Hints for Hunters

For almost a decade, jobs have gone hunting for the college graduate. This spring, the class of '49 is bracing itself for less piping times; this year's graduates will have to hunt for jobs. Last week, at the University of Washington, seniors turned out 600-strong for a three-hour seminar on how to go about it.

Washington's undergraduate Management Club had spent months interviewing employers in the Seattle area, and the university employment service had collaborated in arranging the seminar. One basic conclusion about the local job market: for certain specialists, jobs will still be plentiful. Dieticians, nurses, teachers, metallurgical and ceramic engineers should have no trouble at all. Chemical and mechanical engineers will also be in fairly good demand, though some will have a better chance if they go East after graduation. Nonspecialists, however, have a different kind of problem.

No Brag, No Bluff. The unhappy fact, reported Professor Ernest D. Engel, a university student-placement adviser, is that "companies are not competing for the graduates." Guest Speaker George Corn-stock, Seattle neon-sign manufacturer, agreed. "Business conditions," said he, "are still at a high level." But industries "are tightening up . . . weeding out the misfits and incompetents . . . Job opportunities are still here, but you'll have to beat the bushes more efficiently and thoroughly than last year's graduates." Thereupon, he took up the problem of just what the efficient bushbeater should do.

For one thing, said Comstock, "learn something about the business you apply to for a job. Know what job to ask for. Don't tell an employer you'll 'do anything' . . . Don't brag and don't bluff. Any successful businessman can spot bragging or bluffing easily. He's been doing it himself all his life."

Ray Eckmann, onetime University of Washington football star ('21), who has become a prosperous Seattle haberdasher, gave some pointers on dress. "Don't apply for a job in a sports jacket, sweater, T-shirt, or without a tie . . . Don't hit your prospective boss in the eye with a loud tie, or you'll distract his attention from what you are saying." The minimum wardrobe for a job holder: three medium-priced suits (never worn twice in succession), two pairs of shoes--and a hat. "College graduates frequently don't realize the importance of wearing hats'," said Haberdasher Eckmann, following the hatmakers' party line. "A hat is a mark of maturity."

And Don't Mumble. The Management Club had still more do's & don'ts to offer. It had written them up in a booklet (How to Sell Yourself), which gave everything from a handy list of Seattle industries to how to write an application letter. But most important, said the booklet, "You stand or fall at the interview." Anything from "radical ideas" to a "limp, fishy handshake," could ruin a job hunter's chances. Things not to do during an interview: "Don't interrupt, don't beg, don't be breezy, don't talk too much, don't mumble, don't giggle, don't argue." Furthermore, warned the booklet, "don't be a finger fidgeter, a hand washer, a clothing adjuster, a tapper, twister, nose puller, whisker feeler, or an Adam's apple adjuster."

The first edition of How to Sell Yourself, a modest 300 copies, gave out in 15 minutes. The Management Club rushed a second printing. As for the seminar, the University of Washington decided to present it again before June.

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