Students participating in corporate recruiting this term will likely receive fewer job offers because of the current economic uncertainty, according to Monica Wilson, associate director of employer relations for Career Services. Some students who went through corporate recruiting for Winter term have had their internship offers withdrawn.
"There was one company that made two internship offers, and they had to rescind their offers," Wilson said. "I was working fairly closely with one of [the students]. She ended up with an internship, I believe, but not exactly what she would have wanted. It's hard to find a new job when, two weeks before it starts, your job is rescinded. But this was an exception, not the rule."
In the period directly following the purchase of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch by Barclays and Bank of America, respectively, students who had been offered internships at those firms were worried about losing their positions.
"I didn't know if Merrill was going to exist at all," Chelsea Dodds '10, a current Merrill Lynch intern, said. "It was just up in the air. It's still up in the air. Everybody here is nervous about their jobs, but that's the nature of Wall Street right now."
Dodds and three other Dartmouth students accepted offers for a winter internship at Merrill Lynch two months before the company's buyout. Bank of America ultimately honored the offers made to Dartmouth students, Wilson said.
"I have heard from a few companies that they are offering fewer positions, but I don't think it's that many fewer positions," Dodds said. "If you think about it, when they are going to lay off jobs, a lot of interns are relatively cheap labor. Kids right out of college don't often lose their jobs."
Several companies have said they will continue to maintain internship recruiting programs despite the financial crisis.
"Merrill Lynch is now part of Bank of America," Kelly Sapp, a spokesperson from Merrill Lynch, said in an e-mail to the Dartmouth. "We are presently integrating the various businesses. Therefore, in reference to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch conducting interviews for summer internships, we are meeting with students now on campuses and are recruiting for the 2009 summer internship program."
A spokesperson from Citigroup said her company remained committed to campus programs and will continue to recruit at Dartmouth. But Meagan Herzog '10, a current Citigroup intern, said she believes the company's program is smaller this term.
While some companies are reducing their programs, others are not hiring any interns at all, Wilson said.
"We have had employers who have set up interviews for Winter quarter and now cancelled them because they have realized that their employment needs have changed," Wilson said.
Although companies have acted similarly in the past, the practice is more common this year because the market's volatility makes it difficult for companies to accurately predict how many interns they will require, Wilson said.
"Because both the consumer and the business-to-business markets are all so unpredictable right now, they can't work off predicted or historical data because history is sort of thrown out the window right now," Wilson said.
Some employers have decided not to participate in corporate recruiting at all.
These companies are most likely rethinking their employment needs, Kathryn Doughty, associate director of Career Services, said
Student interest in corporate recruiting has generally been lower than Career Services anticipated, Wilson said.
"We are not seeing as many students as we expected here in the office for walk-ins and appointments," Wilson said. "They are in a 'wait-and-see' mode and they are not being proactive. I would like to emphasize that students should not just sit and wait."
Several students who are participating in corporate recruiting said they were disappointed by the results.
"I think corporate recruiting is difficult because it is the first time Dartmouth students are facing rejection," Liya Shuster '10 said. "They have always been rewarded for their hard work, but now they see how difficult things really are."
Some students were also unable to secure Winter term internships through corporate recruiting this past Summer term. Kaitlin Carey '10 said she had interviewed with several companies last summer for a winter internship, but the employers later decided not to hire any interns. Carey found her current internship at a private equity firm independent of Career Services.
Students seeking internships should not rely solely on corporate recruiting, but should also use other resources available from Career Services, including online job databases and the alumni network, Wilson and Doughty said.
