A number of firms that have recruited graduating Binghamton University seniors have changed the terms of their new employees’ contracts, officials and recruits said.
According to Jillian Kroll, director of placement for the School of Management, different firms needed to alter their original job offers to graduating students as a result of the current economic situation.
Recently, PricewaterhouseCoopers informed their college recruits that they would be cutting their starting salaries by varying amounts. Two students, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were told about the pay changes over a conference call.
According to Kroll, companies like PwC are making these changes in an effort to save jobs. However, Kroll said she was unable to comment on specific companies or their recruiting policies.
“They don’t want to rescind offers,” she said.
One of the students said PwC pledged they would not take away anyone’s job offer and that they did not currently plan to lay off anyone else within the company.
According to another SOM student, Protiviti, a global consulting and internal audit firm, has pushed the starting dates of SOM graduates back a full year, from fall 2009 to fall 2010.
Protiviti recruiters were unable to comment by the time of publication.
Though both PwC recruits admitted they were initially disappointed with the pay reduction, they both said they were happy that the company pledged not to cut any jobs.
“There were no other changes besides that [pay cut],” one of the students said. The student said he is still scheduled to get his signing bonus.
According to one of the PwC recruits, the company said starting salaries were being cut because no current employees were getting raises.
However, according to both students, the company pledged to give the difference to new employees in the form of bonuses. One of the students, whose salary is being cut by about $4,000, said he was told he would get the sum in two bonuses, given out after the first 30 days and six months of employment, respectively.
“I think this is so that starting in September 2010, our base salary is lower,” one of the students said. “Thus, they give us raises on the lower base salary.”
In times of uncertainty, Kroll emphasized that job seekers should remain positive.
“We all know it’s a hard time,” she said. “But if all we focus on is the negative, then I think it will overwhelm all of us.”
Kroll said she thought current job seekers will have a much easier time finding jobs once the economy recovers because of the extra job hunting skills they’re developing during the tougher market.
According to Kroll, students are also beginning to take an interest in internships and job searches much earlier than they previously have. She said she’s seen more freshman than usual come into SOM advising this year for resume critiques and job help.
The relationship between recruiters and the University has also changed this year, Kroll said.
“The goal for us right now is to make sure we stay connected to these firms,” she said. “[That we] stay on their radar so that when the economy recovers, they’ll come to us.”
Kroll urged students looking for full-time employment and internships not to feel dejected.
“There are jobs and there are intern positions [out there],” Kroll said. “They might not be your dream job, but that’s OK.”