CSO Interviewees MIA

Author: Ian Fleishman

Since the end of the last school year, the Career Services Offices (CSO) has experienced a marked decline in student interest in certain services offered, particularly on-campus interview opportunities.
The CSO has been forced to turn away firms and businesses interested in interviewing students on campus because so few students signed up for the interviews when they were offered.
The CSO has cancelled interviews with The Washington Post and the Educational Resources Group. Other potential recruiters declined to visit the College after having no students or very few students sign up for interviews. According to Jaye Roseborough, the executive director of the CSO, "these are the types of employers that would have gotten lots of [interest] in years past."
The CSO advertises interviews and similar services through e-mail, sorting the opportunities according to students' particular interests. This process is facilitated by MOJO, Middlebury's online guide to career opportunities and internships, in which students can designate their fields of interest. Information is also given to professors according to discipline, so they may distribute pertinent information to their students and advisees.
The College arranges on-campus interviews with employers who are interested specifically in Middlebury students. On-campus interviews are typically considered "the safest, easiest way to get the search process started," said Roseborough. Furthermore, once interviewers visit campus, they are likely to return in following years.
The CSO has also noticed a lack of student interest in other services such as rÈsumÈ referrals, off-campus interview consortia events and workshops. Yet contact between students and the CSO seems to be as frequent as ever, with the number of students taking advantage of the office's drop-in hours having increased in the last few months. During these sessions students may ask questions regarding rÈsumÈs, cover letters or other post-graduate concerns. In contrast to previous years, many of these students have been underclassmen.
The CSO attributes the declining student interest in interviews to current concerns over the economy and the job market, a belief supported, they say, by studies they have conducted. Alexandra Bottemanne '03 agrees, saying that some seniors have the impression that a job search begun now will not "ultimately be successful." The CSO suggests that peer institutions are also experiencing this general trend.
Aileen Foster, manager of employer relations at Wesleyan University, said that the Career Resource Center there "is experiencing the same trend: a lack of student participation in on-campus recruiting." Other educational institutions, however, such as Bowdoin, are having no more difficulty in finding interested students than in past years.
Besides concerns over the present job market, there are a number of reasons why students may not be taking full advantage of services offered by the CSO. Alaina Buckland, a senior theater major, has admittedly had almost no contact with the CSO, which she feels cannot help her find a job in her field of interest. This sentiment is echoed by other seniors like Bottemanne, who indicates that she "would appreciate seeing a firmer support of a student's particular ambitions and career goals" on the part of the CSO.
The CSO understands that many seniors are very busy and may not be inclined to spend so much time actively pursuing post-graduate work. According to Roseborough, this is unfortunate because it will never be as easy for students to find job interviews after graduation as it is at Middlebury, which provides these interviews.
Bottemanne, however, says that for some seniors, the process is simply too long. In fact, before being eligible to participate in rÈsumÈ collections and other recruiting opportunities, seniors must complete a four-step process starting in the fall of their senior year. Bottemanne recognizes that the CSO offers many beneficial services, but feels that they come across as "a little overbearing" to seniors who are too busy.
Many other students have found the CSO to be helpful in numerous ways. Quite a few students report having success with MIDDNet Online, where students can connect with alumni who have volunteered to help with career networking. Students have also found that professors and departments pass on important information forwarded by the CSO.
Amine Bouchentouf '03 said that "in the early stages of my search, [CSO] was definitely critical, and it was very helpful." Bouchentouf goes on to indicate that beyond these initial stages he found his own efforts were more important, although he still found services such as MIDDNet helpful.
For international students such as Bouchentouf it is important to find a job so that they may remain in the United States after graduation, if they so desire.
Regardless of the reasons why students are not taking full advantage of the CSO's offerings, the lack of student interest in on campus interviews may affect the office's ability to attract recruiters in the future.