Seniors desperate for a job may want to listen to the time-tested advice of Assistant Director of Career Services Monica Wilson. Career Services sees hundreds of seniors a year. Wilson offered these tips to seniors still on the often frustrating quest for work.
Wilson's main advice for those students still searching for jobs is to come to Career Services, where counselors can help them discover their career interests, as well as locate organizations which offer the opportunities they seek.
Dartmouth Career Services offers career counselors who can help develop action plans and discuss long-range interests and goals. Their webpage has a "feeling lost" link, which offers suggestions for confusion reduction.
It also has a link to Pinpoint, an online tool which analyzes students' answers to a series of questions in order to provide a list of sample job titles for the type of career that might best suit them.
Once they identify the jobs they want to pursue, students should be careful not to exclude viable options from their job search.
"We try to encourage students to think more broadly and think about options they might not have otherwise considered," Wilson said.
For example, students may be advised to consider a career in accounting if they are interested, even though the College does not offer any courses in the field. Accounting firms still seek Dartmouth graduates who can then be trained on the job, Wilson said.
"Sometimes it's not so much a case of letting students know it's available, but that it's a legitimate career field for Dartmouth students to consider," Wilson said.
There is a fine line that students walk, however, between flexibility and inability to sell themselves to an employer. Wilson warns that too often students come into her office simply looking for a job -- any job. "Employers want to see that you will be passionate about the work you do for them and have a sincere interest in their industry or field," Wilson said.
To be successful in any job search, especially in this competitive market, students should dedicate the requisite amount of time and create a reasonable action plan.
"Networking, persistence and follow-through are more important than ever before," Wilson said.
Wilson stressed that Career Services could help students develop these skills. She also encouraged them to check the online job postings -- which are updated daily -- on the Career Services website and BlitzMail bulletins.
Students should not be discouraged. Many job openings arise in the spring as employees resign to go on to graduate school, Wilson said.
"Students should remember that Spring term is a time when there tends to be a lot of changeover in business," she explained.
Those looking for jobs may also want to contact alumni. Some alumni are seeking employees, and others are part of the Alumni Advisory Network, Wilson said.
Travis D'Amato '03, who is interested in international business, finance and consulting, hopes to make use of this alumni network as he continues his job search. He found Career Services helpful, but found the process of corporate recruiting through Career Services too competitive.
Previously held internships can also play an important role as feeders for entry-level jobs. "I know a lot of '04s who are having a very hard time finding summer internships, and those internships typically lead to job opportunities after graduation," David Atterbury '03 observed.
Other Dartmouth students have looked beyond traditional career opportunities and the standard application process.
Recent Dartmouth graduate Bart Paull '02, who majored in engineering, decided to pursue his passions for an active lifestyle and the outdoors.
Paull is currently seeking certification as a mountain guide through a rigorous three-year process so that he can start his own mountain guiding business.
Mountain guiding, which developed in Europe, is still generally viewed as "a summertime college job" in the United States, Paull said.
Overall, though, Paull sees his career as choice of lifestyle.
"I think that if I went into a 40-hour-a-week job, I'd feel like a caged bird," he said.
