College career counselors are intensifying efforts to help students. Ms. Steinfeld’s group is inviting recruiters from smaller employers around New York, soliciting job postings from NYU alumni and scouring newspapers to find companies that are expanding. This week, the career center will hold an information session on “alternatives to Wall Street.”
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the number of companies attending a September career fair fell to 225, from 232 last year. Leslie Kohlberg, director of career services for the College of Letters and Science, is encouraging students to seek individual counseling, visit employers and develop a back-up plan — or two.
“Things have been so good that students were able to rely on even some of the least-effective job search strategies,” like sending résumés via email and searching online career postings, she says. “They can’t really afford to do that now.”