Before we get down to business, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Maggie, I'm from the state of Minnesota, and I like sandwiches and brushing my teeth.
I like shortcuts, too. That's why, from now on, you and I are going to take some short cuts. Cheat a little. We'll do it here, on Fridays, on page 7 of The Mirror, and if all goes according to plan, everyone is the wiser for it. What I'm going to try to do is bridge the gap between what every Dartmouth student knows, and what every Dartmouth student should know (or, as is often the case, pretends to know). Current events, sports, tax refunds -- the amount of information we are expected to keep in our (egg-ish, Ivy-League) heads is astounding.
Think of this as a set of CliffsNotes for all that knowledge that slips through cracks of everyday life.
If this predicament doesn't apply to you, I apologize. Some of you are on top of your game -- astoundingly so -- and while your classmates spend four years watching "The Daily Show" and perfecting their hangovers, you've been bettering yourself and resenting us for "lowering the bar." To those who are put together: you deserve nothing but respect and admiration. Some day, when you're banking six figures, you can buy your kids a nice set of brass knuckles and tell them to punch me square in the face when I'm serving them at Denny's.
My future in waiting tables leads me straight to this week's topic: jobs. Some of us are graduating soon, and we're gonna need jobs. Good ones, preferably with lots of paychecks and benefits.
Let's start with corporate recruiting. Corporate recruiting is a process through which corporations interview and hire students, both for off-terms and for after college. Career Services prefers the term "on-campus interviewing" because, though financial firms and consultants make up a large proportion of the recruiters, there are other, less corporate, employers who hire as well.
Recruiting happens in multiple rounds, called cycles, that take place in the fall and spring of each year (fall deadlines are Oct. 7 and 18). A given cycle has two parts: resume drops and interviews. During resume drops, the corporate recruit-ee electronically submits a resume and cover letter to each prospective employer.
A resume and cover letter, when effective, make you look impressive enough that prospective employers will want to interview you. Think of it as putting all your interests and activities on linguistic steroids. Career Services literally has lists of euphemisms (deemed "action verbs") you can use to pump up your life.
You think you taught skiing? Wrong. You were providing instruction. Receptionist? You communicated regularly with a wide variety of clientele. Go to town. The only problem with giving all of your activities and interests a corporate-friendly jack-up is, it will make you feel like a prick. That's because you're acting like a prick. Get used to it.
If you sound like something that corporate America might be interested in, you might land yourself an interview. In addition to their wealth of literature on how to interview well, Career Services offers interview workshops both online and face-to-face. The bottom line is to look classy and act charming. Dress like your parents, sit up straight, and think of any questions that you would like to ask the employer beforehand. Be sure to research the job and employer before the interview, and know what skills of yours are of potential use. Finally, it's recommended that you do three things at the end of an interview: ask for the interviewer's business card, ask when you will hear from them, and send a thank you note -- in writing -- within 24 hours.
Best of luck to you, my friend. You can send me a thank you note when you're gazing at Wall Street out of your corner office, and be sure to line the envelope with cold hard cash. And, if things don't go as planned, I'll be seeing you at Denny's.
