The spring semester is over, finals are wrapping up and many students are preparing for a long summer break or gearing up to begin summer classes.
But for many students, the end of this semester is the end of their college career.
As students set out to begin their job hunt, they begin to wonder if they have what employers are looking for in an employee and if they know exactly what employers are looking for.
"I think some are looking for experience, like an internship or co-op, and then some I feel like, want to train you their own way so they don't require experience," said Kristen Kopp, recent graduate with a degree in civil engineering.
Kopp also said that she thinks employers are looking for more than a degree, like a certification in a specific area, for example.
Kopp said that in her area of interest, you have to be willing to move where the jobs are, so employers are looking for people who are mobile.
"I think that most employers are looking for graduates with growth potential," said Abriuana Welch, assistant store manager/human resources manager for Kohl's department store. "For companies, hiring a person is an investment."
Welch said that she assesses a person's qualifications based on their prior experience and on how they do in their interview.
"I'm looking to see if that person has done any research on the company, if they are enthusiastic about the prospective job, if they are teachable and what skills they possess that would make them a valuable asset to my team," Welch said.
Welch also said that the resume is also important when graduates are looking for a job because it is the company's first view of the potential employee.
"Resumes should definitely be printed on resume paper, be one page and should have all relevant experiences on it," Welch said.
Welch added that you want to make sure that your resume shares information that is important to the company and showcases the skills that would make you valuable to the company.
Welch said that students should do extensive research to find out what a company is looking for when beginning the job hunt.
Questions that Welch said graduates should aim to answer when doing their research include: What is the company's mission statement? What principals does the company stand on? What are the company's values? Who is the company's competition? How has the company succeeded or struggled during the past five years?
Welch said the biggest mistakes that graduates make is not having a resume in proper guidelines and not having questions ready when the interview.
Although Welch said that an interviewee should always ask at least two questions in the interview, she said that you should never ask about payment.
"A company needs to be sure that they're investing in people that are going to add to their company," Welch said.
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