“The economy is bad.”

“You might not find a job when you graduate.”

“Start looking for a job now.”

We’ve all heard this pounded into our heads by nagging mothers, professors and damning headlines since gas prices climbed up to four bucks. Job-hunting stinks right now, yes, we know. And the prospect of eating stale Doritos on your parents’ lumpy couch in your red shag carpeted basement seems more and more plausible.

But how difficult is it really to find a job once you’ve graduated?

The stats aren’t too heartwarming. A job outlook study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers published in September reported that 6.1 percent of employers’ total hires in August were recent graduates. But according to Andrea Koncz, employment information manager for NACE, that number dropped to 1.3 percent by October. Yikes. And what does that mean for college students?

“Definitely more competition,” Koncz said.

Koncz said certain fields are easier to get jobs in than others. Service, manufacturing, accounting, government and technical fields are still in demand, but liberal arts-related jobs aren’t so lucky. Surprise, surprise.

Laura Kestner, director of the Career Services Center, said the center is seeing strong recruiting in technical fields and accounting, as well as students participating in volunteer activities.

She said she has also seen a trend in the increasing number of alumni she advises in the center. Last year, Kestner said 16 percent of her advisees were alumni, and this fall the number rose to 36 percent. Half of these alumni are recent graduates, but the other half are experienced professionals who have been laid off, she said.

And while the job outlook may look gloomy, companies aren’t completely diminishing its number of young hires. Enterprise Rent-a-Car, the largest hirer of Marquette college students, has experienced lay-offs, but it’s still hiring, Kestner said. Wahoo!

“College grads have a little bit of a leg up across the board because they are coming in with fresh skills,” Kestner said. “However companies … across the board just aren’t going to be recruiting. It will be worse in the spring.”

Kestner said she is also seeing companies cutting down on full-time employees and hiring interns because they cannot afford to pay full-time salaries.

Jeremy Medina, a journalism major who graduated last May, said he is experiencing this intern problem.

Medina was hired as an editorial intern for Paste magazine in Atlanta, Ga. in August after lucklessly job searching for three months from his parents’ home in Colorado.

He said though he enjoys his job, he works eight-hour days and receives only an $800 stipend for four months.

“People are getting away with paying interns nothing and getting interns to do way more than they used to,” Medina said.

Medina said he’s had to alter his expectations about having an automatic job, apartment and paying his own bills once he graduated.

“The hardest part is to graduate and think I have this job, can afford this rent and be independent, but now I’m dependent on my parents more than ever,” Medina said.

Medina said Paste offered to have him stay on another term as an intern.

“When I told my mom, she said, ‘When are you going to get a job?’ ” Medina said. “I’m fully confident in myself and capable of having a job, but there just aren’t any.”

It’s widely known that the communications industry has been hit hard by the economic slump. Kristen Fischer, author of “Ramen Noodles, Rent and Résumés: An After-College Guide to Life,” said she has heard a lot of panic in the media industries.

“The media is a horrible place to be working when there’s layoffs happening,” Fischer said.

Fischer, who became a reporter after graduating with a science degree, said to keep your options open when searching for a job.

Kathleen Murray, a 2008 graduate, said she has learned how to adapt to a new job field. Murray had a broadcast degree and said she now works in the integrated marketing department for Kraft Foods Inc. She coordinates licensing agreements with companies who want to use the Kraft logos on menus and works with the legal department for approval.

“I went into Marquette thinking I’d be a news anchor, and now I’m doing something with marketing and licensing,” Murray said. “I’m happy, but you’ve got to find your niche and where you want to be.”

Murray said when looking for a job, you have to be flexible and persistent (Murray said she called her boss-to-be five times before securing an interview). She said she has a lot of friends from Marquette who were talented and involved but still do not have a job.

And joblessness is not just prevalent in journalism. Anthony Villalobos, who graduated last May from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said he was surprised he couldn’t quickly find a job in law with his stacked credentials. Villalobos said he had a 3.9 GPA and four years of legal experience, including working as an officer on reserve for Wauwatosa one summer and working for four years at UWM’s University Legal Clinic.

“I was upset,” Villalobos said. “What the heck, I had done all these things and had a great GPA and had people give me great references, and how in the world am I not getting a job right now?”

Villalobos said he looked for two months, went on countless interviews and worked with temp agencies before he found a job as a junior conflicts analyst at a Chicago law firm. He considered working in a coffee shop while searching but was unable to find open jobs there.

Now he’s very grateful for his job, he said.

“I’m definitely very fortunate. I was very grateful, because truthfully, I couldn’t find anything else,” Villalobos said.

Kestner from Career Services said to start job-hunting now. An excellent résumé and good interview skills are necessary, she said.

“The good thing about a bad economy is employers can pick the best of the best,” Kestner said. “Students really need to know how to sell themselves and their skills.”

So turn off those “Golden Girls” re-runs, finish the Doritos bag and start selling yourself. For job purposes, of course.