The turbulent 2009 economy has not deterred college students and recent grads from pursuing their goals. In its fifth year running, the results of our annual Placement Survey shed light on some of the employment trends surrounding the Class of ‘09 and their plans for the real world.

More than 630 Gen Y’ers completed the 2009 Placement Survey (dubbed “Share Your Success with Experience”) between the beginning of June and the end of September, and 63% of respondents said “yes” when asked if they were on their intended career path. At nearly two-thirds in the middle of a recession, that’s good news.

So what about the other 37%? Some just had change of heart and others (16%) modified their career paths due to the economy. Forty-three percent of students chose jobs because it was their field of interest and other reasons that followed were advancement opportunities (12%), company culture (9%) and lack of other offers (12%).

What made certain young grads stay on their original tracks and others switch? Obviously, the economy is a major factor—even though we’re finally seeing the light as the recession lifts, students are still moving away from fields such as Finance, which is down when compared to the results of our 2008 Placement Survey. Interestingly, industries like Accounting have seen an uptick in hires. Also in the same vein as last year’s survey, Education was one of the top industries young grads are gravitating toward with 8% of the total respondent base.

We all know that internships help the next generation workforce get experience and exposure to help them decide which career path to pursue. Interestingly, in 2009, roughly two out of five grads (42%) told us they never held an internship during school. On the flip side, nearly three out of five (58%) held at least one internship and, in some cases, more than that. Of those who held internships during school, close to half (44%) landed a job in their desired field.

Now more than ever, there is a direct correlation between students who take on internships and receive jobs and those who don’t. Bringing on interns for full time entry level employment is a great way to fill your pipeline with the right kind of talent in the most cost effective manner. If you hired an intern (paid or unpaid) and they ultimately applied for a full-time position within your company, odds are you’d lean towards your intern vs. other candidates.

One last thing to keep top of mind as you are looking for entry-level employees is that those students who will be graduating in 2010 are looking for positions NOW.  Top candidates are not waiting to get themselves set up for life after college. Follow their lead: promote your internship programs and entry-level openings to help position your company in the right place in the Gen Y world.

To get more insight, check out our Gen Y Insights whitepaper – Internships Becoming a Very Effective Sourcing Strategy – for tips on how to use internships to bring on the best new hires possible.

When I was a kid, when someone was telling me something I didn’t want to hear, I used to cover my ears and sing the theme to The Flintstones. These days, with the economy in the state that it’s in, the tunes from my childhood are resonating in my head – a wish perhaps to block the headlines we’ve all become accustomed to hearing over the past half year.

Millennials, on the other hand, while realistic about the current financial landscape and how it impacts their careers, are not covering their ears. Experience’s latest survey is telling us Gen Y is adapting to changing workplace situations by bucking conventional wisdom and doing what it takes to stay ahead - and remain positive - with their career prospects.

Last month, nearly 1,650 college students and young professionals took our 2009 Economic Impact Survey. We measured the impact of the US and global economies on Gen Y’s attitudes towards higher education and career paths. In the face of economic recession, many millennials told us they feel bullish about the overall job market: half (50%) say their employment or job prospects are positive. When you compare this stat with general population polls, like the latest NBC-Wall Street Journal survey which covered the economy in part, the confidence level of young adults significantly outpaces Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers. And in a related light, 37% of students and alumni say their college education will be even more valuable now and in the years ahead given market conditions.

Gen Y’ers are also shifting their expectations — and our common perceptions — about how they will tackle the workday in order to keep their jobs. Respondents told us that they’re prepared to work more hours to improve job security (33%) and take on more projects or help colleagues with their work (30%). Another big shift: two-thirds (67%) of young talent are more likely to stay in their current job. Though that now may be a given, it’s quite a departure from the 70% job hopping contingent I discussed last year in A Look at Life After Graduation.

Employers seeking entry-level talent want to get everything they can out of Gen Y, especially in tough times. At the same time, while doing what they’ll need to do to stay employed, young adults are concerned about career development: more than a third (35%) of respondents expect fewer professional development opportunities. To better attract millennials and to reduce attrition, managers should emphasize training programs and help Gen Y carve clear career paths within their organizations.

On a related note, last month we unveiled our 2009 Gen Y Trends report and video which detail what organizations can do to better connect with millennials in today’s climate, including leveraging Web 2.0, providing agile feedback and  building loyalty. Check it out at http://genytrends.experience.com.

