PUBLIC SERVICE

If you're interested in public service, take advantage of the opportunities at this year's Career Forum. True, the Forum is comprised mainly of for-profit companies, unlike the BOSTON PUBLIC SERVICE CAREER DAY November 30. Nonetheless, there will be representatives of agencies working on a variety of issues: housing (Commitee for Boston Public Housing), health (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, international development (Peace Corps) and education (Teach for America and WorldTeach.)

The Career Forum can be useful in a number of ways. Certainly the most common use is for "feeling out" prospects for jobs after graduation, or for term-time or summer internships. You may wish to find out more about the mission of a particular agency, or to ask the representative about other agencies in the same field. The Forum can also serve the important function of allowing you to practice "interviewing" with a representative of an agency without the stakes being too high. One other aspect of the Forum is that many of the for-profit organizations represented also have some sort of public service programs--it can't hurt to ask.

If you find that the Forum has only whetted your appetite for information on "what's out there" beyond the corporate world, take heart. As I mentioned, on November 30 the Boston Public Service Career Day will host some 30 greater Boston non-profit and government agencies. Representatives from agencies in areas such as health, the environment, education, community services, housing, women's issues, public interest law and others will be on hand to discuss jobs, internships and volunteer positions, or to talk about their agencies.

On April 12, the show goes to New York City for a NEW YORK PUBLIC SERVICE CAREER DAY. This event, co-sponsored by Harvard, Radcliffe, and the other Seven Sibling schools, will feature representatives from some 70 domestic and international organizations with offices in and around New York City.

OCS also sponsors guest speakers, and panels on public service careers, including a new series of workshops on working in international development. To find out more about these programs, watch the OCS Newsletter or stop by the office to see Hap Pitkin.