Christiana Voskarides '97 knows exactly what she wants to do and where she wants to go after graduating from Yale next spring. "I want to get a job in investment banking and I want to work in London," says the economics and mathematics major, who hails from Greece.
Even after spending four years at what U.S. News and World Report has labeled the nation's Number 1 university, an immediate "dream" job is not necessarily guaranteed -- so, like many other Yale students, Ms. Voskarides is utilizing Undergraduate Career Services to help her reach her employment goals.
"Things are getting serious, especially now," she says, "so there's no time to waste."
Undergraduate Career Services UCS , which provides employment and graduate-education counseling to students in and recent alumni of Yale College, offers a rich assemblage of resources to accommodate the needs of its more than 5,000 potential users. Located at 1 Hillhouse Ave., UCS offers three libraries; a staff that includes two associate directors and seven assistant directors with expertise in specific career areas; weekly information and career counseling meetings; resume-writing workshops; scholarship, fellowship, internship and study-abroad opportunities; and on- campus recruiting.
Henrik Toggenburger, a junior from Switzerland, visits UCS to learn about study programs in Japan. Barbara Henriquez, a junior from New York, wants to get an early start on her medical school applications. Oliver Cassagnol, a senior from Long Island, has used UCS before to help him secure summer employment and is now browsing through graduate school and other information. Kelly Forester, a senior from New Jersey, is interested in an internship.
The vast resources at UCS are essential to meet the needs of today's career-oriented student, says Susan Hauser, director of UCS and an assistant dean of Yale College. "Compared to 15 years ago, more students go into employment rather than graduate school," she says. "Upwards of 70 percent of our students now seek employment immediately upon graduation." This is due to a number of factors, she adds, including the need to repay student loans, the desire to delay making a career choice, uncertainty about what form of continued education to pursue, the urge to explore a long-held interest, and a dedication to public service.
Yale undergraduates are not so much concerned about finding a job, notes the Dean, but in acquiring "meaningful work, something through which they can have influence." To that end, students can spend hours just leafing through a small section of one of the libraries, says Dean Hauser, adding, "We have seniors who practically live here." She cautions, however, that undergraduates shouldn't wait until their senior year to begin taking advantage of what UCS has to offer.
Housed in a three-story Gothic Revival brownstone, UCS maintains career-oriented books, manuals, guides, catalogues, brochures, reports, surveys, directories and other reference materials in its first-floor resource library. Down the hall is the internship and summer study library, where students can find information on more than 1,000 short-term opportunities throughout the world. On the second level, inside the fellowships and pre-med advisory suite, a third library holds binders replete with fellowship information. Also on that level are the Office of International Education new to UCS this semester and the Junior Year or Term Abroad Program. On the third floor are 10 rooms in which representatives from business firms, research and educational institutions, and other organizations can interview students for jobs and/or internships. Here, also, is a wall of files containing information about the on-campus recruiting organizations, as well as other companies and corporations throughout the world.
In addition to printed materials, UCS has on hand 12 peer counselors and seven professional counselors who can talk to students about their post-Yale College plans and offer realistic advice about securing that first job. The peer counselor positions, created last year, are filled by work study students. The professional counselors, who also serve as assistant directors of UCS, have expertise in diverse fields, including public service and nonprofit careers; arts, media and communications; science and technology; private sector opportunities; fellowship and pre-med advising; and study abroad.
"Dean Hauser hired three wonderful people this summer," says Jim Garman '98 about the latest additions to the professional counseling staff. Mr. Garman, who is still in the midst of developing his own career plans, designs pages on the UCS World Wide Web site and is chair of the UCS Student Advisory Committee. He believes that most of his fellow students use UCS "more as a library. But you can't forget about those staff people. They won't make up your mind for you, but they can point people in the right direction. And they care about you." Since "everyone at Yale is so different that none of us fits any molds," the UCS counselors can play an important role in helping a student develop an individualized career plan, says Mr. Garman.
"Undergraduates now have the luxury to work with people at UCS who are both generalists and specialists at the same time," says Assistant Director George Levesque, a specialist in nonprofit and public sector careers. "We help students define and articulate their goals and help them implement those goals."
Mr. Levesque, new to UCS this fall, says much of his work involves helping students assess the skills they've already acquired. "A Yale degree represents that you know how to think, how to write, how to analyze, how to speak effectively," he says. "Those are transferable skills in the marketplace, and they're skills that many students don't even know they have. That's exciting for me -- to help students discover these marketable tools that they have."
One-on-one contact is key to the success of UCS, says Mr. Levesque. "We've made it difficult for students to come here and not see a human person, not actually talk to someone. Students walk in and they will be greeted with a friendly face."
Outside the walls of UCS, students can get career assistance from its 12 residential college liaisons. The role of the liaison, a position established just this semester, is still evolving, but it is hoped that they will help UCS "increase our visibility in the residential colleges," says Mr. Levesque. "These are people who volunteer their time, and they are excited about informing their peers about what's happening at UCS. It's someone in the college lobbying for UCS."
In an effort to reach into still other areas of the campus, and beyond, UCS will present educational programs in collaboration with Dwight Hall this year, and next spring Yale will participate in a public service career day in New York City along with other educational institutions. UCS regularly lists "hundreds" of new fellowships on its Web home page, says Dean Hauser, and last year it began subscribing to the electronic job search. "This is accessible for anybody," says Dean Hauser, noting that UCS offers workshops on how to conduct job searches on the Web.
UCS also is undergoing physical changes that will further support its user-friendly atmosphere. The first-floor lobby is being renovated to accommodate an expansive reception and referral area, and the building is being reconstructed to provide handicap access. The main stairs will receive hand railings and will be re-finished, and the entry lighting fixture is being refurbished. A distinctive graphics system will enable visitors to more easily locate their destination. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of October, with the result being "a warmer, more comfortable area," says Mr. Garman.
But comfort can't replace initiative, Mr. Garman adds. "Students sometimes walk into UCS hoping they will walk out with a job, or a Yale connection that will provide them with a job. They don't realize that UCS is not a placement agency. It's a service that can point people in the right direction."
And he agrees with Dean Hauser that the earlier a student begins to utilize UCS, the better. "Freshman or sophomore year is when you should start looking into UCS, not when you're a senior," advises Mr. Garman. "You'd be missing out if you waited that long."
The UCS Web site -- which carries information about fellowship opportunities, internships and job openings, graduate and professional programs of study, and other types of career listings -- is located at http://www.cis.yale.edu/career/ and is accessible 24 hours a day. Announcements about UCS information and pre- professional meetings, as well as workshops and fellowship application deadlines, are routinely published in the Bulletin & Calendar. For additional information about Undergraduate Career Services, call 432-0800.
-- By Felicia Hunter