Seniors Rush to Meet OCS Deadline

Scores of seniors are breathing a sigh of relief today and catching up on lost sleep after meeting yesterday's spring recruiting deadline at the Office of Career Services (OCS).

OCS will now send the students' cover letters, transcripts and resumes on to the more than 200 companies that will be recruiting Harvard seniors in the coming months.

Judy E. Murray, recruiting director for OCS, said a total of 714 students submitted materials to the office for yesterday's deadline.

"Five hundred of the students were here...between 9 and 1," she said. "There was a line to get things in early."

The deadline is infamous among those who decided to forgo sleep in favor of writing cover letters and polishing their resumes.

"I stayed up until 6 a.m. It was pretty stressful," said Andrew G.W. Chung '99. "It is a strange feeling having now turned the packet in, because it feels like a lot of my future rides on this."

Others said they think how challenging the deadline is depends on one's past experience.

"OCS makes it really easy to turn in your cover letters and resumes," said Cheryl A. Gray, '99, who turned in her information on Wednesday. "But it depends on how serious people are and how familiar they are with the process."

OCS organizes the students' resumes by company, forwarding each one a packet full of information about students seeking employment.

"The companies like to receive nice little packets full of resumes that they know are all Harvard students," Murray said.

Yesterday's deadline was for the first round of spring recruiting. Murray said this round is usually composed of banks and consulting firms looking to hire soon-to-be Harvard grads.

"The second round of recruiting is usually more diverse with more different types of companies looking to hire," Murray said.

Information for the second spring recruiting round will be available at OCS on Jan. 7, with interviews beginning in March.

Gray said she believes the recruiting process is not as painful as some have made it out to be.

"Seven hundred people are going through this because it is fun, and because they can gain valuable skills at these jobs that can be applied to anything,' she said.

But others said the process still offers challenges.

Chung said he believes the recruiting process is a humbling experience for Harvard students.

"It is important to show us what the actual job process is like," he said. "The Harvard name goes far, but you are not guaranteed a job. You have to learn to present yourself effectively."

According to Carolann Brockett, an administrator at OCS, despite the crush of eager students, the day went smoothly.

"Everyone seemed in a good mood...seemed relieved to have it all turned in," she said.