The Job Hunt

As the end of the semester draws near, students are busily—and anxiously—finalizing their plans for the summer. There is a widespread perception among undergraduates that they are on their own in searching for internships because the Center for Career Education only serves those interested in jobs in the financial sector. CCE has made great strides in diversifying its events and broadening alumni connections, but both students and CCE should work to bridge this perception gap, which dissuades students from seeking help when they need it.

As an Ivy League school in New York, Columbia is a natural target school for most finance and consulting firms. With the preponderance of these recruiters on campus early in the semester, it is easy for students to feel bombarded by the onslaught of finance-related networking and informational events. For those who are looking for summer internships in other fields, CCE offers networking events, job postings, alumni panels, and job fairs throughout the semester. Over the last four months, dozens of such events have been announced through the weekly CCE e-mail or posted on the CCE Web site. The Center for Career Education also launched Columbia Career Connections last year to help current students interact with alumni. While many students already take advantage of these resources, others should be more proactive in doing so.

But while CCE has done much to attend to students pursuing all types of careers, it needs to better communicate its efforts to the student body. In addition to sending weekly e-mails, CCE should hold more daylong events for a variety of career paths. The earlier and more often that students are made aware of CCE's resources, the more likely they are to make effective use of them when the time comes. As such, CCE should reach out to first-years during orientation and place more of an emphasis on meeting with students regularly to discuss their career plans. CCE needs to establish more of a presence in the student experience throughout all four years on campus, starting from day one.

Deciding on a career and finding gainful summer and postgraduation employment can be among the most stressful aspects of college life. While many students do receive guidance from CCE's career counselors and events, many more do not. Much of the stress of the job search would be alleviated by more personal contact between students and the career office.