First Stage: Recent Grads Find Market Tough

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 8/16/2004

In an entry-level job market that is always tight, the tradeshow industry appears to hold the door a little less than halfway open for new college graduates looking for their first chance.

An unemployment rate that stubbornly continues to be low and the emerging inventory of skilled workers in what is becoming a global low-wage market are leading those graduates who do land their first jobs in the tradeshow business to count their blessings.

Curtis Love, associate professor of tourism and convention administration at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, said his tradeshow classes almost always reach maximum capacity, and he sees increasingly high interest in the field among students. Still, he is often disappointed by what he hears from those searching for jobs.

"Most of the students who are interested in tradeshows can't find a place to work," he said.

Love said about 5 percent of his recent graduates find their first jobs in the tradeshow field. "This is really unfortunate because students get frustrated and dejected, and we lose them to the hotels or other employers," he added.

As in many industries, an internship at a major company and networking through the industry's associations are always advantages, but they don't assure future opportunities.

The rub is that although some companies, like VNU Expositions, have comprehensive internship programs, when they look for people to fill entry-level positions they typically pick those with three to four years of experience under their belts, not those fresh out of the dorms.

Amy Holtz, VNU's director of human resources, said she has received about 550 resumes for the 20 openings at the company over the past six months. Those kinds of odds allow her to raise the bar quite high, and often leave new graduates out of the running.

"We are looking for greater efficiency and productivity and are, therefore, looking to hire people with more years of experience," she said.

It's a situation that the new grads' former teachers find discouraging. "I don't think the industry realizes the amount of experience our students get, working so many shows that come here," said Patti Shock, chair of UNLV's tourism and convention administration department. "Many have the mindset that you can't learn the industry out of a book, so we haven't achieved the level of credibility we need yet."

Some disheartening research was presented in an April survey by MonsterTRAK, a division of online job-hunting site Monster.com. According to the survey, 51 percent of 2004 graduates weren't expecting any job offers when they graduated. Nevertheless, the study also revealed that 73 percent of employers planned to hire entry-level workers before the end of the year.

J.D. Rose, CEO of show management firm Dynamic Sales Concepts, has been scouring resumes for his open tradeshow-related positions. Rose said he would consider a new graduate if he or she "has a lot of potential talent, even if they're green. I certainly would consider giving them a shot," he said.

Dan Cutrone, customer and media relations manager for Canon Communications, said his company is always on the lookout for recent college graduates. "Some of our star performers started in the past five years in entry-level positions," Cutrone said.

Still, the overall supply of available applicants is a long way from catching up with the sluggish demand in the exhibition industry.

Love said he is optimistic that spreading the word about young adults' excitement for the tradeshow industry will enrich the market. "I hope it rattles some cages," he said.