Career Center serves new grads, young alums

With Commencement only weeks away, two words echo in conversations among graduating seniors and their parents: What’s next?

Some students have known for months where they’ll be working or attending graduate school in September. Others look forward to interviews, offers, and acceptance letters. Still others have found that they remain uncertain about what it is they want to do or are determined to savor their final undergraduate year, and have barely begun to search. Springtime of your student’s senior year “can be an anxious time when their friends are leaving with employment and they're still uncertain,” says Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Joseph DuPont. “It can feel isolating.”

That is why graduating students and their parents should know that the Career Center, which DuPont directs, offers many resources not only for current students but for recent alumni as well.

“Whenever you start, we’ll help you end up in a good place,” says DuPont, pointing to data that shows 96 percent of the Boston College Class of 2017 has been employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of Commencement.

Remember, DuPont points out, that organizations and industries hire at different times of the year. Large financial services, accounting, real estate, business services, consulting, and management firms frequently offer student summer interns jobs for the following year. Smaller organizations and most other industries—including the arts, entertainment, government, marketing, and especially education—tend not to know their hiring needs many months in advance. They are more likely to conduct “just-in-time” hiring during the spring semester or the summer. (View the breakdown of hiring timelines by industry cluster.)

Recent graduates, like all students, can begin their quest with a drop-in visit to the Career Center for comprehensive résumé critiques and practice interviews. Also, by appointment, career coaches offer 30-minute, one-on-one, and small group sessions on everything from exploring job opportunities, to interview techniques, to negotiating offers. In addition to some 5,600 undergraduates, more than 400 recent alumni use the Career Center and its resources each year. Regardless of where you are in the world, you can connect to the Career Center online, or via phone or Skype.

Young alums should explore EagleLink, the University’s career portal, on which some 9,000 jobs from across the country are listed each year. Opportunities by industry can be found here. Every student and recent graduate should also join the Boston College Alumni Group on LinkedIn, a job-finding and networking community of more than 28,000 active alumni members “who are all willing to offer anyone advice,” says DuPont. He also recommends recent graduates take advantage of Boston College Alumni’s Career Resources and join their local chapters of the Alumni Association, which offer many networking and career counseling events.

Career seekers who are close to campus are also encouraged to attend the Career Center’s Annual Career and Internship Fair in Conte Forum in September, an opportunity to meet representatives from some 300 employers—from multinational, to nonprofit, to startup—from dozens of industries.

Parents should particularly remember this: you can help in ways that go beyond staying supportive and helping your student search for job listings, says DuPont. “Parents tend not to realize how strong their own networks are. Introduce your students to them.” The Career Center offers a page of resources for parents, including links to surveys and a presentation on “Translating Education into Careers.”