MAYNARD, Mass., Apr 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — According to the 2010 MonsterCollege Survey from Monster.com(R), the leading job matching engine and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!mww/quotes/nls/mww (MWW 16.91, +0.41, +2.46%) , college graduates are keenly aware of the economic conditions that will be barriers to finding a job, and more (52 versus 40 percent in 2009) have moved back home while working a full time job to alleviate financial pressures. Of the recent college grads who have moved back home, 31 percent of those surveyed expect to stay with their parents longer than one year.

 The annual survey, which polled 1,250 recent college graduates and those expecting to graduate in the next several years, also found that young job seekers are more realistic when it comes to salary expectations. 2010 saw a 13 percent decrease in the number of graduates who believe they would receive a starting salary greater than $36,000 per year, down from 45 percent in 2009 to 32 percent this year. Of the college grads participating in the MonsterCollege Survey, 66 percent say they have graduated with student loans, slightly up from 2009 levels — suggesting more college students are requiring financial aid.

 Expressing determination and some new confidence, 49 percent of college grads polled said they would be willing to settle for a job outside of their chosen field, down from 58 percent in 2009. Future college graduates recognize the importance of gaining workforce experience with many expecting to graduate with at least one internship (81 percent in 2010 versus 77 percent in 2009). To increase their marketability in the current job climate, 36 percent of those surveyed also say they will consider grad school in order to earn a higher degree and delay searching for full time employment.

 Using familial and personal connections to find jobs remains the most popular search method, followed closely by online job matching engines, such as Monster.com.

 – 78 percent of seekers say their personal networks are the most useful for finding jobs compared to 74 percent in 2009.

 – Online job matching engines continue to be useful to the college job seeker.

 – Fewer students expect to spend a significant amount of time (at least nine hours per week) looking for a full time position, 54 percent versus 43 percent in 2009.

 ”2010 College graduates muted expectations for jobs mirror the challenging conditions for entry level college graduate jobs. While the economy is brighter, college graduates must be persistent and willing to do everything they can to land their first job out of college,” said Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer, Monster Worldwide. “Recent economic data gives us hope that 2011 college graduates will have a much better job market to start their careers.”

 State of College Recruitment

 In addition to the students polled by the 2010 MonsterCollege Survey, over 200 companies who hire college graduates for entry level positions were also surveyed. The less than favorable sentiment among graduates looking for a job reflects current employers who are still very guarded about their college oriented hiring plans.

 – On-campus college recruiting has become less important than in previous years, with 70 percent of companies surveyed reporting that on-campus recruiting is somewhat important to not important at all, compared to 48 percent in 2009.

 – The internet dominates recruiting techniques with 91 percent of companies polled using the internet for recruitment, up from 87 percent last year.

Social media has shown the largest increase in popular ways that new graduates are searching for positions. Thirty-eight percent indicated they found social networking sites somewhat or very useful in their job search; this is more than twice as many (15 percent) that cited social media as a useful job search tool in 2009. College job seekers are also tailoring their social networking profiles in order to make themselves more desirable candidates in the job market; 55 percent tailored their profiles in 2010, versus 49 percent in 2009. For an in-depth look at the 2010 MonsterCollege Annual Entry Level Job Outlook Survey, visit: http://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/workforce-management/emerging-workforce/2010-college-hiring-trends.aspx.

 Survey Methodology

 Monster interviewed 1,250 respondents to an online survey between February 25 and March 15, 2010. Respondents included 515 college graduates, 115 who have a full time job and 402 who are involved in various stages of a job search. In addition, Monster interviewed 738 college students who expect to graduate in the next several years.

 The demographic breakdown included 33 percent male and 66 percent female, with 70 percent from a public institution and 30 percent from a private institution.

 In addition, Monster interviewed 222 companies in an online survey between February 25 and March 12, 2010. These companies fell into a wide spectrum of industries, diverse U.S. geographic locations and company size in terms of employees.