Here's the bad news: If you are graduating from college this spring, you are facing one of the toughest job markets in years.

Employers expect to hire 22% fewer graduates than they did last spring, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

"Almost every level of the job market right now is shrinking," says Edwin Koc, director of strategic and foundation research for NACE. "You are going to have to compete for the job -- as opposed to the last five years, when employers competed over you."

The good news? Plenty of grads will find jobs, even if not in their dream fields. Here's how to be among them:

1. Follow the money...and the boomers. "Follow where the economic stimulus is going," says Jeff Rice, executive director of the career center at Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business. "Those are the industries where there is job creation and opportunity."

Infrastructure projects could mean jobs in construction and engineering, while plans to digitize medical records should help those in information technology. Money also is going toward alternative-energy development.

Meanwhile, the aging of the baby boomers means more need for health-care workers and retirement-related openings in fields including education and government service.

2. Explore a different path. If finding a job in your dream field is difficult now, consider jobs that utilize related skills. For example, if you can't find a job in financial services, working in the treasury office of a pharmaceutical company or in pharmaceutical sales can utilize and strengthen the same analytical and customer-service skills needed to succeed in finance, says Mr. Rice.

3. Consider internships. Sure, internships are temporary, sometimes unpaid, and also more difficult to come by these days. But they're opportunities to gain some experience and connections...and maybe get hired if a position opens up.

An internship "gives grads an opportunity to get more related experience in their career field," which can be valuable as graduates compete for jobs with more experienced workers who have been laid off, says Jack Tinker, director of recruiting in the career office at Connecticut College.

4. Volunteer. Similarly, if you can afford to do so, volunteering is a great way to add more experience and skills to your résumé, while continuing the job hunt. It also allows you to avoid that gap on your résumé: You can show potential employers what you've been doing since graduation.

When considering volunteer jobs, try to pick something project-oriented that allows you to build on a skill set needed for your dream field, suggests Mr. Rice.

5. Stay in school? Another option is to pursue an advanced degree and hope that the job market is better when you're done. But don't do this if you'd end up with an unreasonable amount of debt, says Christopher Penn, spokesman for the Student Loan Network.

He suggests limiting total borrowing to no more than 100% of what you expect your annual after-tax income to be upon graduation, something that can be difficult to judge in these extraordinary times.