Worcester Business Journal

20 Worcester Business Journal • May 25, 2015 www.wbjournal.com Fancypants Bakery, a maker of specialized cookies, needed financing to meet explosive demand. Our $327,000 loan enabled the bakery to move into a building with 15,000 square feet of extra space, hire staff, and buy new equipment. With a projected growth of $3.5 million over five years, sales are really cooking. For more information, call 800.445.8030 or visit MassDevelopment.com. Way to grow. A team of smart cookies, a bakery ready to grow. PROVIDING CAPITAL Fancypants Bakery Walpole KHJ21283_MAS113_Capital_Fancy_6.5x6_mech.indd 1 5/12/15 6:09 AM New college grads head off into a more robust job market N ow that colleges have bid adieu to their latest crops of graduating seniors, the job market the grads face is the best in years, experts say. The recession that hit when most of the class of 2015 was in high school is fading into the history books. Employers across the U.S. said they expected to hire 9.6 percent more new grads than in 2014, according to a survey this spring by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Optimism is especially strong here in the Northeast, where 18.1 percent of employers last fall — a busy recruiting season on campuses — said they expected to ramp up hiring of this year's graduates. Also, about two-thirds of respondents to NACE's survey said they planned to increase starting salaries for hires fresh out of college. That's up from 59.1 percent last year, which was more than twice the 29.2 percent who said in 2010 they would bump up starting salaries. Also, more than half of employers said they planned to offer signing bonuses to 2015 grads. It's part of an improving economic climate in the "real world," which many say is looking good for those who have just left campus to take their place in it. "We're definitely seeing the effects" of the improving economy," said Nikki DiOrio, director of Assumption College's Career Development and Internship Center. "Employers are reaching out to us." Many of the Worcester liberal arts college's graduates — 29 percent last year — move on to graduate school right away. Others, meanwhile, were writing cover letters and resumes, interviewing, sharpening their skills, calming their nerves and otherwise seeking job offers before they graduated May 16. In February, an Assumption career and internship fair was attended by some 60 local employers, DiOrio said. In 2014, there were 35. Last month, the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce held its first Career Fair at Worcester Regional Airport, and it was also well attended by employers and job-seekers. One local hirer that for several years has been "very actively recruiting" college grads is The Hanover Insurance Group, according to Christine Bilotti- Peterson, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at the Worcester-headquartered company. Hanover is fortunate in that Central Massachusetts' colleges and universities "offer a well-educated talent pipeline," she said in an email. Firm handshake, soft skills But though statistics say it's easier to land a job now that in recent years, it's never easy for the students. Their sense of By CAROL McDONALD Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer A Fact of Business Life in Central Massachusetts For advertising information contact: Mark Murray, Associate Publisher 508.755.8004 x227 mbmurray@wbjournal.com don't measure up. The others www.wbjournal.com

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