With advice and guidance from the Career Center and more recruiters coming to Duke’s campus, students worrying about their futures may be relieved to hear that the Career Center is optimistic about opportunities for students.
There were more companies on campus recruiting students in Fall 2010 than during the previous Fall, Kirsten Nicholas, associate director of the Career Center, wrote in an e-mail Jan. 31. She said she expects this Spring’s numbers will either meet or break Spring 2010 figures.
The number of jobs and internships listed on eRecruiting increased from 1,194 in Spring 2009 to 1,785 in Spring 2010. In that time period, the number of companies listing jobs increased from 571 to 722. Nicholas said this year she expects the totals to either meet or exceed last year’s.
How many of those postings have resulted in job offers thus far, however, remains unclear.
“We don’t collect data on offers or accepts until the end of the academic year, but the amount of companies posting positions has increased over last year,” Nicholas said.
Increases in job listings and recruiting companies could lead to an increase in the number of students with job offers by graduation. In April last year, 31 percent of seniors reported accepting jobs, 31 percent planned to continue on to graduate education, 19 percent were still seeking employment and 9 percent were unsure about their future plans, according to the Career Center’s annual exit survey that received 1,240 responses. Compared to the Class of 2009, a similar number of students accepted job offers and fewer graduating seniors were still looking for employment.
Some students are unsure whether or not this year’s market is better than last year’s. Senior Cameron Lambe said it is difficult to compare this year to other years, but added that she felt a lot of students settle for jobs instead of attaining the ones they really wanted.
“A lot of people I know are having to settle for jobs they kind of like just to get a foot in the door,” Lambe said.
To find the right job, some students noted that it is important to go beyond the eRecruiting system. Lambe, a political science major, found job positions not only through the Career Center’s eRecruiting website, but also at job fairs and through her professors.
“Don’t limit yourself to only finding jobs through one channel. I found several openings through my professors because they had contacts with organizations that weren’t in contact with the Career Center,” she said.
Lambe added that she utilized the political science department’s website to search for an internship, which helped her understand what type of job she wanted.
Junior Stephen Zhu, who is currently applying for summer internships, said he obtained information about positions from several places, including the Career Center and upperclassmen who have been through the process before.
Zhu added that the process is long and strenuous but worth it.
“It’s a pretty stressful process, which feels like another class with all the time put into going to [information] sessions, applying and worrying about interviews,” he said.
When asked if students were generally happy with their job offers, Nicholas felt students had a range of emotions.
“Some are excited, some are relieved, some a [little] worried. At the end of the day we work with students to make well thought-out decisions for their own personal situations,” Nicholas said.
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