2008 Woodie Awards
CSO: the gateway to your dream job?
Denizhan Duran
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Focus
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Ah, the dream job. With a bit of luck, it will bring you the "new car, caviar, four star day dream," or so Roger Waters of Pink Floyd claims in their hit song, "Money". But as countless seniors have discovered after graduation, dream jobs don't just fall from the sky.
It is that time of year again - as seniors are starting their job searches in earnest, the light at the end of the four-year tunnel seems to grow brighter every day. Naturally, Adirondack House, home to the Career Services Office, is swarming with activity. The CSO's 10-person staff caters to the needs of these seniors while at the same time organizing career exploration events for underclassmen. On a visit one day last week, it was not hard to notice the hectic air inside, as juniors and seniors frequented the building.
Senior Associate Director Don Kjelleren, explained the CSO's role. The CSO, he said, is "a lifetime experience." Students can start going to the CSO as a first-year, and there are different activities targeted for every class level. It does not place students in a career, but rather gives them the chance to explore a range of careers and lets them decide which one to pursue.
The CSO encompasses many different aspects of career search under the "Senior Program", like Resumania, Get the Job You Want Workshop, and on- and off-campus recruiting events. The office also organizes a week of events that focus on a specific career field, bringing recruiters like Teach For America and Google to campus and setting up alumni advice panels to help applicants with their job hunts.
In addition, alumni are a great help to students in the job search outside of the career weeks. CSO maintains a database of alumni contact information on its Web site, which help job seekers get in touch with alums who work for companies that they are interested in.
"Around 50 to 100 alumni come back every semester to talk with students," Kjelleren said. "We're not trying to overwhelm students by availing this many activities, but trying to present something for everyone."
It is that time of year again - as seniors are starting their job searches in earnest, the light at the end of the four-year tunnel seems to grow brighter every day. Naturally, Adirondack House, home to the Career Services Office, is swarming with activity. The CSO's 10-person staff caters to the needs of these seniors while at the same time organizing career exploration events for underclassmen. On a visit one day last week, it was not hard to notice the hectic air inside, as juniors and seniors frequented the building.
Senior Associate Director Don Kjelleren, explained the CSO's role. The CSO, he said, is "a lifetime experience." Students can start going to the CSO as a first-year, and there are different activities targeted for every class level. It does not place students in a career, but rather gives them the chance to explore a range of careers and lets them decide which one to pursue.
The CSO encompasses many different aspects of career search under the "Senior Program", like Resumania, Get the Job You Want Workshop, and on- and off-campus recruiting events. The office also organizes a week of events that focus on a specific career field, bringing recruiters like Teach For America and Google to campus and setting up alumni advice panels to help applicants with their job hunts.
In addition, alumni are a great help to students in the job search outside of the career weeks. CSO maintains a database of alumni contact information on its Web site, which help job seekers get in touch with alums who work for companies that they are interested in.
"Around 50 to 100 alumni come back every semester to talk with students," Kjelleren said. "We're not trying to overwhelm students by availing this many activities, but trying to present something for everyone."
Be the first to comment on this story