Alumni Q&A: Steve Pogorzelski '83, Former President of Monster North America

Pogorzelski: There’s good news and bad news for the upcoming college graduate class. The bad news is that we’re in a very bad economic environment, but the good news is that long-term prospects have never been brighter due to the changing demographics of the workforce. In 2008, we saw the number of large companies who anticipated hiring college grads drop precipitously, and I anticipate the same drop in 2009. I think the next several years will be difficult for college grads to gain full-time employment in the field that they desire, with the exception of areas where there are acute skills shortages, like health care, education and information technology. At the same time, there’s good news on the horizon. The labor market is fundamentally changing, with the advent of baby-boomer retirement and fewer new entrants into the workforce. These changing demographics mean that in the long term, college graduates' prospects have never been brighter.

How has job searching changed since you graduated in 1983?
When I graduated in 1983, we had the same things you have on campus now, such as campus recruiting and networking events. But what’s really changed is online recruiting. Online recruiting has revolutionized the job search process for the better, particularly for the job seeker. Now, job seekers have the opportunity to put their resume onto any number of databases, such as Monster, and have the opportunity to be viewed by hundreds of thousands of employers. The other major shift or advantage of online recruiting is that it’s made the recruiting process multidimensional. Before, an employer would post a job and would seek candidates to respond. Now, candidates are in a much better position, they have much more control. By putting their resume online, they can choose whether to respond to inquiries.

So it’s a win-win situation for employers and job seekers?
Absolutely. It’s a win-win for employers in that they have access to a great number of candidates who may not be actively seeking a job. For many years, particularly when I started in this business in 1983, human resources people thought there were two types of job seekers — either active or passive. Active meant they were looking for a job, and passive meant they weren’t. So what’s happened in the last 25 years is that we’ve seen a generational change in job tenure. On average, someone who graduated in 1983 would work 10 years for a company. Now, in this decade, that number is down to three years.

Since your book was published in January 2008, what projects are you working on now?
I’m semi-retired in the present time, but I’ve spent the last eight months working and advising on the four boards that I belong to, three of which are non-profit and one of which is for-profit. I’m networking with a large number of venture capitalists and private-equity firms and my next step will be to start-up in the next 12 to 14 months.

How did your experience at UW-Madison prepare you for your career at Monster?
I had tremendous opportunities at UW-Madison to grow as a person and a student. I look back fondly knowing that because I went to Madison, I was exposed to and learned about multiculturalism, which helped me in the global workforce. I was able to develop my reasoning and analytical skills which came to bear everyday in the workplace. I got a great education from a number of great professors and I also had tremendous work experience as a business manager at The Daily Cardinal, so I was exposed to running a business from a general management standpoint at a very early age.

What do you think UW-Madison graduates today have to offer when they enter the workforce?
UW-Madison graduates offer a degree from one of the best public universities in the country. They’ve been exposed to multiculturalism and are sensitive to it, which will help them in the workplace. The education you get at the University of Wisconsin helps you develop analytical and reasoning skills, interpersonal skills and helps you build professional values that help you later on in life.

What are you looking forward to doing when you return to Madison?
I’ll be eating my way through Madison. I’d love to go to Mickie’s Dairy Bar, the Parthenon, and I have to get a Plazaburger. I used to live on Gorham and Henry right behind the Plaza and Parthenon, I don’t know how many times I’ve eaten there but I’ll continue to do so. And certainly I’ll have to go back to The Pub and Kollege Klub, although I’m sure they’ve changed dramatically. I’m also looking forward to catching up with [School of Journalism] Professor [Jim] Baughman, who was just starting out at Madison when I was on campus. After all these years, he’s continued to be a good friend and a person who’s been able to give solid advice to me. He’s phenomenal and a great asset to the university. And I’ll be going to a football game! I used to have season tickets, and I took my son when he was four years old to his first Badger game. Now, he’s a junior in high school and we’ve been on a number of trips to other schools and we keep coming back to Wisconsin because it’s his No. 1 choice.