Juniors scrambled Wednesday to submit applications to more than 36 organizations seeking to recruit Dartmouth students for summer internships in financial services, consulting and marketing, among other fields.
The summer internship search began long before Wednesday, however, as high-profile companies have traversed Hanover looking to woo students to their firms. Merrill Lynch representatives, for example, held an information session Monday in Carson Hall to speak to undergraduates about job opportunities at the firm. Forty students attended.
According to Merrill's Wylie Collins '83, who led the meeting with colleague Mike Herzig '89, one of these sought-after internships often leads to future career prospects.
"Our lowest-risk approach to hiring full-time employees is to hire people we know," Collins said, noting that students who spend a summer working with the firm would have a definite advantage when applying for a job.
Merrill's internship program is not limited to menial tasks either, Collins said, indicating that students are given significant responsibilities.
"When you come to Merrill Lynch to work, you really get a good experience because there's a lot to do," Collins said.
With application deadlines for these experiences having expired Wednesday, there has been a surge of students recently seeking assistance from Career Services, Assistant Director for Employment Relations Monica Wilson said.
"Our mission statement states that we help students make informed decisions for their future," Wilson said.
Recruiters will be making decisions in the upcoming weeks. Many will come to Dartmouth throughout January to interview the students who just submitted their resumes and choose interns for this summer.
At his firm's recruitment meeting, Collins listed "initiative, writing skills and intellectual curiosity" as three of the most important qualities employers look for when interviewing potential employees.
Herzig said he assesses the students he meets largely through the questions they ask him during interviews, which he sees as more important than responses to his own questions.
Students seeking additional advice find help polishing resumes and interviewing skills as well as information about potential jobs at Career Services. The office also acts as a liaison between students and alumni, Wilson said. Students can then submit their applications online via MonsterTrak, an online database that allows students to find jobs and internships.
As for those looking to parlay Monday's information session into a Wall Street career, attendees generally found the advice from Merrill employees beneficial.
"I found the presentation to be informative, helpful and a typical example of alumni coming back to Hanover to support Dartmouth students interested in the corporate world," Kevin Abraham '06 said after attending the event.
