E. Jason Wambsgans / McClatchy Tribune

The Class of 2009 may be cursing the economy, but they can̢۪t let it distract them from their job search.

Suzanne Block isn̢۪t basking in the insulating embrace of college as she waits the eight weeks until her May 9 graduation from Lake Forest College.

When she̢۪s not in class or studying, she̢۪s scanning online job sites, sending out resumes and cold-calling potential employers, anything that might get the frustrated 21year-old a job.

“Damn me for being born in ‘87,â€Â said the English and communications major. “This is just a nightmare. There could not be a worse time to be looking for a job.â€Â

After college seniors enjoy their last spring break this month, they̢۪ll return to campus for the final weeks of academia before they enter a recession-weary real world with an 8.1 percent unemployment rate. The first job search is always daunting but particularly so for the estimated 1.5 million-strong Class of 2009.

In August, employers surveyed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers said they planned to increase hiring of college graduates by 6 percent over last year. By October, the revised projection was a 1.3 percent increase in hiring. Then the hiring expectations were flat. Last month̢۪s updated survey showed a staggering change of heart, with employers reporting they planned to hire nearly 22 percent fewer college graduates than they did from the Class of 2008.

Some seniors do have jobs waiting for them; others accepted offers in the fall, only to have them rescinded. Some are hoping to wait out the recession by heading to graduate school _ a questionable strategy if it̢۪s not for the right reasons _ or are looking at service programs that are inundated with applications. And others are career guidance office regulars looking for assistance.

However, there are worries on college campuses that many seniors either are throwing up their arms and giving up or are so focused on their last semester and confident in their abilities they wrongly figure they̢۪ll easily land a job after graduation.

“The marketplace is going to continue to get worse,â€Â said Phil Gardner, director of Michigan State University’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute. “You have to be resilient. It’s not all going to work out the way you want it to. You’re going to be underemployed and not valued as much as you think. But you want to position yourself and keep your sights on where you want to go.â€Â

In other words, don̢۪t let a bad economy distract you from a good job search that needs to start now. The workplace may not need as many college graduates as it once did, but the need for the qualities they bring remains, career counselors say.

“There’s something great about a fresh college graduate,â€Â said Gillian Steele, managing director of DePaul University’s career center. “They’re up to date with the latest stuff, they’re full of energy. They come moldable and they come with a more reasonable cost as well.â€Â

And despite the headlines, there are jobs to be filled.

“There’s a mind-set that there aren’t jobs,â€Â said Lois Meerdink, director of business career services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “There are, but there are fewer positions, so (students) have to work much harder and outwork their competition.â€Â Here’s how:

Use the services of college career centers, which continue to hear from employers that want to visit campus to meet students regardless of whether they have immediate job openings. Career offices also are adding programs to help students deal with today̢۪s economic realities.

For instance, DePaul for the first time is putting on a special career fair after graduation for non-traditional employers, service organizations and temporary help firms.

̢ۢ Broaden your search parameters. Look beyond the big firms to smaller employers. Look at other industries where your knowledge base could be applied. Expand your search geographically and realize that while it may be your dream to work in the Loop and live near Wrigley Field, that dream may have to be placed on the back burner for a few years.

̢ۢ Take every opportunity to make a connection, whether it̢۪s by meeting the parents of a friend or by doing an information interview with a company that you̢۪re interested in but has no openings.

̢ۢ Consider service organizations as a way to develop skills and expand your network of potential contacts. But be aware the paying jobs can be just as tough to get as those with a traditional employer.

Applications for the Peace Corps are up 16 percent this year, compared with 2008. Meanwhile, Teach for America, a program that places teachers in inner-city schools for two years, has received a record 35,000-plus applications, a 42 percent gain over last year. Last year, of the then-record 25,000 applications, 3,700 received teaching positions.

̢ۢ Be ready to move to Plan B: doing something else. Experts say the worst strategy is to try to wait out the recession, because that shows a lack of energy and interest in your career.

This may be, career counselors say, the only time when you can get away with working a minimum-wage job that has little to do with your degree.

Why? Because everyone knows what the economy is like, and managers want to know that graduates are doing something with their time rather than work on their tans or Xbox acumen.

̢ۢ Take responsibility for yourself and realize the skills you̢۪re learning from the job search process itself.

“Our culture of excess created this generation,â€Â said Lindsey Pollak, author of “Getting From College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World.â€Â “You hear the terms ‘entitled’ and ‘coddled.’

The economy is going to slap that out of them pretty quick. If this economy teaches them to be humbled and hardworking, it’s teaching them what their parents and professors can’t.â€Â

By Mary Ellen Podmolik / McClatchy Tribune