Almost 700 seniors have attended senior meetings - designed to introduce them to career search tools - at the Career Development Center so far this year, CDC Senior Associate Director Barbara Peoples told The Herald.
"Our attempt here is to give comprehensive information to the senior class. Many seniors don't know the breadth of what is available," Peoples said of the meetings, which are mandatory for seniors to activate their accounts on the new Career Connection recruiting system.
The senior meetings are held on afternoons or evenings throughout the year, though they were more heavily concentrated in the beginning of the semester. They show seniors a "big picture" of the job search, explain center policies and procedures and distribute information packets for future reference, Peoples said.
Peoples emphasized that it is never too early or too late for students to begin a relationship with the CDC.
The CDC will continue to hold the sessions in the second semester and provides continuing services to students after graduation. Like this semester, meetings will be more heavily concentrated at the beginning of the semester.
"There are a lot of students who are really working on their academics, or a thesis, fellowships, grad school, or are very involved in research and may not want to complete a job search right away," Peoples said.
Concrete figures about Brown students' success in the job search this year are not yet available, Peoples said, noting that the CDC surveys employers who participate in the on-campus recruiting program at the end of the semester.
Even without figures, though, Peoples said she is optimistic. "We have had an incredibly busy semester. We are really pleased with the number of employers that have come and the number of students who have participated. The early information is that this is a busier year than we have seen," she said.
The CDC surveys students at the end of each senior session, and Peoples said seniors have praised the informational packets and the online tutorial presented in the meetings, though many have complained about meeting times.
"We try to offer meetings whenever we have rooms available," Peoples said.
Peoples said the meetings are 45 minutes long and have a question-and-answer session at the end. Students with further questions are encouraged to stay after.
Students have not expressed any real concern about the mandatory nature of the meetings, Peoples said, stressing the importance of the meetings in teaching seniors to navigate the new Career Connection service.
Alex Langsam '08 said that he was "pushed into going to meeting by a roommate" but that he was surprised by how helpful it was. He has since gone to some workshops held by the CDC, he said.
But despite a positive response from seniors, the CDC hasn't been able to reach the entire senior class. Marco Martinez '08 said that he did not know about the meetings or the new Career Connection system. Martinez said he finds that the CDC does not apply to his interests.
"I find that Brown's network for careers is very much centered around business and banking and the economy, and that at career fairs there are a lot of nonprofit and humanitarian organizations like the Peace Corps. It's either extreme - there's nothing for the people in between," he said.
