TODAY'S GRADS CAN'T FIND EASY STREET ON A MAP.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

In a far cry from the heady dot-com days of the 1990s, new college graduates find themselves competing against older, laid-off workers for what may seem like a shrinking slice of the American Dream.

But college officials insist there are jobs out there for students who are willing to work hard for less pay than they bargained.

``If they put the time in, they will get the results they're looking for,'' said Kathie Kieran-Johnson, director of the Seaver College Career Center at Pepperdine University.

``But if they do anything less than A work, they're totally wasting their time in this job market.''

Although many employers nationwide expect to hire the same number of new college graduates this year as they did last year, 42.4 percent said they plan to cut college hiring, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The expected downturn in hiring combined with competition from older, laid-off employees is making it tough for new graduates to qualify for entry-level positions.

Just ask Haykaz Vardgesyan.

The 30-year-old Hollywood man, who graduates from California State University, Northridge, this week with a degree in accounting, boasts a 3.5 grade-point average but worries employers are looking for straight-A students in the tight job market.

``The competition is really high,'' he said. ``You go on interviews and they send you a letter, thank you for applying. Believe me, it drains a lot of your confidence. The good thing is, there are lots of opportunities.''

The university's most recent job fair attracted 145 employers - up from 120 last year, said Patricia Gaynor, CSUN's employer relations coordinator. But some employers who were contacted declined to attend, citing recent layoffs.

As the economy has faltered, the number of CSUN alumni seeking assistance at campus job fairs has climbed, said Adele Scheele, director of the university's Career Center. The university's coming June 4 job fair is open to both new college graduates and alumni.

Elsewhere across the San Fernando Valley, other colleges have seen surging interest in their campus job fairs.

At Pierce College in Woodland Hills, older adults nearly outnumber new graduates at campus job fairs. And they're fairly easy to spot, said Rebecca Rivera, an associate recruiter with Primerica, who attended a Pierce job fair earlier this month.

``They do have that panicked look in their eye because they've been out of work for six to eight months.''

Case in point was Michael Hankin, a 48-year-old interior designer from Woodland Hills, who had just been laid off and was desperately looking for a position at the Pierce job fair.

``There are very few companies expanding or moving or obtaining new space for operations, and few jobs for me,'' he said. ``I don't see anything for me here.''

Recruiters from 65 companies, including Encino Tarzana Medical Center, Wells Fargo Bank and the Los Angeles Unified School District, attended the Pierce job fair - about the same number as last year, campus officials said.

Although only 83 companies - 10 fewer than last year - showed up for Pepperdine's March career fair, Kieran-Johnson said she's thrilled the school didn't have to cancel the job fair entirely, as some colleges have been forced to do.

Job-hunting experts also report that starting salaries are down, with most companies offering $25,000 to $35,000, Kieran-Johnson said. And signing bonuses? Forget about it.

``It's not the higher number anymore, and they don't get bonuses to sign on, but that was just in that bubble, and students who graduated at that time had an inflated sense of what the market would normally be,'' Scheele said. ``They got it, but it didn't last.''

For many students, applying to graduate school serves as a good fall-back position. Nationwide, graduate school enrollments jumped 5 percent last year, and some schools are reporting an increase of 7 to 20 percent in graduate school applications this year, said Lance Pressl with the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C.

FAIR TIPS

Here are some tips on how to get the most from a career fair:

--Don't interrupt the employer representatives or your fellow job seekers. If someone is monopolizing the employer's time, try to make eye contact with the representative to let him or her know that you're interested in speaking. If all else fails, move to the next exhibit and plan to come back later.

--If you discover a real interest in an employer, find out the procedures required to secure an interview. Show enthusiasm, but don't go for the hard-sell approach.

--Sincerity always wins. Unless you're an especially skilled and tactful schmoozer, don't lay it on too thick.

--Don't just drop your resume on employers' display tables. Try to get it into a person's hands and at least say a few words.

--If you know ahead of time that one of your dream companies is a career fair participant, do some prior research. A little advanced preparation goes a long way and can make you stand out among the masses of other attendees.

SOURCE: CSUN Career Center Web site at www.csun.edu/career.

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FAIR TIPS (see text)