The first round of resume drop which ended at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 2 featured five more available positions than last year, Wilson said.
Edie Wu '12, who attended a "Cracking the Case Interview" workshop hosted by Career Services on Monday afternoon, said the decrease in the number of students may reflect a desire among students to delay the submission of some applications until the second round, which ends Oct. 16.
"I know a lot of people are waiting for the second round," Wu said. "They're waiting to see how they do in the first round."
Although the first resume drop deadline has passed, the "real challenge" is securing and preparing for interviews, Michael Joseph '12 said.
There is no set number of students that firms choose to interview and hire, and the selections may range from a 12 to 72 undergraduates after the first round, Wilson said. The number of interviews granted depends on the number of schools participating in recruiting and whether firms have a quota on new hires, she said.
"They are all over the board," Wilson said.
Several students interviewed by The Dartmouth said many individuals choose to go through corporate recruiting because it seems like the natural path to take.
"Pursuing jobs through corporate recruiting seems like the default at Dartmouth because Career Services emphasizes banking and finance jobs," Wu said.
Tyler Melancon '12 noted that students' tendency to participate in recruiting is rooted in the College's long-standing corporate culture.
"I think because it is so prominent, the services are available and the framework exists, there is a perception that Dartmouth students should do it," Melancon said.
While students often complain that Career Services does not offer jobs in fields other than finance and consulting, it is also problematic that many companies participating in corporate recruiting are from the East or Midwest, Melancon said.
"A lot of students are from the West Coast or the South, and have personal responsibilities and obligations to their families that prevent them from applying to jobs through Career Services," he said.
Although students often apply to the same positions, they still work together to prepare for upcoming interviews, Joseph said.
"You're competing for the same spots, but they're still your friends," Joseph said. "It's more that I'm competing with myself."
Although some members of the Class of 2012 began transitioning from the old BlitzMail email system to the Microsoft Office 365 Suite server at 4:00 a.m. on Oct. 3, there were no significant reports of server issues as the deadline approached, Wilson said.
"We always have three or four students who have difficulty submitting because it's close to the deadline or they are not familiar with the procedure," she said.
Career Services has hosted several events this fall intended to help seniors navigate the recruiting process, including two "Strictly for Seniors" lectures, the annual Employer Connections Fair and various resume and interview workshops, according to Wilson.
Ivan Hess contributed to the reporting of this article.
