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CORVALLIS - College students who are graduating this June will enter one of the more competitive and challenging job markets in many years, experts say, but the ones with the most success will be those who have already made contacts and gained work experience through internships.

Career services experts at Oregon State University say that the recent recession and slow economic recovery is clearly having an impact on the openings for new college graduates. A relevant degree, good interview, solid resume and persistent effort are still necessary for most successful applications, they say, but internships and real world experience are now more important than ever.

OSU in recent years has promoted the internship concept for all its students, officials say.

"The unemployment rate in Oregon is the highest in the nation at 8 percent, and we can't kid ourselves that this has no effect on the jobs available for new graduates," said Tom Munnerlyn, director of career services at OSU. "But we're finding that the one thing that gives a student the best edge is a successful internship. "Fortunately, that's an idea to which the university is already committed," Munnerlyn said. "We're seeing some success stories as a result."

In a recession as severe as the one that began in March, 2001, Munnerlyn said, millions of Americans with both education and experience have lost their jobs and are looking for work. Competing for openings as the economy recovers is difficult to do with only a classroom education, he said. In Oregon, hiring of new college graduates is expected to be about the same this year as last, but that reflects a 30 percent drop from the boom years of 2000-01.

But the news is not all bad, he said. About 55-60 percent of OSU graduates will be able to stay in Oregon as they find work, and the value of internships is so powerful that many students are now taking these positions after graduation, if they haven't already done one or more during their college years.

One example is Gabriel Rike, a computer science major at OSU. Rike has held a variety of positions at the university during his undergraduate education, including work with the Business Solutions Group in the College of Business, for which he received an "outstanding student award." He will graduate in June but is only midway through a two-year internship program with NTI. The company will hire him full time following completion of that program.

One of the most sophisticated of OSU's internship programs is now celebrating its 25th anniversary - the Multiple Engineering Cooperative, or MECOP program, and its partner, the Civil and Environmental Engineering Cooperative. Participation in this innovative program actually requires students to spend an additional year getting their degree, while they also pursue two six-month internships at separate companies.

But the traditional success rate is phenomenal for these engineering graduates who are ready to hit the ground running in their new careers.

"Even MECOP has seen some cutbacks in the past couple years, due in part to the slowdown in information technology companies in the Pacific Northwest," said Gary Petersen, director of the MECOP/CECOP Program. "But we still have 200 students participating this year, and more than 60 companies as members of our program. The opportunities in several branches of engineering, such as industrial, manufacturing, civil, environmental and mechanical are all holding up pretty well."

In an economic downturn such as this, Petersen said, it's more valuable than ever for a company to have the opportunity to get to know a student, observe their work and understand the type of person they are getting before they have to commit to a permanent hire. And there are other benefits for the student.

"I'm going to be starting a new job soon with Consolidated Metco in Portland, which was not actually one of the companies I did an internship with," said Aaron Holmes, 26, of Ashland, a MECOP participant who will graduate in June with a master's degree in industrial and manufacturing engineering.

"My internships were quite successful, and some of the things I learned helped me relate to people in private industry, understand what companies are actually looking for," Holmes said. "You learn how to solve real problems using your engineering skills. The whole process was extremely helpful and helped me in getting my new job."

There are some changing employment trends of note, Munnerlyn said.

Some of the science and engineering positions that were a sure ticket to an immediate job in recent years are less certain right now, he said. Some of the major companies such as Intel, Boeing and Tektronix that used to hire numerous OSU graduates have been hard hit by the recession and significantly reduced their hiring levels - and nationwide, surveys show manufacturing companies are planning to hire 8.4 percent fewer college graduates this year than last. Government and nonprofit positions are also facing major cutbacks.

Meanwhile, positions in retail business, service industries and other areas are doing comparatively well, providing positions for many students with liberal arts majors. There's a considerable demand for pharmacy graduates, and some business positions such as accounting are still providing excellent opportunities.

Erica Hanson, 23, a senior in merchandising management, will graduate in June and already has a job as a buyer with Macy's West in San Francisco, which will include some additional training.

"One of my professors at OSU helped several of us line up internships with Macy's, in which we spent five weeks in the store line and five weeks in the buying office," Hanson said. "It gave us a chance to see how the store functions and where we would fit best, and there's no doubt it was important to my getting a job there. I'll be starting at about $37,000 and also was given a hiring bonus."

According to Munnerlyn, part of the challenge is to help students avoid panic, polish their job-hunting skills and encourage them to be persistent in finding the type of position they want.

"People are still being hired and graduates are finding jobs," Munnerlyn said. "It's just more difficult than it used to be, so you have to work at it, start early, and get that work experience and internships that will give you a real chance for success."