Developing career services
Katie Connolly
Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: KSG News
Charlene MacDonald (MPP2) and Anna Bell Farrar (MPP2) are frustrated.
Upon graduation, both are seeking work related to electoral politics, a field that includes public affairs, government relations, lobbying and communications consulting. Both sought the help of the Office of Career Services (OCS) several months ago, hoping for assistance in developing networks and contacts that might ultimately lead to a job offer. Both had their requests met with blank stares and unhelpful advice.
MacDonald and Farrar recently took their concerns to Senior Associate Dean McCarthy. They drafted a list of simple recommendations to improve OCS, including building recruiting partnerships with relevant firms and organizations; reaching out to alumni working in the field; utilizing the contacts of the Institute of Politics; and creating a frequently asked questions database to give students basic information about the industry.
Dean McCarthy expressed surprise that such steps had not previously been undertaken, but assured the students that the new Director of Professional Development (formerly called Director of Career Services) would be receptive to their ideas. Enter Susanne Beck. Beck, a KSG graduate (MPP '87), began in the position, which has been vacant for 18 months, four weeks ago. She is determined to revitalize OCS, but recognizes the difficulties in satisfying the miscellaneous needs of a diverse student body.
Beck, whose own career spans investment banking, strategy consulting and non-profit work, says she is still in the process of talking to students to understand their needs. But she shares one immediate concern with MacDonald and Farrar - the haphazard approach to networking at the institutional level. MacDonald points out that the Alumni database has not been updated in over a year.
Beck hopes to remedy this problem by working closely with the newly appointed Director of Alumni Services, Debra Metcalfe, and pooling the vast resources of faculty and staff.
Upon graduation, both are seeking work related to electoral politics, a field that includes public affairs, government relations, lobbying and communications consulting. Both sought the help of the Office of Career Services (OCS) several months ago, hoping for assistance in developing networks and contacts that might ultimately lead to a job offer. Both had their requests met with blank stares and unhelpful advice.
MacDonald and Farrar recently took their concerns to Senior Associate Dean McCarthy. They drafted a list of simple recommendations to improve OCS, including building recruiting partnerships with relevant firms and organizations; reaching out to alumni working in the field; utilizing the contacts of the Institute of Politics; and creating a frequently asked questions database to give students basic information about the industry.
Dean McCarthy expressed surprise that such steps had not previously been undertaken, but assured the students that the new Director of Professional Development (formerly called Director of Career Services) would be receptive to their ideas. Enter Susanne Beck. Beck, a KSG graduate (MPP '87), began in the position, which has been vacant for 18 months, four weeks ago. She is determined to revitalize OCS, but recognizes the difficulties in satisfying the miscellaneous needs of a diverse student body.
Beck, whose own career spans investment banking, strategy consulting and non-profit work, says she is still in the process of talking to students to understand their needs. But she shares one immediate concern with MacDonald and Farrar - the haphazard approach to networking at the institutional level. MacDonald points out that the Alumni database has not been updated in over a year.
Beck hopes to remedy this problem by working closely with the newly appointed Director of Alumni Services, Debra Metcalfe, and pooling the vast resources of faculty and staff.
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