Hiring of this year’s college graduates is expected to increase 13 percent from last year, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Sylvia Robinson, executive director of the MBNA Career Education Center, said that she has noticed this trend among employers recruiting on Georgetown’s campus, who she said have increased their hiring goals for the next year.

“Those same employers are putting more pressure on students to make decisions about second interviews and job offers more quickly than we have seen in the past several years,” she said. The Career Center’s 2003 senior survey shows an increase of 14 percent since 2002 in the number of graduates who were employed or were applying to graduate school within six months of graduation.

Due to heavy recruitment from investment and accounting firms, those Georgetown seniors who currently have jobs are likely to be working in finance-related positions.

Russell Jame (MSB ’05) said that much of the recruitment he has noticed on campus has been from investment banking and consulting firms.

Robinson agreed, saying that the types of organizations who participate in on-campus recruiting are large firms that can predict their hiring needs well in advance.

“[They] have the financial and human resources to establish and support on-campus recruiting efforts and those who seek to hire undergraduates in fairly large numbers,” she said.

Robinson said these companies are most likely to be financial services firms, retail stores, pharmaceutical companies, marketing and brand management companies, insurance agencies, accounting firms and management consulting firms.

Lori Candee, from the Goldman Sachs Human Capital Management Division, said that Goldman Sachs will increase hiring of full-time and summer analysts by 20 percent this year. According to Candee, Goldman Sachs has an increased focus on recruiting college juniors for summer internships and hiring interns to permanent positions.

In an effort to increase the college applicant pool, she said that recruiters focus on inviting applications from underrepresented applicant groups, such as women, and informing students of opportunities for applicants of a “wide range of academic disciplines.”

“We anticipate steady growth in our need for college talent, and understand that to remain at the forefront of the industry we must continue to hire college graduates . more of our groups hire recent college graduates than MBA graduates or experienced hires,” Candee said.

Jill McCannon, assistant vice president and college relations manager for Chevy Chase Bank, also said that Chevy Chase is “actively looking to hire college students.”

McCannon said that students who are interested in exploring their options should indicate a short, specific period of indecision to companies urging acceptance of job offers in order not to lose the offer.

While there is a “shortage of accounting students,” cCannon said that there is no preference of certain majors in applicants. Rather, recruiters value a “diversified background,” and it is important that applicants are able to “articulate what exactly they want to do” in an interview, rather than focusing on salary.

According to Lauren Rosapep (SFS ’05), most foreign service students who did not decide to take jobs in investment banking or business have chosen to go to law school or other graduate schools.

Rosapep has found that many job listings for non-profit organizations in which she would like to work are for immediate occupation, preventing her from applying before graduation. She said that, although she is suited to work in an internationally oriented sector, “there is generally not much substantive work I could do with just a Bachelor’s degree,” so she plans to go to graduate school eventually.

Despite the increase in the hiring of college graduates, the job search has proven to be a burden for some Georgetown seniors because the availability of jobs tends to vary across majors.

“I haven’t given much thought to whether or not I will get a job since the market is in such need of [registered nurses],” Stephen Lewis (NHS ’05) said, although he said he feels there is pressure to narrow employment options.

The defense industry has also significantly increased job opportunities. Michael Parker (SFS ’05), who is majoring in International Politics with a concentration in Security Studies, said that he has not been concerned with finding employment due to recent government spending on defense.

“I think that my major is probably in highest demand right now,” he said. “With an unstable world and the growth of the defense industry, entry level positions are available in both the private and public sectors.”