After Midd Breaking into the job market

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We have all heard it: the disappointment, dread or begrudging acceptance with which Middlebury students anticipate leaving the beloved "bubble" and entering the real world.

For Febs, however, this experience common to all college students is made somewhat unique by the timing of their entrance into the workforce.

"It can be a significant advantage because there's not as much competition for positions at that time of year," said Don Kjelleren, senior associate director of the Career Services Office (CSO). "Most of the jobs we post on our Web site are available immediately, which means that Febs can apply for jobs that begin in February or March. So Febs actually get sent a lot of extra jobs through our site that May graduates don't get."

Yet this upside­ - the chance to avoid the summer employment rush ­- comes with the inevitable drawbacks of a Career Services program designed primarily to fit the regular September-to-May school year that most employers are used to.

"As Febs, we enter, exist and leave Middlebury on a strange half-year schedule," said Suvi Neukam '07.5. "This fact was no different for my job search. Febs cannot do the 'senior steps' and are even discouraged from attending the CSO meeting during the fall of what I considered to be my 'senior' year. Consequently, I had a mere couple of months to figure things out before my graduation, as opposed to a whole semester and a half like the rest of the 'real' senior class."

Neukam added that the particular types of employment for which the CSO has strong recruiting programs did not necessarily fit her job interests.

"I believe that Middlebury highly emphasizes the finance and consulting industries over scientific research, entertainment, art or even the possibility of graduate school," she said. Her lack of interest in finance, she explained, meant that she found herself doing a lot of independent networking.

Ken Nakamura '06.5 agreed, adding that he was fortunate as a Feb to have different interests.

"If you're going into finance, you're obviously going to miss the seasonal recruiting sessions by a semester, so you have to plan ahead," he said. "For me going into advertising, there was much less of a seasonal hiring cycle. I just happened to be lucky that my agency was looking for people to hire when I graduated."

Kjelleran said that Febs looking to break into competitive industries can make themselves more attractive to employers of all kinds by emphasizing their unique qualities, as well as those of Middlebury's uncommon mid-year program.

"Generally, employers are not aware of the Feb program, and it can be confusing in terms of dates that appear on graduates' resumes," he said. "But students can play that curiosity to their advantage, especially if they traveled or worked during that six-month period before enrolling at Middlebury. They have the potential to be a little more mature and pragmatic if they've used their time off to their advantage."