Online Spring Workshops Help Dickinson Students Explore Career Paths, Find Internships, Jobs
Industry immersions, senior-focused events highlight spring programming
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Graduation day’s growing nearer, and so are jobs and internship opportunities. During the busy weeks in between, Dickinson’s Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development is rolling out a jam-packed schedule of workshops and events designed to help set up students at different stages of career exploration and job searches for success in a challenging job market.
Spotlight on seniors
Two online April programs focus on the unique needs of graduating seniors. The Seniors 2.0 series, April 5-9, introduces members of the class of 2021 to the ins and outs of effective interviewing, resume and cover-letter writing, networking strategies and salary negotiation.
The On to the Next Chapter: Life After Graduation series (April 27-28) helps students prepare for what happens next. Part One focuses on relocation, workplace culture, work-life balance and benefits. Part II illuminates strategies in personal finance, retirement savings and budgeting, and is presented by Madison Glass ’18 and Jessica Ray ’18, both certified planners from Brighton Jones.
Specialized workshops
There are also workshops on how to apply to grad school (April 21) and fellowships (April 27) and how to advocate for social justice effectively in the workplace (April 8). An April 7 workshop provides employment-law information and resume- and interview-navigation tips for LGBTQ+ identified Dickinsonians. All are available to alumni as well as students.
The Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development continues to offer sessions on specific employers that are hiring. These include online discussions with representatives from Sheppard Pratt Psychiatric Hospital (April 20, noon), TD International (April 20, 4:30 p.m.) and at Educational Data Systems (April 6), where five Dickinson alumni currently work.
International students searching for U.S. internships and jobs must navigate more challenges and paperwork than their U.S.-born classmates. An April 12 workshop helps them identify available resources and outline next steps.
Industry immersions
New this year, the Industry Immersion series provides an insider’s peek at the varieties of job opportunities within a given field—and connects students with alumni and friends of the college who work in that field so they can build a professional network and learn about job, internship and shadowing opportunities right from the source.
The series kicked off March 30 with a three-day online event that gave 77 students interested in sports and entertainment careers a front-row seat to the action. The Sports & Entertainment Industry Immersion seminar included panel discussions and Q&A sessions, industry-targeted mock interviews and employer information sessions. These included:
- Kirsten Nixa Sabia ’92, vice president of integrated communications of the PGA Tour
- Adam Katz ’81, executive vice president and managing executive of baseball at the Wasserman sports agency
- Chris Cox ’15 a former Centennial Conference student-athlete and assistant director of the Athletics Annual Fund at Columbia University
- Rena Ronson ’83, partner and co-head of UTA Independent Film Group
- Diamond McClintock ’14, manager of talent acquisition at Warner Music Group
- Brian Dorfler ’97, head of human resources at NBCUniversal
- and Asma AliRahi, of Warner Music Group’s Emerging Talent Associate Program.
“The small-group settings for each of the sessions really allowed for great dialogue between the presenters and students,” said Jessica Serretti, Dickinson's associate dean of employer relations. “And after each session, students also had great opportunities to maximize the experience by connecting with the alums and employers.”
Dickinson’s second Industry Immersion event, April 13-15, will focus on finance and consulting careers through these online events:
- Info session on Enterprise Knowledge, April 13, 7 p.m., led by Megan Salerno '18, knowledge management consultant; Sara Nash '19, senior data/management analyst; Sara Duane '20, data/info management specialist; and Calvin Bader '20, knowledge management analyst.
- CFA Society Panel Discussion and Q&A: Inve$t in Her Future, April 14, 4:30-6 p.m., featuring: Melissa Novak '97, senior vice president/investment services manager, Northern Trust; Stephanie Mishler, nonprofit strategy analyst, Vanguard; Celia Rodgers, CFA, associate portfolio manager, Brandywine Global Investment Management; Kathleen Walters, CFA, director of PFM Asset Management; and Sharon Horvath, PHR, SHRM-CP, vice president of human resources​, Brinker Capital Investments.
- Student Panel: Careers in Consulting and Finance, April 15, 4:30 p.m., offering tips from Gavin Wood ’21, who will begin a job at Goldman Sachs after graduation; Sean Volz ’21, who will work at Merrill Lynch and Sara Soba ’21, who accepted a position at Enterprise Knowledge.
For students like Simone Geary ’21 (international business & management), programs like these can make all the difference, especially in an uncertain economy. This is especially true for students who are considering careers in fields hard-hit by the pandemic, like sports and entertainment—the focus of the first Industry Immersion series, which Geary attended.
“It was great to hear how much alumni have accomplished and how they have all forged their own paths, exemplifying how versatile their skills are and how a liberal-arts education will serve us well in any job or industry,” says Geary, who’d previously met individually with Center for Advising, Internships & Lifelong Career Development staff for help with her resume and LinkedIn profile and resume. “I also had the opportunity to learn more about a job prospect that is a perfect fit for my interests, and without this event, I would not have known they were still hiring or had the chance to speak to a member of the hiring team.”
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Published April 5, 2021