Blinded By the Light
Tuesday night was not your typical Office of Career Services (OCS) meeting. Fifteen Harvard students sat on the sixth floor of University Hall viewing screen-projected Zen mantras such as “Follow Your Heart” and “Lighten Up.” As most students were silently taking notes in planners already bursting with career information and corporate flyers, one brazen Government concentrator raised her hand and to ask a loaded question: “Do I really, secretly, deep down, in my heart of hearts, know what I want from my life and career?”
That’s why they’re here. The sign on the door of this lecture says “What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?,” implying that it may be fine not to have a perfect life plan set up. Welcome to Career Week, where there are just as many undecided students as there are entirely certain students.
Although OCS is making a gargantuan effort to cater to these undecideds, many students—intimidated by the perception that everyone around them is on a vector to success—often dismiss the office as being solely for the hardcore recruiting set. Tuesday night’s meeting had a vaguely Alcoholics Anonymous vibe to it—with students looking around nervously, as if to check who their companions were in Indecision Land. For OCS, urging those undecideds to take that first step is not going to be easy.
This year’s career fair features a completely revamped format that focuses on a wide range of professional areas. “Careers for Food Lovers” featured a restaurateur, food writer, processor of food safety and agriculture expert; “Careers for People Who Want to Make Things Happen” included talks by a political campaign manager, event planner and producer. Additionally, many events function to teach broader skills, such as the “Work/Life Balance Luncheon,” and the “Resume Workshop.”
This new approach to career week is intended to provide students both with a variety of options—and of course, the reassurance that it’s not a criminal offense not to have a career path mapped out in October of senior year. “Don’t rush in and lock yourself in the same thing for forty years. Be honest with yourself—figure out what you like doing, and figure out what you are good at. There’s no hurry—when you get closer to really needing a job, clarity will set in,” preaches David Bell, the OCS-sponsored speaker at Tuesday night’s event for undecided students, to his small but earnest audience.
Bell’s message is echoed by the OCS mission statement, which states that OCS is commited to supporting students in “exploring and making effective career and education choices.”
Nonetheless, students remain highly skeptical of the seemingly noble intentions of the infamous OCS. Many seniors feel that OCS, which is used largely as a practical office and not a counseling center, attempts to funnel students either into grad school or the consulting/i-banking world.
Fang S. Ko ’05, a Biochemistry concentrator, says, “Career Week pushes undecided students in the direction of finance. Companies who are willing to invest money are the ones seeking to make money—the financial groups. And they are the ones who come to Harvard.” When asked about OCS, one Women’s Studies Major boldly states, “You need them, you need their help, but they don’t give you what you want—they try to give you what they want.” Sameera Haque ’06, a junior already stressing about the monumental decisions waiting to be made in senior year, says, “I’m not sure if I’m headed somewhere, or being pushed.”
But in a week where dressed-to-the- nines seniors are rushing off to consulting meetings and discussing plans with gusto, can Harvard students’ grievances against OCS be separated from the atmosphere at Harvard in general?
Daphne W. Lyman ’05, a History concentrator, says she has been attending this week’s consulting recruiting meetings to keep up with her peers. “A lot of people have job offers already; it’s stressful to talk to people who already have jobs,” she says. “The competition started four weeks ago—everybody is really future- motivated and goal-oriented.”
But not everyone has gripes. Laura J. Arandes ’05, an English major who claims to have made her second home at OCS, agrees that the atmosphere is intense, but praises OCS for helping her navigate the waters of senior year.
“It’s hard to go out and have fun. I feel like if I go out, someone else will write this fellowship and get it,” Arandes says. But when asked about her experience with OCS, Arandes gushes, “There is something for everyone there. It’s a common misconception that OCS is all about recruiting, and banking—for example, there is a person there whose job is totally based on public service. The problem is, you have to be there a lot to know about it.”
Maybe the problem is that nobody does know about it.
OCS’ sinister reputation has cast a nearly impenetrable cloud over the entire organization. “I don’t trust OCS,” one Economics concentrator declares. “For finance jobs, all OCS does is e-mail contacts to a bunch of major banks, so you are lumped in with every other Harvard student.” Phil Santiago ’04, an alum now working as a lab technician at MIT, discussed his perceptions of OCS. “I don’t even think I went to Career Week. It was too one track—mostly for people interested in finance and economics. In fields like science, you have to do it yourself.”
But contrary to his and others’ beliefs, OCS does have staff to advise solely on science-related careers, including Wilson Hunt Jr., the OCS assistant director for fields in Science and Technology, and Lee-Ann Michelson, director of Health and Pre-Medical Advising.
Most seniors have no clue what they want to eat for dinner, never mind what they want to do for the rest of their lives. OCS is trying to meet their needs, but getting the word out to neurotic Harvard students is a task that won’t be achieved by one revamped Career Week. However, emphasizing the new diverse approach to career choices through the entire year, and building on it in years to come may slowly swap competition with creativity when it comes to the job search.