Imagine signing a contract for a full-time job after graduation, only to find that you've been fired before your first day of work.
This year, at least two seniors experienced this scenario, victims of the recent poor economic performance in the technology sector.
Sapient, a large wireless and technology consulting firm, reneged on contracts with its new hires this year, after news of poor earnings.
Marc Fenigstein '01, one of the two students hired by Sapient through Career Services' corporate recruiting, received the offer during Fall term and signed with the company over winter interim.
"[Sapient was] really the only company that I was interested in. It had been recommended to me, and I liked the people and the approach," he said.
"I'm back at square one," he added.
Although this incident was clearly a result of the economic downturn, every year a few unlucky students find themselves in the same situation.
According to Monica Wilson, assistant director of employer relations in Career Services, there's approximately one employer a year that reneges a contract with a Dartmouth student.
Sapient sent Fenigstein an e-mail asking him to speak with his recruiter in late February, when earnings information are routinely announced. Fenigstein said he had heard the company had experienced poor quarterly earnings, but the layoff still took him by surprise.
"It was kind of a shock. It kind of puts me in limbo," Fenigstein said.
The recruiter explained that the company needed to cut back or declare bankruptcy.
The company's quarterly earnings did not meet expectations, and they did not plan on meeting the hiring quota they had previously set. Therefore, Sapient had to cut approximately 20 percent of its current staff and fire all entry-level recruits, according to Fenigstein.
The company had estimated an expansion from 3,000 to 5,000 employees this year alone, but the quarterly report expressed that there will not be enough business in the future to support that level of growth.
Sapient offered two weeks salary as severance pay. "Now I have a severance check and I haven't worked a single day," Fenigstein said.
Additionally, Sapient provided a list of companies in similar fields that might be hiring.
For Fenigstein, the severance check is enough to go on a trip this summer or to do something fun while he figures out what he wants to do now.
He did not seem overly concerned about the situation. "It's not a huge job scare," he said. "I still feel that my degree is pretty valuable, it just forces me to decide more about what I want to do."
Last year 12 students found themselves in a similar situation with the company MicroStrategy. They were also offered generous severance packages, and Career Services referred them back to the Thayer School of Engineering to help continue the job search process.
As part of the Career Services corporate recruiting policy, Sapient will not be able to participate in the process in the near future. Wilson said the company could be reevaluated in the future if the firm approaches the College later, but generally they find "that the companies that layoff usually go away for a long time."
"[Career Services] does not want to put students at risk again when we know that the company is having difficulties," Wilson said about the policy.
On the other hand, Fenigstein thinks that it is a bad policy if it is supposed to punish the companies. The firms are not at a disadvantage because there are several other colleges at which they can recruit, rather the policy punishes Dartmouth students, Fenigstein said. He also believes that "chances are that they'll be doing very well in the next couple of years, and it's a good opportunity for Dartmouth."
"Let students decide if it's a safe company to work for," Fenigstein continued.
"Career Services is very helpful if I knew what I wanted to do and then I could go in there and do research on it, but I don't really know what I want to do," he said.
Career Services helps students through all stages of the job search if the student wishes. They are able to approach companies if a student feels that a severance package is inadequate, and they are able to offer additional counseling.
