CSO Anticipates Life After Middlebury

Author: Rose Boyer

As the stress of midterms is already blowing away with the autumn leaves, and the anticipation of Winter Term growing stronger with the threat of snow, it is impossible to deny that time goes by quickly. For this year's seniors, busy with theses to write and major requirements to complete, it may seem that time passes too quickly — so quickly, in fact, that the thought of life after college is suddenly evoking feelings of panic.

"Avoiding the thought of life after college until now," remarked Jaye Roseborough, executive director of Middlebury Career Services Office (CSO),"is one of the biggest problems seniors run into." In order to best prepare for a the real world, students should begin using the programs offered by the CSO in their first year at Middlebury and continue throughout all four years.

In order to make this easier, the CSO has developed a four-year career development program outlining workshops, forums, internships, externships and even possible Winter Term classes appropriate for each year.

Despite the hard work on behalf of the CSO, however, these resources often go unused. The CSO recently studied a breakdown of the number of students registered on the MoJo Profile to find that only 60 percent of seniors are registered, about 30 percent of juniors, 10 percent of sophomores and even fewer first-years. MoJo is a resource, requiring only a quick and easy internet registration, that regularly reports internships and opportunities pertaining only to each student's individual interests. Finding a good internship, according to Roseborough, is critical in obtaining the real life experience necessary in choosing a career. "Every student should be registered on MoJo," she said.

Although Roseborough strongly promotes an early involvement with the CSO programs, she urges that "it is never too late." There are still plenty of opportunities for seniors scrambling to make the difficult decisions pertaining to life after college. First of all, she advises, register on MoJo. A link to the MoJo site is available at the CSO Web page. The next step is to stop by during drop-in hours at the CSO, which are Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Anyone who stops in is guaranteed one-on-one assistance.

Another critical step in making post-college decisions is to talk. Formulate a career idea, Roseborough explained, at least for the sake of discussion. After getting an idea out in the open, the possibilities are endless. Upon discussing potential ideas, people can provide references in a particular field or at least have helpful ideas about career choices. These discussions are very helpful not only in making decisions, but in making connections as well. Another option for seniors hoping to further enhance their job-getting skills is to sign up for a Winter Term "hire" education workshop.

"With the right amount of info, everyone can figure out what he or she wants to do," Roseborough claimed. "The earlier you get started the less stressful it is."