CollegeGrad.com Names Top 25 Cities for Entry Level Job Seekers

Top 25 Cities Account For 40,000 Entry Level Positions for College Grads

MILWAUKEE, WI--(HR Marketer)--July 8, 2008--In the midst of the summer job search, CollegeGrad.com, the #1 Entry Level Job Site, releases its listing of the Top 25 cities for entry level job openings. While summer may not be the peak of the college recruiting season, the Top 25 Cities for July, 2008, together boast 40,000 entry level job openings across 16 states. The list is available at www.CollegeGrad.com/topcities and includes links to thousands of job postings for each city.

For the third year in a row, New York tops the list of cities with the most entry level job openings. Also the largest city on the list, entry level openings in New York account for more than 3,600 jobs. Houston ranked number two with 2,500 entry level openings. This is the highest finish Houston has seen in three years, and accounts for six percent of all openings among the Top 25 cities.

Why the boost? According to Steven Jungman, Houston based Director of Recruiting with Chase Source, LP, the City of Houston offers "summers that begin in April and end in October, competition in nearly every career path and a million other reasons why the entry level job market continues to grow." Sound rosy? Jungman also cautions that those considering relocating to Houston be prepared for high humidity and extended rush hour periods.

Other cities on the list include Los Angeles at number three with more than 2,400 openings, and Boston at number four, finishing just behind Los Angeles and launching into the Top 5 Cities for the first time. Philadelphia rounded out the Top 5 with 2,100 entry level job openings, bringing the grand total of the top 5 cities to 13,100.

Employers remind entry level job seekers to take note of cities with booming job markets and remain open to relocating to those areas. "The willingness to relocate shows a potential employer that you are a flexible and dedicated employee who has the maturity to manage and embrace change," said Leslie Chappell, Director of University Relations for Lockheed Martin.

Dan Black, Director of Americas Campus Recruiting for Ernst Young, recommends that job seekers specifically consider industry hubs such as New York for Accounting or Silicon Valley for Technology.

Good news for employers, entry level job seekers are answering that call. A recent CollegeGrad.com poll found that 85% of entry level job seekers would be open to relocating across the state, across the nation, or even internationally.

However, since companies rarely pay relocation costs for entry level positions, Black also cautions candidates to be sure they want to move, and if they are, to let the recruiter know. "There is a perceived flight risk for those who may be moving for the first time or like the idea of moving to a big city," said Black. "The onus is on the candidate to make it emphatically clear 'this is where I want my career.'"

Before taking the leap, CollegeGrad.com advises fully researching all the factors involved in relocating, including cost of living, local taxes, traffic, climate, population density, city culture and specific company cultures.

To help in determining the cost of living and salaries for different cities, CollegeGrad.com offers an online Cost-of-Living Wizard tool. The tool is available at: www.CollegeGrad.com/salaries.

The Top 25 Entry Level Cities list was generated based on the number of entry level jobs currently posted at CollegeGrad.com.

About CollegeGrad.com:
CollegeGrad.com is the #1 entry level job site on the Internet and is the leader in the field of entry level job search. CollegeGrad.com regularly conducts surveys and polls on topics related to entry level job search, and has been listing the Top 25 Entry Level Cities quarterly since 2006.

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