Princeton Weekly Bulletin February 8, 1999
Strategies for employment
New director of Career Services wants to expand range of jobs students consider
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We help undergraduates, graduate students and alumni explore their career-related interests," says Beverly Hamilton-Chandler, who became director of Career Services this past July.
"Our aim is to help them develop strategies for finding summer or permanent employment, for gaining admission to graduate school or for changing careers. We're a resource for both students who are undecided about career plans and students who are very focused about their interests," she notes.
Heading Hamilton-Chandler's agenda is an effort "to expand the range of job opportunities of which our students are made aware." On-campus recruiting, she says, "has reflected the organizations that have actively pursued Princeton students, which includes numerous investment banking and management consulting firms, among others."
While continuing to encourage the presence on campus of such recruiters, she also plans to attract employers in other industries and the public sector. Last year, she says, Princeton hosted approximately 3,000 recruiting interviews (some held at Career Services, some at the Nassau Inn), with about 300 companies. This spring, Princeton will participate for the first time in "two nonprofit career fairs, one in Washington, D.C., and one in New York City. "Several colleges will share the responsibility of gathering employers," she says.
And in October, she says, Princeton will host its first-ever general job fair. "There have been job fairs emphasizing science and technology," she says. "This fair, however, will feature employers in journalism, public relations, telecommunications, advertising and nonprofit organizations--in essence, a broader range of career areas."
1,800 students per year
As about 1,800 students per year come by the office for individual counseling or to attend workshops, clearly the office is already a destination location for many, but Hamilton-Chandler hopes "to shrink the psychological distance" between main campus and Career Services, which is located at 201 Nassau St. "Our web page (www.princeton.edu/career) and our distribution lists to the classes are very helpful in this regard," she believes.
The Career Services library offers four computers for searching the Web and is well-stocked with notebooks of current job vacancies, as well as directories of employers and volumes on job opportunities all over the world.
Under Hamilton-Chandler's aegis there is an ever-increasing amount of information available to students online, much accessible through the Career Services home page. There is Jobtrak, an online job listing service, and many company Web sites and career-related Web sites. The Internship Exchange, with more than 12,000 listings of semester and summer opportunities, is also available.
Students can access SIGI, "an inter-active career exploration program that guides students through the process of thinking about career goals, as well as giving information about opportunities."
There is also a Career Interest Inventory, which helps students match their interests with the interests of people in particular careers. "This is not an aptitude test," Hamilton-Chandler emphasizes. "It helps students expand the range of career paths they might be considering."
The Alumni Careers Network includes about 5,000 alumni who have offered to provide career-related information and assistance.
Career Services has established an e-mail distribution list called CareerNews, which provides information about workshops, panels and special programs. Those interested in the nonprofit sector will want to know that it's time to apply for the Princeton Project 55 public interest internships and fellowships, or to talk with representatives of the Urban Fellows Program, which seeks candidates interested in New York city government. Those considering the law will want to know about the law school and LSAT information session.
Resume workshops
Career Services itself offers regular workshops on resume writing and interviewing techniques.
Despite the wealth of online resources, there is perhaps no substitute for the one-on-one counseling available to all. Hamilton-Chandler particular enjoys talking with students who are undecided about what they want to do. "We talk about what the person is interested in academically, whether they want a summer or permanent job, whether they want to take a year off, whether they want to go to graduate school.
"We try to help each person determine possible options to pursue," she says. "Sometimes, however, the most helpful thing we can offer is permission to explore." In any case, a visit to Career Services is always "a good opportunity to get your resume critiqued or get suggestions on application letters."
Hamilton-Chandler came to Princeton from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was associate director of the Career Services Office and primary counselor to undergraduates in the Wharton School of business. A graduate of Marymount College, she received an EdM in counseling from the University of Rochester and did further graduate work at Temple University.
"I have a long-standing interest in individual development," she says. "The career area is one aspect of development we all face and to which we devote a great deal of time and energy. Whatever happens in our lives, the nature of, and level of satisfaction with, our work is a constant factor in the developmental process."
Hamilton-Chandler encourages even more students to utilize Career Services. "We have a great deal of information to offer," she says. "We want students to know we are advocates for them, and a constant resource."