A record 1,083 students visited the Center for Professional Development’s Employer Connections Fair last week, said Monica Wilson, the center’s senior associate director.
There were more than 1,500 employer-student connections at the event, which hosted around 50 firms in various fields in Hanover last week, according to data provided by the center.
Two hundred and forty four members of the Class of 2016, around one fifth of the class, applied during the summer’s recruiting cycle. About 80 percent were offered first-round interviews.
During the summer of 2013, 235 students participated in recruitment, and in 2012, 201.
Participation in the winter recruitment season has also increased significantly — last year, 714 students participated compared to 615 students in 2011.
Feyaad Allie ’16, who found a winter internship through the summer recruitment cycle, spoke positively about his experience. He said the center guided students through the entire process.
He also cited informational sessions and on-campus interviews conducted by potential employers as positive elements of his experience, and mentioned that the center’s resume and cover letter review services helped him apply.
Jackie Wei ’15 participated in sophomore summer recruiting for a winter internship at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and returned there for a second internship this summer.
She said she is impressed by the center’s programs, but said they could be better advertised to students by the center rather than through word of mouth.
“It is, I think, a great resource,” Wei said. “It’s just that a lot of people don’t know about it.”
She said that students should both take advantage of these opportunities and make sure to put in the appropriate amount of work to create resumes and research positions.
Rex Woodbury ’15 went through the recruiting program multiple times, completing two internships with Morgan Stanley and a third at Goldman Sachs, where he will work full-time after graduation.
Woodbury said that the large number of jobs for which students could apply was particularly impressive.
“DartBoard has all these jobs and opportunities and is very open to students,” Woodbury said.
Woodbury said he was also pleased with his experience with recruiting when he was off-campus. The center, he said, set up phone interviews and in-person interviews.
Allie, Woodbury and Wei all said that while jobs in consulting and finance were plentiful, other fields were not well-represented in their recruiting experiences.
“I think that for kids who are interested in finance, banking, consulting, investment management — they have a great program and service,” Wei said. “For people looking for other opportunities, I think there isn’t enough available.”
Wei said this may be due to the nature of the financial industry, which she said frequently connects with top colleges and universities, rather than a fault of the center.
Woodbury said that the center could improve its services by advertising internship funding sources.
Wilson emphasized the Center’s efforts to expand the diversity of companies that recruit at Dartmouth, and noted that there were firms involved in education, non-profits and start-ups present at last week’s fair.
She also said that, while on-campus fairs remain popular, virtual employment fairs are a growing new medium, as are “Off the Green” program-specific immersion events that the center sponsors in cities across the country.
