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How the Career Development Office Can Help:
A Q&A with Director Carl Martellino
March 3, 2009
Being a senior on the cusp of graduating and entering the “real world” can be a scary place during a recession. Luckily, students—and alumni as well—have a resource they can turn to for their postgraduate and career needs: The Career Development Office. In this Q&A with CDO director Carl Martellino, he explains what students can do to prepare for post-graduation life and what resources the CDO offers.
What are some concerns that juniors and seniors, looking to the future, have when they come to the CDO?
Carl Martellino: Current juniors and seniors, like those of the past, share both fear and excitement about what life after college will bring them. Some students want to make sure they have a plan—whether that is graduate school, a job, a fellowship, or plans for travel or service work. Other students are just beginning to consider what they want to do. As liberal arts students, figuring out what one wants is often a paramount concern. After all, it’s hard to take action without some ideas about one’s interests, values and skills. Students are often surprised to see how many options they have and how open the CDO is to helping them regardless of the path they want to pursue.
Are you seeing any trends among the companies and nonprofits that you work with, who look to employ graduating students or seek interns? Are companies still seeking out Pomona graduates?
Martellino: Given the news about unemployment, I am pleased to report that we are still seeing many organizations interested in hiring Pomona College students. Our Career Fair featured the same number of organizations as prior years. We also had great success with our partnership with the Selective Liberal Arts Consortium (SLAC) – a group of 12 highly ranked colleges that hold recruiting days over winter break in East Coast cities. We also benefit from our relationship with the other Claremont Colleges, sharing jobs and events.
As in prior years, some seniors have already accepted job offers while others are still figuring out what to do next. We have a great number of students interested in community and organizational work, so nonprofits continue to be a high interest. Of course, nonprofits have also been hit hard with the downturn, but many are hiring. The CDO, in partnership with the Community & Multicultural Programs Office and Volunteer Center, is even adding an extra career fair this year in April that will focus on nonprofit and volunteer organizations.
There are certainly shifts from prior years. Are we seeing the same number of Wall Street
firms? No, but we do have some recruiting. For students who prepare a strong resume, practice interviewing, and use all of the resources in the CDO Route 47 system, there are still great opportunities.
What advice are you offering students who are concerned about their job prospects in light of the economic downturn?
Martellino: Most liberal arts students have many options, and this flexibility is a tremendous asset in times of economic uncertainty. We are encouraging students to think broadly and to not feel that their initial choice will have lifetime consequences. An initial launch rarely has such dramatic long-term consequences. The most important thing is for students to not hide, to get started, and to put in the extra effort that it will take at this point in time.
Another strategy that can benefit students is to use temp agencies. While many organizations have let permanent staff members go, there is still work that needs to be done and organizations turn to temp agencies to fill these voids. If a student really wants to work for a particular organization, they can call the HR department and ask them which temp firm they use. The student can then contact the temp firm and tell them they would like to be placed at that organization. Once in the door, it is important to do a stellar job. From that inside vantage, it’s much easier to view positions and get to know people. When things turn around, that student will be first in line.
Our students have a tremendous amount of talent, and it is important that they do not let the daily economic news weigh on their long-term decisions or bog them down in worry and inaction. Keep in mind that even with the unemployment rate inching up, many organizations are hiring and coming through the CDO. And, even though the unemployment rate may hit 10 percent, that still means that 90 percent of folks are working. We need to keep things in perspective.
Finally, the greatest job security in good and bad times is the investment made in gaining new skills, meeting lots of people, doing an internship, building one’s resume, and staying engaged and passionate about one’s work. Regardless of the economy, a student who has done all the right things will find great options.
What should students not do in these tough times?
Martellino: Don’t worry and don’t hide. Even in good economic times the thing that holds most students back from their goals is fear and not knowing how to start. Some students avoid thinking about life after college. Of course, transitions are difficult, but by avoiding change, one limits their best options.
What are some of the CDO services you’d like to highlight for graduating seniors and alumni who are in the job market?
Martellino: Some students have preconceived notions about what is available at the CDO. I sometimes hear things such as “I didn’t know that the CDO could assist me in figuring out what I want to do. I thought I had to know first, and then come in,” or “I thought the CDO was only for students interested in business. I had no idea how many opportunities and resources they have in nonprofits, travel or for the arts”.
CDO resources are dynamic, and change every week and sometimes every day. Students should read the
CDO Weekly, attend events
like the annual Career Week where they can talk with alumni, e-mail and talk with alumni using the Sagehen Career Connection, and learn how to write a resume and how to interview before looking for an internship or job. And, students should definitely do at least one, but preferably more of each of the following: internships, volunteer work and research.
Here are more things they can do at the CDO:
• Visit the CDO for a daily drop-in session. Please remember that we can assist you with decision making, jobs, graduate or professional school, internships, fellowships, travel ideas and more. The staff members in the CDO look forward to meeting you and to learning more about you and sharing with you the opportunities and resources that are here for everyone.
• Browse the CDO’s Career Resource Library and pick out a few books to read. And, make sure to visit the online Career Access Resource Library on the CDO Web, which also has thousands of websites classified by industry.
• Register on Route 47, and use it frequently to see what events are taking place at the Claremont Colleges, to research organizations who have contacted the colleges, to see who is recruiting on campus, and to search the job and internship postings using Route 47, NACELink Connection, and the Nationwide Internship Consortium.
Update your profile because we send targeted e-mails by interest area. Route 47 also has search agents so a student or alum can put in their criteria and receive opportunities tailored to his/her interests and geographic preferences. There are many opportunities--seek them out!!
• Visit the Sagehen Career Connection on your student or alumni portal. You will find more than 2,000 alumni and parents interested in talking with you about their industry, career, graduate school, etc. They have volunteered to do this, and they really enjoy hearing from fellow Sagehens. In fact, they complain that they don’t hear from fellow Sagehens often enough.
• Visit the CDO Web site. In addition to providing things like access to Route 47, the Career Access Resource Library and the CDO Weekly,
the CDO Web site has sections for students, alumni, families, employers and faculty/staff.
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