On-campus job recruiting has hit the apex of its busiest year in College history as students schedule interviews with potential employers over the coming weeks. Thursday marks the last major deadline for students to submit applications.
Of the 389 students who applied for interviews through Dartmouth's Career Services office by the Oct. 7, 260 students received at least one interview offer. Career Services has not yet received all the applications submitted by the Oct. 18 deadline.
Students apply for jobs through the website Monstertrak.com, which works with Career Services to allow individuals to find job opportunities, submit resumes and schedule interviews.
Career Services has never had more applicants, according to Assistant Director of Corporate Relations Monica Wilson.
"We certainly have been busy, that's for sure," she said.
Wilson added that the relatively weak economy did not seem to affect the number of job offers.
"There's been no reduction in the number of employers who want to come on campus," she said. "If anything, I think there's been a more diverse mix of employers contacting Dartmouth students."
Jonathon Ball, director of recruiting for Carney, Sandoe and Associates, a company that finds teachers and administrators for college-preparatory schools, said that his company's search at Dartmouth begins with the career fair. Carney, Sandoe and Associates is a perennial recruiter at Dartmouth and typically accepts four to five interviews per year.
There have been recent changes in the recruiting process, Ball said.
"Over the past two years the on-campus recruiting has really picked up its pace, it's become more aggressive," he said. "It's more of a competitive marketplace out there."
Ball also said students have become more knowledgeable and adept at using technology and the resources available to them, a bonus for recruiters.
The fall recruitment schedule is dominated by finance, banking and consulting firms. Wilson said the Winter and Spring terms tend to have more representation from other sectors, such as communications and governmental organizations.
The Career Services office makes an effort to attract nonprofit and government organizations, Wilson said, and does not turn away any potential corporate employers. Of the 280 nonprofit organizations that Career Services contacted this year, 25 were able to make it to the career fair.
There is no difference in the way Dartmouth's Career Services office treated corporate and non-corporate recruiters, Ball said. He added that while the majority of recruiters were profit-driven corporations, Dartmouth seemed to attract a wide variety of opportunities for students.
"Dartmouth has one of the best Career Services offices in the country," he said. "Therefore, students should take advantage of it."
Daniel August '07, now an analyst at Morgan Stanley, applied for his current position through corporate recruiting and now acts as a recruiter himself. He contrasted his relatively stress-free task of interviewing potential employees with the stressful and time-consuming process of finding a job as a senior. He also emphasized the importance of the interview process.
"You can't get a true sense of people until you meet with them and talk about their experiences," he said.
