Corporate recruiters at the 2008 National Collegiate Sales Competition said they are in a robust hiring swing.
The U.S. economic picture might be bleak, perhaps even in recession, but many Fortune 500 recruiters at Kennesaw State University’s career fair were optimistic — even enthusiastic — about finding talented salespeople for entry-level jobs.
Recruiters from Johnson & Johnson, Liberty Mutual, Assurant, HP, Novartis and Careerbuilder.com, among others, said they were thrilled to have access to such a rich talent pool — business students intent on sales careers. Many firms said they were looking for strong communications skills, drive, initiative, leadership — and persistence, of course.
“In a down economy, you’re going to see more people looking for jobs,” said recruiter Raymond Dinglasan, sales director for Chicago-based Careerbuilder.com, the nation’s largest Internet job site. “Our job market goes up exponentially at a time like this.”
At Kennesaw State, the collegians were “exactly what we’re looking for,” he said. By focusing their studies on sales, they will have to learn less on the job and, therefore, already have “half the job in the bag.”
Base salaries for entry-level sales employees at Careerbuilder.com start at $25,000, but can climb beyond $50,000 with bonuses and commissions, he said.
The National Collegiate Sales Competition, the country’s largest collegiate sales competition, pits top sales students in a test of one-on-one sales call challenges. Students from some 50 schools across the nation participated in the competition — when not being eagerly pursued to sign on with top companies. The NCSC continues on Saturday, with finals beginning at 3 p.m.
In tough economic times, experts and employers say, smart companies keep looking for talent. And they want to make sure there’s talent in the pipeline when times get better.
“If your sales or revenues are decreasing, you don’t want to fire the people who are bringing in revenues,” said Terry Loe, director of the Center for Professional Selling at Kennesaw State’s Michael J. Coles College of Business. Loe, who also directed this year’s sales competition, said a record 48 companies were recruiting and sponsoring the annual event, now in its 10th year.
Johnson & Johnson’s Vision Care, a maker of contact lenses, and LifeScan, which manufactures products to manage diabetes, are growing fast and looking for talent, recruiters said.
For its homeowners and auto insurance business, Liberty Mutual’s sales force is growing 10 percent to 12 percent, said Nikki Soares, recruitment manager for Liberty Mutual.
For its part, HP is focusing more this year than last in hiring entry-level college graduates for its sales staff. Assurant, a risk management company that manages mortgage insurance, among other businesses, also is in hiring mode because now is a good time to be selling mortgage insurance.
“We’re definitely hiring more than last year,” said talent acquisition director Jose Carbia. “We have a lot of new positions. We’re expanding in certain areas of business.”
Also hiring more salespeople this year than last is Standard Register, a document services provider. The Dayton, Ohio firm is trying to fill sales 37 positions. “We have more open spots,” said Eric Bierman, senior manager for sales learning and development.
For more information on the National Collegiate Sales Competition, visit http://www.ncsc-
For more information, contact Aixa M. Pascual at 678-797-2549.
