Graduating into a weak job market: Steps to consider

Looking through recent articles about college students, I keep seeing the same basic suggestions: minimize loans, don't get a credit card, pay your bills, and keep track of your spending. While these are certainly useful little tidbits of advice, they don't really address the largest problem that is currently facing students: the economy.

In some ways, college students are sort of like the canaries that miners used to carry with them. Given that they have shallower pockets and have not yet fully entered the job market, they are much more susceptible to downturns in the economy. From having to survive on ever-decreasing resources to trying to find work in a sluggish job market, students are having to make difficult decisions before they even get their diplomas. With that in mind, here are some suggestions for the soon-to-be graduated about ways to weather a very difficult economic storm.