Top 10 Cities for New Grads

Graduation is Friday for Auburn University students. I wonder how many know where they are headed. For those who don't know...here is an excerpt from a CareerRookie article.

According to Apartments.com and CBcampus.com, the top 10 cities for new grads are:

1. Atlanta
Average rent: *$723
Popular entry-level categories: **sales, marketing, customer service

2. Phoenix
Average rent: $669
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, training

3. Denver
Average rent: $779
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, health care

4. Dallas
Average rent: $740
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, health care

5. Boston
Average rent: $1275
Popular entry-level categories: sales, marketing, training

6. Philadelphia
Average rent: $938
Popular entry-level categories: sales, marketing, health care

7. New York
Average rent: $1,366
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, marketing

8. Cincinnati
Average rent: $613
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, management

9. Baltimore
Average rent: $1,041
Popular entry-level categories: sales, customer service, management

10. Los Angeles
Average rent: $1319
Popular entry-level categories: sales, training, health care

Looking beyond your hometown
If you are considering expanding your job search to other cities, Lippe offers these tips:

• Be flexible and open-minded about locations and jobs you might not have considered previously. Even if you don't end up in your dream job, you can earn valuable transferable skills that you can take with you to your next job.
• Contact an alumnus from your college who lives in that city and join your alumni chapter if there is one.
• Get an insider's perspective by familiarizing yourself with the local media and other resources. Read up on the city's business and community news.
• Develop a list of companies within the area and learn about their businesses and company cultures.
• Register with a national recruitment agency; interview with a recruiter in your local office and have that person put the word out to other offices in your target cities.
• Consider spending a few days in your desired city to learn more, network and set up informational interviews. In your applications and cover letters, tell hiring managers the dates you'll be in the city and available to interview.

Despite a troubled job market, Ripple says she wouldn't have majored in studies that might have brought her more job prospects. "I genuinely enjoy and have a passion for International Business and Marketing and I would have majored in it no matter what. Had I known the economy would have been like this perhaps I would have made plans to immediately get my MBA afterward or had plans in place to move right away."

*Average rent of one bedroom apartment

**Using search term "entry level" in that city