One piece of advice that Blum gives to students is to get started early when it comes to career counseling and job searches. “Students need to be prepared with a resume, interview skills and networking,” she says.

The college career center is still the number one resource for students in terms of finding a job, says Gail Rooney, Director of the Career Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She adds, “The career office will not necessarily find a job for them, but rather teach them the skills and identify resources that can help the student find the employment opportunities and be prepared to pursue.”

If you don’t have a career center on campus, you can use your past internship, volunteer and work experiences to network with employers and organizations that can result in jobs after graduation, says Rooney. And many colleges also have alumni networks and job fairs that students can use as resources.

The Empty Wallet.
Although jobs top the list when it comes to what college seniors fret about before graduation, Blum says a lot of seniors also worry about how to pay off student loans.

Jennifer Sturm, a 23-year-old journalism and American studies major at the University of Iowa, admits she’s concerned that her dollar can stretch only so far.

“Lately I’ve been thinking about paying for bills: student loans… perhaps a new car payment, insurance, as well as everything else in my life,” she says. “Then I think about—what if I get a position before my apartment lease is up and I'm paying double rents until August? How am I going to make all of this stuff work and continue to live?”

Many loan companies give new graduates a six-month grace period before their first loan payment is due, giving you time to get a job and get settled. But what if you can’t find a job? Call your loan company and ask if they’ll let you defer (postpone) payment on the principal balance of your educational loans. According to Sallie Mae, deferments might be granted if you meet certain eligibility requirements, such as economic hardship or unemployment. Got a great job, but a tiny paycheck? Ask your loan company about graduated payment options. These plans allow for smaller payments in the beginning that gradually get larger as, hopefully, your paycheck does.