When Tyler Bergmeier discovered he would join the College’s financial aid office, he and his spouse, Miranda Bergmeier, were tasked with relocating to the Upper Valley. In addition to expensive housing, limited after-school child care and few options for African-American hair care, for Miranda Bergmeier, one of the most pressing challenges associated with moving to the area has been finding a job.
Human resources senior recruiter Beau Benson independently runs the Dual Career Network, which works with partners and spouses of the College’s new hires to find staff positions at Dartmouth or elsewhere in the region. Benson is currently working with Miranda Bergmeier to find work in the Hanover area.
“I think in a lot of families now both parents have to work in order to meet the bills,” Tyler Bergmeier said. “Any time one spouse moves for a job-related opportunity, the other spouse has to move, and that in and of itself makes it difficult.”
Benson said she works with 30 to 40 accompanying partners a year. An accompanying partner includes anyone who has uprooted himself or herself to move with a staff or faculty member to Dartmouth.
Finding a job in any community can be difficult, as word of many open positions spreads through personal connections, Miranda Bergmeier said.
“This is hard to do when you are starting from scratch in a brand new community,” she said.
Benson works with Hypertherm, Creare, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Simbex and the College to find open positions. The service does not, however, guarantee employment.
Benson begins her work before the partner gets to campus, reviewing resumes and sharing information with potential employers.
“I’m not sending someone to other companies’ websites, I’m sending my clients to other people’s recruiters,” Benson said.
The process of finding employment in the Upper Valley typically takes six months to one year, Benson said, adding that her more successful clients contact her before arriving on campus.
“The people who put the effort into using us as an accelerator to their networking efforts are the people who do best,” she said. “You can’t sit around passively at home.”
Miranda and Tyler Bergmeier said they consider the program to be an attractive service offered by the College. In the couple’s past transitions, other colleges have not provided a formal service particularly for this need, Miranda Bergmeier said.
She said that Benson gave her insight into the general employment landscape in the Hanover area and aggregated information about employment opportunities into one place.
Benson collaborates with Tuck Partners Club, which supports the partners and families of students at the Tuck School of Business by helping them find housing, employment and child care, among other services.
Dartmouth is also a member of the New England Higher Education Recruitment Consortium, which provides services for job seekers in higher education, including Dual Career-oriented services.
Consortium director Ruth Molina said that job seekers can access the consortium’s site to find employment information for all member institutions.
Miranda Bergmeier said that having a spouse in higher education provides many benefits, like living in or near a college community that values education and provides cultural, educational and employment opportunities.
“It helps if you see change as an opportunity for good things to happen,” she said. “If you are the sort who does not welcome change, this would be a pretty tough road to go.”
