A Changing Career Game

When the Class of 2009 arrived on campus, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch were still solvent.

But between freshmen move-in and the Office of Career Services Career Forum at the end of September of their senior year, Merrill Lynch was sold to Bank of America and Lehman Brothers collapsed.

And as might be expected in a time of economic turmoil, fewer seniors—usually looking for their first full-time jobs—were able to find work this year than in the recent past.

In this year’s Crimson survey of over 500 seniors, 59 percent of those seeking employment said that they currently have a job lined up, a drop from 66 percent in 2008 and 73 percent in 2007.

The economic slump will also impact the support Harvard provides to undergraduates—OCS, the Advising Programs Office, and the Bureau of Study Counsel are all either reorganizing their programs or, in some cases, cutting back due to the financial crisis.

‘DEFNINITELY MORE COMPETITIVE’

At the beginning of the economically tumultuous academic year, Robin Mount was appointed to head OCS as its interim director, replacing long-time head William Wright-Swadel, who left to take a similar job at Duke.

As careers in finance and consulting became less attractive or available, the office shifted its focus toward other industries, with a new initiative called “turning up the volume on diverse career options.”

While Mount said that the timing of OCS’ change in direction was coincidental, the new programming was particularly fitting for seniors who were turning away from or being edged out of the collapsing financial sector.

Only 20 percent of seniors are entering finance and consulting this year, compared to 39 percent in 2008, according to Crimson surveys.

“If one likes to work with numbers and statistics, one doesn’t have to do it on Wall Street,” OCS Associate Director Susan M. Vacca said. “One could do it in an arts organization managing a budget.”

The office’s programming is now grouped into cluster areas including finance and consulting, creative arts, education, and poverty relief.

“OCS has done an admirable job of shifting gears a little bit, demystifying careers other than those you can get to through e-recruiting,” Jesse M. Kaplan ’09 said.

E-recruiting, OCS’ online recruiting database, is commonly utilized by seniors during the job search, particularly by those seeking careers in finance and consulting.

But the job market may be forcing seniors to rely less on the on-campus recruiting system, one of OCS’ most widely used resources. According to the OCS Web site, 45 percent of seniors from the Class of 2008 participated in the program.

However, the number of recruiters coming on campus is falling, and the jobs available are becoming harder to get.

According to Mount, there were 10 percent fewer recruiters on campus in the fall of 2008 and 19 percent fewer this spring.

Economics concentrator Trevor G. Frankel ’09 used on-campus recruiting to get his job at hedge fund MDT Advisers next year. He said his experience with OCS was positive, but emphasized that OCS should encourage people to locate jobs on their own.

Ayla N. Bloomberg ’09 used e-recruiting in her job search, but accepted an offer that she found independently of OCS.

“It’s definitely been more competitive,” she said of on-campus recruiting. “I stayed within the healthcare industry and had some more success with that than in other areas that I might have explored in previous years had the economy been better.”

PROSPECTS FOR 2010

The economic slump that hit this year’s graduating class will likely affect next year’s class as well, both via the weak job market and through cutbacks spurred by Harvard’s declining budget.

According to Mount, 135 companies have signed up so far to recruit on campus next year, a 17 percent decrease from May 2008, when 162 firms had signed up. The registration period is not yet closed.

OCS is also cutting one-on-one counseling during this July to save money on operating costs and is taking advantage of retirements to consolidate positions, Mount said. In addition, less food will be served at events and many of the publications put out by the office will be moving online.

But, according to Mount, the OCS budget is unlikely to be cut further.

“At a time when the economy’s struggling and students are looking for opportunities, it’s not a time we’re looking to reduce services to students,” she said.

The office has collaborated with Harvard Student Agencies and the Technology and Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard to initiate a new summer program, the “Innovation Space Summer Expansion.” The initiative will allow students to use its interview facility on Massachusetts Avenue as office space for developing entrepreneurial ideas, and will cost OCS little besides a water cooler and a few printers.

CUTS IN ADVISING

But other advising offices are suffering more than OCS from Harvard’s budget crisis.

A document obtained by the Crimson last month described significant cuts to undergraduate advising, including the elimination of the concentration fair, the downsizing of Advising Fortnight, and the reduction of funding for meals hosted by freshmen advisers for their advisees.

Like OCS, the Advising Programs Office will be moving publications online and cutting funding for food at events.

The APO will also lose its current head, Monique Rinere, who will leave for a new post at Columbia in July.

The Bureau of Study Counsel, which conducts personal counseling and academic advising and tutoring, is also examining plans to reshape.

BSC director Abigail Lipson said “there are many, many things that will have to change,” but declined to give details on the plans being considered.

“Our priorities for next year remain the same—to focus our availability during students’ busiest times of the year and to continue to offer services that support students’ learning and development,” she said.

—Staff writer Danielle J. Kolin can be reached at dkolin@fas.harvard.edu.