The world may feel upside down some days, but Carls are finding ways to navigate an uncertain terrain. Since the global pandemic started shutting down in-person interactions in the spring, the Career Center has been tracking a variety of trends (e.g., recruiting, internships, unemployment, industry) to understand what is happening and how to position all students to effectively explore and pursue their career interests. Below are five ways our team has adapted our programs, services, and experiential learning opportunities to a virtual environment.
- Industry exposure: Carls can take advantage of learning about a wide variety of industries virtually. Our signature 30 Minutes program connected 17 alumni with groups of students in one-hour zoom chats throughout the fall. The Carleton Insider Series features alumni in key sectors sharing their career paths and how COVID-19 impacted their work in10-minute video segments.
- Skill development: Student career assistants created a series of tips to help students learn how to position themselves in a virtual world and how to create great LinkedIn profiles. Early in the fall term, we hosted our first “Career Prep Work” that featured online job fairs, virtual networking opportunities, tech and case interview workshops, and 1:1 résumé reviews with dozens of industry recruiters.
- Externships: Carleton externships continue to be a great way for students to learn about careers and gain tangible experiences in professions of interest. Nearly 200 opportunities were made available for Carls to complete one-, two-, or three-week externships during winter break. This year, externships are completely virtual, short-term project experiences.
- Handshake: The Career Center launched our new job, internship, and events platform this summer. Handshake replaces the Tunnel as the primary tool for Carls to view job and internship opportunities, register for Career Center events, and to schedule appointments with a career coach. In the first four months of Handshake, Carls have had access to 5,000 opportunities, almost double the amount available in the Tunnel during the same time period last year.
- Career coaching: As part of the Career Center’s evolution, all first-year students are now assigned a career coach when they start at Carleton. Students receive regular communications throughout the year on issues important to their career preparation as a first-year college student. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors may continue to work with any career coach of their choice by scheduling an appointment in Handshake.