Job search tough for graduates

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Along with the excitement of wrapping up four long years comes the responsibility of the real world and finding a job.

When you combine these graduates with the number of folks unemployed, underemployed or just discouraged, their chances of finding a job now are the same as getting into Harvard.

Indiana State University senior Bobby Tichy has been on the job hunt since August.

"Making sure I'm applying for x-number of jobs each day," Tichy said. "I think the biggest thing is making sure you separate yourself from everybody else."

Competition is tough for graduates, both nationwide with unemployment at 10.2 percent and at home with layoffs across the Wabash Valley.

"I'm going to graduate with probably 3,000 of my peers," Tichy said. "Instead of hiring 10 people, they're only hiring two. So you need to be in that top tier."

The most recent unemployment rate for Indiana is 9.8 percent, up from 6.4 percent in October 2008.

In Illinois, unemployment has jumped to 11 percent, up from 6.8 percent in October 2008.