Many sophomores edged closer to lucrative Wall Street jobs Monday night when the deadline for on-campus recruiting applications expired.
For most firms, students had until July 5 to apply for interviews, allowing applicants to learn by July 12 if they will be continuing in the recruiting process. If selected, the students will be engaged in interviews for about a week, beginning July 20.
"I think some students are surprised at how quickly deadlines come up on them," Career Services coordinator Monica Wilson told The Dartmouth.
One of the major advantages Dartmouth students realize during the recruiting process concerns the College's year-round operation, which allows students to seek internships during terms when competition is minimal due to semester academic requirements at other universities.
"We're one of very few schools that have students available fall and winter for internships," Wilson said.
Because many of the internships are concentrated in finance, a large proportion of applicants are economics majors. Still, Wilson emphasized that recruiters seek a variety of academic backgrounds when recruiting.
"It's a trap students fall into. Many students self-eliminate without understanding that employers aren't just focused on a particular major," she said.
Wilson cited the Vanguard Group as an example of an employer that actively seeks diverse majors -- typically to work in areas of the company besides finance, such as marketing.
"Students see the name, see what the company does, figure they don't have a shot and don't apply," Wilson explained.
According to Wilson, students who are successful in the recruiting process are generally those who have researched an employer in advance and have practiced interviewing.
"If someone is focused on getting an internship, [he or she] usually finds success; it's a matter of blocking out the time and energy to do it," she said.
Blair Burgreen '07 said that she invested about 15 hours into researching employers and writing cover letters.
"But I'm not too stressed about it," Burgreen said, "because I'm not sure it's what I want to do."
Wilson said that employers look for students with well-rounded backgrounds, leadership experience and strong communication skills.
"And also direct eye contact and a firm handshake. All these little things add up," Wilson said.
Wilson emphasized that on-campus recruiting is just one tool for securing an internship. Many firms hire students without conducting on-campus interviews.
Bibhu Mainali '07, for example, decided to opt out of on-campus recruiting when told of his other options.
"I was going to do it, but then I went to Career Services... they asked me which internships I wanted to apply for and I didn't know," Mainali said. "They said I could apply at any time [to other internships]."
