We're in a new century and the job market continues to reflect all the transitions and issues currently reshaping our historical concept of "work". We have not seen a social transition of this magnitude since an agrarian society faced the industrial revolution. Today's revolution is technological, and to prepare yourself for career impact and growth after graduation you MUST:

• Resolve to continue learning across your lifespan;

• Develop and continue to sophisticate your knowledge of computers and their applications (no matter what your field); 

• Develop skills and awareness to navigate a global marketplace.

What does this mean for you? The Career Services Center is seeing more and more position descriptions requesting fluency in a language, particularly Spanish. When a language is requested, it is always in combinations with business and computer skills, writing ability with organizational analysis, and presentation skills. Job descriptions are becoming more skill focused and less degree specific — the major exceptions are in computer programming, accounting, and engineering areas.

You have obtained your education to prepare for a range of opportunities, not just for a specific field. Work as we have known it will continue to change. Futurists foresee a world without "jobs" as we know them — work will continue to exist in a different configuration. We have already entered a time when over 80% of the available jobs are going into the "hidden market".

We offer you some hints as you begin your job search. More and more employers are requesting either cooperative education or internship experience within their job descriptions. If you have the opportunity to take advantage of these programs before you graduate, do so. Stay in contact with your Coordinator and take advantage of our Student Career Action Plan.

If you want information on specific career areas for additional information on work trends we suggest taking advantage of the material in our Career Resource Center, including:

• The most current edition of The Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Quarterly Reports from the National Association of Colleges and Employers
• Magazines such as Fortune and Crain's Cleveland Business.