Lack of Non-Profit Options at Career Forum Not OCS' Fault

To the editors:

Alex Nguyen's piece "Blame Harvard for Cold Hearts" (Opinion, Nov. 23) certainly touched on a topic of concern for both writers of this letter. Nguyen writes eloquently about societal needs and there is little reason to disagree with his goals. But we certainly are not in agreement with the headline or with some of the reasoning behind the op-ed.

The Career Forum has become an easy target for students who are eager for more information and support in seeking positions outside of banking and consulting. However, the lack of representation at the fair by non-profit organizations has less to do with callousness on the part of the Office of Career Services (OCS) and everything to do with the structure of the non-profit world.

Very few non-profit organizations regularly recruit large numbers of new employees (college seniors) every year. Those non-profit organizations that do are represented at the Forum--Teach for America, Peace Crops, AmeriCorps.

The simple fact is that non-profit organizations, even large national organizations, operate on a micro level. The American Red Cross of Mass. Bay (our local chapter) may have one or two positions come open in any one year. And the chapter will probably not know far in advance that those positions will be open; this pattern is repeated across the country. The National Office of the American Red Cross does not recruit employees for local chapters and thus would not send a representative to a college recruitment fair.

Because of the hiring structure of the nonprofit world, therefore, students need assistance and support in creating job search strategies. OCS and Philips Brooks House (PBH) are working together to make such searches and strategies less isolating for students. From October through April there are monthly workshops on elements of non-profit career searches. On Dec. 10, Philips Brooks House will focus on "Opportunities in Education." In addition, Gail Gilmore conducts regular small-group job strategy sessions for students interested in non-profit work.

In the last two years, student groups created a February weekend workshop on "Careers with Social Responsibility." No students have come forward to coordinate a similar fair this year. However, OCS and PBH are working together to develop a Saturday Public Service Career Fair (as distinguished from a job or recruiting fair) early in the spring semester. We hope this first (annual) Public Service Career Fair will become a beacon for students looking toward public service and other careers in the not-for-profit sector, just as the Career Forum has become a beacon for students interested in consulting and investment banking.

We are open to ideas and suggestions for improving how we support students like Nguyen who are frustrated by the structure of the nonprofit world and the hands-on intensity of conduction individual job searches. We hope interested students will contact us and agree to serve on our student advisory panel to create the Public Service Career Fair. GAIL GILMORE   JUDITH H. KIDD   Nov. 25, 1998

Gilmore is a counselor at the Office of Career Services. Kidd is assistant dean for public service and director of Phillips Brooks House.