For the fourth year in a row, Experience took the pulse of Gen Y as they set out to find their first jobs after graduating from college. Our 2008 Job Placement Survey, which ran this past summer from mid May through September, polled close to 650 young professionals about the jobs they landed after graduation. We covered everything from job functions to industries and from salary range to reasons for taking the job in the first place. Given our current economic climate, and especially considering a related independent study also released recently, we’ve found some pretty interesting things.

Looking at the outcomes of job offers extended so far in 2008, we found that the top 10 industries that placed candidates – seen above with relative percentages – represented nearly 60 percent of all industries. With some slight adjustments, three of this year’s top five hiring industries (Education, Finance/Banking and Accounting) were also in the top five in our 2007 Job Placement Survey. In 2008, we’ve seen an increase in placement in the Technology and Healthcare verticals, as well as jobs at Non-Profits and in Government.

When it comes to the roles that they play, new hires in 2008 topped the job functions list with Engineering at close to 9 percent. Following were Teaching/Education (8.3 percent), Accounting/Auditing (6 percent), Finance (5.9 percent) and Sales (5.2 percent). Analysts also appeared in the top 10, as did marketers, researchers, consultants and administrative staffers. Compared to last year, 2008’s job functions signal a pretty drastic change, as the top two functions – engineering and accounting – each dropped in half, from 18.8 percent and 12 percent respectively.

So what does all of this tell us? Well, let me put it to you this way: of the 650 Gen Y’ers polled, nearly a fifth of them took jobs in education. A good number 20-somethings are teachers or hold related job roles in education. While it’s pretty much a given that finance/banking jobs no longer rule the sphere, our respondents’ job placements have validated macroeconomic trends – and as a result, they’ve actively pursued jobs outside the finance and accounting industries and are looking into other sectors.

As I mentioned in my Job Function Search Spectrum post from a few weeks back, employers in 2008 (and for the foreseeable future) should consider positioning their companies and their entry-level opportunities to a larger, more diverse Gen Y audience.

The numbers don’t lie. Finance and banking opportunities for young talent are dwindling, and the market is only getting tighter for young grads. Though employers are most definitely feeling the pinch all around, the glut of entry-level workers represents tremendous opportunity to move beyond industry lines and hire the best candidates possible for their job functions. And in this competitive landscape, job seekers must consider branching out as well.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably caught the hint that the young vote is going to play a major role in the presidential election. Case in point: according to “An informed Gen Y may decide this election” from the Denver Post, youth turnout increased drastically in almost every state holding a primary or caucus on Super Tuesday – doubling, tripling and even quadrupling the turnouts in 2004. The paper argues young voters will have an even greater impact in the general election, because attempts to ‘get out the youth vote’ have finally been coupled with a real effort to ‘inform young voters.’

Between the economy, two wars, an energy crisis, global climate change and everything else we’ve become accustomed to hearing about over the past umpteen months, there’s a lot at stake for the millions of college students and young professionals who will be voting for the first time. Entry-level job creation, a key concern for college educated Gen Y’ers, will likely play a pivotal role at the polls – even if it doesn’t cut through the noise like the other headline-grabbing issues.

Yesterday Experience announced the results of our 2008 Jobs and Economics Survey, and with more than 12,900 respondents (from our opted-in student and alumni candidate base) it’s safe to say Gen Y voters are ‘engaged’ with this historic election. Of the 85 percent who said they’d be voting on November 4th, we found that…

• 80% of respondents said entry-level job creation will play a factor in how they’ll cast their votes
• 76% indicated midsize to large business stimulation was a voting concern
• 69% reported entrepreneurial activity was an influencer as well
• 60% have seen a decrease in employer activity in 2008 – including targeted job postings and on-campus recruiting

Gen Y also cited economic stimulation (58 percent), the energy crisis (50 percent), foreign policy and healthcare reform (39 percent each), education reform (37 percent) and unemployment (35 percent) as the most important issues for the next administration.

With a sharp focus on jobs and the economy, students and young professionals have concerns that mirror those of society at large. Social issues, while still important, are no longer top of mind like they once were. And that’s an easy explanation: young voters, like all voters, are not sheltered from the economic storm that’s significantly affecting just about everything nowadays. Employers seeking Gen Y talent in today’s business climate need to not just keep these concerns in mind, but consider reinforcing ‘stability’ in their messaging when at all possible.

And in case you’re curious: we gave our respondents the option to tell us which way they were leaning politically. Of those who opted to ‘vote’ (nearly 11,000 young voters), 62 percent said they would back Barack Obama and 21 percent said they would go for John McCain. The rest were either undecided (9 percent), voting for a third party candidate (2 percent) or simply chose not to say (6 percent).