Senior Hurdles

Author: Alison Hertel Associate Editor

The end of the semester is approaching. After Thanksgiving it's practically finals and then it's J-term and then it's spring term and before you know it it's graduation and then it's … the real world. Yes, I know I'm getting a little ahead of myself. But the posters for the 200 Days Party have made me think.

I say I'm excited to grow up. I have romantic visions of sophistocated parties and a meaningful job that really engages me. What can I say? I like wearing rose colored glasses — in fact I wore a pair of sparkly cat glasses with pink lenses for a little while this summer, but maybe I shouldn't admit that. Anyway, the point is that though I'm excited to go out and try new things, I'll miss Middlebury. There have been a lot of great times here. It seems like just yesterday that my parents dropped me off at Battell with a teary goodbye, and I headed off to Wright Theater to take a French placement test (I didn't do very well).

If there's one thing Middlebury has taught me, it's to cope with change. I need to focus on that as I plan to head out into the real world. I was homesick for the first month or so of college — it was a tough transition for me, but when I went to Washington, D.C., for the semester last spring, the adjustment was negligible (College has also taught me to use big, intelligent sounding words in coherent sentences).

Perhaps I learned that change is a necessary part of life. As L.W. Lynett said, "The most effective way to cope with change is to help create it." Middlebury has also taught me to slyly integrate quotes into my writing.

In the spirit of change I thought I'd tell you about the beginnings of my job search process—a process I vowed to start on Nov. 1. I actually started a little early, when a friend of mine and fellow Campus editor came barreling into my room encouraging me to sign up for the Etiquette Dinner. My roommate and I were motivated (we had, until that moment, not visited the Career Services Office since school started). We marched over to CSO, a 10 second walk from the comfort of our sometimes-heated dorm rooms.

Once at CSO we thought we might as well get the most for our money. We not only signed up for the Etiquette Dinner, we signed the recruiting agreement and made plans to attend a Career Skills Workshop. We were well on our way to completing the four steps that make a senior eligible for recruiting (a little late, but better late than never). What are the four steps, you ask? Well, much like AA, the job search, according to CSO, requires several specific steps: sign the recruiting agreement, attend a senor meeting, attend a career skills workshop and fill out a profile on MoJo.

Since that first fateful visit, I have been back to CSO twice, once for the Career Skills Workshop and once during drop-ins to have my resume critiqued.

For the Career Skills Workshop I again brought my roommate — career searching is less daunting when done with the buddy system. We watched a power point presentation about resumes, cover letters, the interview and the ever-crucial business dress code. In case you didn't know, "Shoes are communicators." Sample resumes in hand, I went home inspired.

Then one week later I was ready to return to CSO, revised resume in hand. A career counselor went through my resume, giving useful advice, and magically, I think I have a stronger resume now than before.

In between my two CSO visits, I attended the Etiquette Dinner, which required leaving my pet fly, which until today, when it succumbed to a tragic hand-clapping incident, lived in my room. For the Etiquette Dinner I again took safety in numbers. Armed with a band of girls dressed in business casual attire, I entered the Grand Salon of the Chateau and began "mocktail" hour. We would learn later that we had made a cardinal mistake in sticking together at the "mocktail" party — cocktail parties are for meeting new friends and contacts, not for sticking with old ones. Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting President Jodi Smith, dressed in a pink (my favorite color) suit, guided us in proper cocktail party etiquette.

After lots of tips and a few exercises in cocktail party conversation, we headed downstairs to a fabulous dinner and continued lessons in etiquette. After all our burning etiquette questions were answered, we were allowed to eat our main course chatting among ourselves.

A fitting end to this column is dessert. I'd like to give a shout out to the delectable chocolate cake served at the Etiquette dinner. I could describe it in detail and make your mouths water, but instead I'll just tell you that I dubbed it a member of the top ten chocolate desserts of all time (a fairly major distinction coming from a chocolate connoisseur like myself) — not bad for a free, on-campus meal.