It is interesting to note that while Science & Technology was tied with Education for the top spot last year, this year it came in low on the list in eighth place.

The following detailed report contains information on the top 10 career industries and job functions, sources of obtaining employment, salary information, a sampling of jobs, a breakdown of graduate school attendance, a sampling of graduate and professional school programs, and internship information.

Carol L. G. Bate, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean of Student Life and Director of Career Services
July 2012

For additional information, see our Outcomes Profiles for academic divisions.

Follow-Up Survey, Class of 2011 Detail