Dear Joyce: I keep reading how anxious employers are to hire the new graduates, even humanities majors. I'll graduate with a 3.6 GPA from a small liberal arts college in June. As of the holiday break, I haven't been scheduled for a recruiting interview. How long should I wait before I go forward on my own to look for a job? -- C.L.

Dear C.L.: Now is the hour. Campus recruiting is a cost-and-numbers issue and, to some degree, pure habit.

Suppose the ABC Corporation wants to hire 10 new graduate accountants this year. Where shall it find them -- at a dozen different colleges all over the map? Company cost-cutters look at the $2,000 a week it costs for recruiter travel expenses and say stick to Old State U. The accountants they've hired in the past have all come from Old State U, and they worked out OK. Maybe not spectacular, but OK. Why zig and zag to multiple smaller campuses where at any single one they won't be able to fill their recruitment tanks?

Pennywise perhaps, but corporate recruiters are often directed to pass on smaller schools no matter how selective the institution and how top-notch its graduates. Where do such limiting policies leave people like you and other excellent grads?

If you don't want to limit your options to working locally or regionally, at most smaller schools you're on your own to be interviewed in the wider world of workplace America. But not at all schools.

Within the past few years, innovative institutions are discovering the group job-search tour. A prime example is Washington University's Olin School of Business, where a large number of both MBA and undergraduate business majors are taking their job-search "show'' on the road.

The Washington University B-schoolers travel in groups to recruiters at leading companies across the country, rather than sit back and wait for recruiters to come to St. Louis.

Like heat-seeking missiles, about 200 members from '01 classes launched their job probes last year on Wall Street and in Boston, Chicago and Silicon Valley. Early returns are celebratory: More than 60 percent landed interviews for full-time jobs or internships, with 40 percent receiving job offers as a result of the trip. Even those who didn't score made useful contacts for the future.

This year, even larger Washington University B-school groups are suiting up and heading out to Austin and Denver, as well as to Wall Street and Silicon Valley.

(Pause here. Despite the current dot-comatose epidemic of dot-com business failures and layoffs, good jobs will continue to be found in the technical sector. Technology isn't going away -- the world's systems would collapse.)

What happens on the Washington University tours? Students see prospective workplaces, attend networking receptions and symposiums, hear company presentations and have personal interviews as recruiters identify and woo the strong talent they covet. Each student pays individual travel expenses, totaling about $600 per tour.

The university-sponsored road show is a fabulous idea for many reasons, not the least of which is it offers the advantages of a kind of elegant job club:

Morale Enhancement. Job hunting -- lonely, serious business -- is particularly stressful when stepping up to the plate that first, direction-setting time. The support system created by group job seekers sharing similar experiences boosts interview confidence levels for each student.

Information Mining. Group members cover a lot of territory among them and can share observations, job leads and "vibes.''

Familiar Business. Traveling students probably took campus tours before entering college life to compare institutions and choose the best; taking work tours before leaving college helps them see "what's out there'' and to continue to aim high.

Good Impressions. Employers are bound to be impressed with students who show the savvy to go after what they want. If these students can look after their own interests, they possess the initiative to look after the employer's profitability.

So, Mr. liberal arts student, if the peak recruiting mountains aren't coming to you, reach out. And if you opt for professional or graduate study, find out going in the degree of help you can expect from your school when the time comes to catapult you into your future.

Send career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007, or e-mail her at jlk@sunfeatures.com. Sorry, the volume of mail makes personal replies impossible.

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