Graduation time is rolling around, and yet another class of college students is preparing to enter an unwelcoming job market.

Though there have been signs of improvement, unemployment remains high and layoffs are continuing at a rapid clip. Colorado's unemployment rate edged up to 7.9 percent in March, according to a report released this month.

Students at Colorado colleges have responded by starting their job searches earlier — though many have discovered that approach has its own drawbacks. Meanwhile, college career centers are seeing a spike in demand for their services, coupled with a struggle to connect with employers.

"Our office coordinates a job fair every semester, but this time, we couldn't really fill the room. We had to fill the rest of the tables with graduate schools, and we did a lot of pounding just to get the ones we did," said Bridgette Coble, director of career services at Metropolitan State College of Denver.

But there are signs of hope. According to a 2010 job outlook report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, businesses will be hiring 5.3 percent more graduates this year compared with last.

Blake Bowyer, a master's degree student of marketing at the University of Denver, is graduating in June and has started his job search well in advance.

"No matter what the economic environment is like, I would be a little nervous and scared, however, whether that degree and investment will really pay off. That's probably the scariest thing," Bowyer said.

According to local career counselors, graduates can expect their job search to last about six months before they land a job, and that first job may not be the ideal one.

For Bowyer, who has been looking for about four months, no job is lined up yet, but he is contemplating some offers.

"The job search process is going to take longer, so we encourage them to engage that process sooner rather than later, and they have done that," said Lisa Severy, director of career services at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

For another master's degree student at DU, Alexandra West, starting early didn't work out.

"Originally, I started looking in January. I thought six months would give me a good time, but I wasn't very successful because they wanted to hire someone right away and wouldn't wait for me in June," West said.

She restarted her search with just two months until graduation but is focusing on her customized concentration in susceptibility and management to help her find a job.

At Metro State, Coble has noticed many students focused on specializing or gaining additional experience.

"People are looking to differentiate themselves. We're seeing more interest from people to have more than just a degree," Coble said.

With growing demand for help from career service offices — even from people who never attended the school — Metro State's office had to start charging for consultations with alumni who graduated more than a year ago. Alumni pay a discounted fee of $15 per consult and have a limit of two every year.

Unaffiliated people interested in consults must pay $50 and have a limit of one per year. The office often directs people to other career services away from the school.

CU-Boulder hired a new staff member dedicated solely to the growing number of alumni who return for career advice.

At DU, Bowyer has been leading a student board in the Daniels College of Business for more than a year now to patch gaps and figure out the best way for the career office to serve the needs of students.

"I definitely think there's been progress even though it's slow moving. It's a process, and students have to get involved," Bowyer said.

One part of the progress so far is the way the career service office reaches out to students.

"There's less waiting for them to come to us, more of us reaching out to them. For instance, now there's four hours of career content at orientation that started last year," said Patty Hickman, assistant director of Career Services at DU. "That's just a part of life now."

Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1638 or yrobles@denverpost.com