FRIDAY,MARCH 14,2003
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 5A
Preparedness key to finding jobs in tight market
Good résumés, clear skills, research on employers help job hunters stand out to prospective employers
By Kevin Wiggs
kwiggs@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Naomi Pennington isn't worried about finding a job. The Topeka senior wants to find a career with an organization outside of government but for now is happy to be living the student life.
"I'll probably have to get a pud job, and I'll still be broke," she said. "But I'm not too worried."
It'll work out."
With the economy down and the nation on the brink of war, seniors graduating soon may find it difficult to find the job they've dreamed of — or any job, for that matter.
Gail Rooney, director of University Career and Employment Services, said employers were cautious.
"The job market is tight right now," she said. "Employers aren't sure about the economy and with
the global tensions we are experiencing no one is going to make a lot of hires."
But there is hope for graduating seniors.
Rooney said that didn't mean there weren't any jobs available, there just isn't an abundance. She said students could expect a three- to six-month search.
"We tell job seekers that those who are best prepared for the job search will get the jobs," she said.
Students who want to be prepared should have good résumés, be able to articulate their skills and desires and do research on their anticipated employers. Rooney also said the best sources of jobs could come from nearby.
"The best contacts are the friends of your parents and parents of friends," she said.
If someone is having difficulty finding something in their field, Rooney suggests looking in an industry that will hire no matter what the economy is like.
"The food industry is somewhat recession-proof — people have got to eat," she said. "Jobs in
accounting, sales, education and medical are all consistent suppliers."
Rooney warns against selecting a major depending on what jobs will be available. She said people should choose majors based on what they care about and get a varied background.
For those who need help, the University Career and Employment Center offers free assistance with résumés, mock interviews, targeting employers and other search strategies.
They also offer the KU Career Connections for $40. After the fee is paid, the student's résumé is
entered into the system and he gains access to online job postings and offers for campus interviews.
For sophomores and juniors, Rooney said starting early with internships was a must.
"Sixty percent of students looking for jobs have had internships," she said. "So if you haven't had one, you are at a disadvantage."
For more information about University Career and Employment Services call 864-3624 or visit www.ukans.edu/~uces.
Mark Dupree, Kansas City, Kan., junior and Black Student Union president, says one of his goals as the group's leader is to recruit more African Americans to the University of Kansas. Dupree grew up in Wyandotte County, the poorest county in Kansas, and he said he hoped his story of overcoming economic and social barriers could help others.
AndvSamuelson/Kansan
BSU president says upbringing made him prove himself
Edited by Brandon Gay
By Henry C. Jackson
cjackson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
On the radio this week, listeners might have heard the voice of Mark Dupree promoting a trip by University of Kansas recruiters to Wvandotte County.
Lending his voice to an advertisement for the trip has a special meaning for Dupree: He grew up in Wyandotte County.
A junior at KU, Dupree's story is one of overcoming economic and social barriers on his path to leadership roles in the University and the Big 12.
In addition to being KU's Black Student Union president, Dupree is also the president of the Big 12's Council on Black Student Government.
"One view these ads are putting out there is that if I can do it, you can, too." Dupree said.
Dupree said he hoped his story could help others in Wyandotte.
Hometown Kid
Wyandotte County, where Dupree grew up, is about 40 miles away from Lawrence. It may as well be on another planet.
Wyandotte is Kansas' poorest county.
"It's a well-rounded place." Dupree said about his hometown. "But it's a totally different place than Lawrence."
Though there are pockets of wealth, the majority of the population falls into either lower-middle class or lower class income levels.
share of struggles while he was growing up.
"My family has been through some rocky roads in life, from being middle class to lower class, to being below," Dupree said. "But not once did I ever go without a meal; not once did I ever have to sleep outside."
Dupree's father, Alvin Dupree, a pastor at a local church, provided an example to Mark growing up.
"He would always tell me "Take care of your family," Mark Dupree said. "I don't care if you have to go without."
There were times, Mark Dupree said, when his father would ride his bicycle to work to ensure his family was provided for.
Dupree still goes home every weekend to attend church and spend time with his family. And he takes a special pride in his hometown of Kansas City, Kan., in Wyandotte County.
"Wyandotte is the realization of life," Dupree said.
'Urban, Hard and Psychologically Challenging'
Inner-city high schools can be a far cry from their suburban and rural counterparts.
At Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kan., where Dupree attended, a "prove yourself" culture prevailed.
That mentality provided an atmosphere Dupree described as "urban, hard and psychologically challenging."
At Wyandotte, Dupree's fellow students did not always look kindly upon success.
"I was a smart guy, but you've got to prove yourself," Dupree
said. "Sometimes I had to get into a fight, and sometimes you had to let people know you're not a doormat."
Though Dupree was involved in sports and other student organizations, he said his faith in God was the biggest aid through high school.
"Mark saw the Lord when he was real young," his father said. "He's an old man in a young man's body."
School was not always easy for Dupree.
"He started out having hard time with school," said Linda Dupree, Mark's mother. "He
struggled especially with reading and grammar, but he never quit."
Though a few of his seven brothers and sisters have attended college, Mark was the first Dupree child to leave high school straight for a four-year university when he left Wyandotte High School for the University.
"It was a big deal,it sure was," Linda Dupree said."Mark started out having such a hard time with school.
"For him to graduate and go straight to college was tremendous."
'Shocking'
Coming to the University Dupree said his first thought was that the entire atmosphere had changed.
Dupree's interaction with white people, which had been limited before coming to the University, had increased exponentially.
"For the first time I was living with white people," Dupree said. "Going to sleep seeing about 100 of them and then waking up and seeing about 24,000, it can be shocked."
In an effort to quell some of the shock, Dupree became involved in the Black Student Union shortly after his arrival in Lawrence.
After increasing his activity in the club during his first two years at the University, Dupree was voted president of the club at the end of last year.
In his role as a leader, Dupree said he set high standards for himself and fellow African Americans
Often times being successful takes more than one person's efforts, he said.
"You've got to pull and push." Dupree said. "Push those that are above me and the ones that I can pull behind me or aside me, pull them on up."
Along with his role in BSU, Dupree said becoming familiar with the Office of Multicultural Affairs had helped him succeed at the University.
"I think the most important thing I've learned since coming to KU is that Robert Page is the most dedicated man on this campus for helping students," Dupree said of the Office of Multicultural Affairs' director.
"You've got to pull and push. Push those that are above me and the ones that I can pull behind me or aside me, pull them on up."
Mark Dupree
Black Student Union president and Kansas City, Kan., junior
Page and the Office of Multicultural Affairs offered Dupree an opportunity to get involved and, Dupree said, teach him a valuable lesson.
"It shows the importance of passion in advocacy," he said. "Quite honestly if people didn't have care in the ones they help, I wouldn't be here."
Though Dupree cites his father as his biggest influence, he said, Page was not far behind.
Dupree said the influences of Page and his parents, along with the grace of God, have allowed him to become a successful leader on campus.
Recently Dupree was named as the president of the Big 12 Council on Black Student Government, a role he said was both exciting and humbling. He will serve in his new role until February of next year.
Dupree said though he would recommend the University to his brothers and sisters, the University could do more to increase enrollment of African-Americans.
"We need to go out and get them," he said. "Go out and snatch every last one of them."
— Edited by Michelle Burhenn