I’ve heard excellent things about the Barnard alumnae network. Could anyone give me some real-life examples of the strength of the alumnae network and how it helps students? Do Barnard alumnae recruit Barnard students for internships/jobs? Do the alumnae love their school and want to earnestly help other students/graduates? I went to a Wellesley tour, where they emphasized the network a lot, and how Wellesley alumnae love running into each other alumnae and hiring Wellesley students. I didn’t hear so much about the network at the Barnard tour.
Also, how is the career development office? New York obviously offers a wealth of opportunities for work and internships throughout the academic year. Do Barnard students have a relatively easy and straightforward time getting these internships/job opportunities, with the help of career development?
My daughter was extremely happy with Barnard’s career office – she once remarked that it was the best benefit that she had gotten from Barnard, in no way meaning to diminish the value of anything else. Just that she though their offerings were wonderful.
But that doesn’t mean they arranged a job for her. The reason she valued their services is that they provided so many resources for her to learn what she needed to know to get a good job – for example, providing workshops for resume-writing, interviewing, etc. There is an alumni mentoring program, and my D. had an alumna mentor employed in her field, and she now has come back to volunteer to mentor a current Barnard senior. My D. was also able to arrange informational interviews with other Barnard alumni in jobs or fields she was interested in.
My D. had wonderful internships through college, and a great job directly relevant to her major when she graduated — but none was acquired through the career office – instead she sought out and applied for the positions she was interested in. Barnard gave her the skills needed to get the jobs she wanted… but they didn’t do it for her.
My D. got an internship and, later, a job at the United Nations thanks to an alumnae connection. Faculty in the Russian Department also put her in touch with Barnard/CU alums at the OECD, BBC and Ford Foundation. As a result she had several options. As in the case of @calmom , she didn’t rely on career services but instead asked her faculty and advisers for advice. They were fantastic.
Just to clarify, I didn’t mean to imply that career services didn’t offer resources for specific jobs – they did have listings, a variety of networking resources, and opportunities to apply for positions via their office. I know that my daughter did apply for some positions that way. It’s just those are not the ones that ended up leading to the positions my daughter took…But it certainly provided some additional opportunities to practice interview skills.
Only a tiny fraction of employers engage in direct recruiting with college campuses or list positions with colleges, mostly concentrated about a few types of businesses (such as finance). So if a student’s career interests lie elsewhere, she will need to have the sort of skills that allow her to know how to network and how to seek out employment. This would probably also be true for a student who wants to relocate somewhere else after college, such as returning to their home city or moving to a new city in a different state.
My D.wanted an internship in San Francisco the summer after her first year -it was no problem finding one, but obviously those internships were not going to be listed in NY.
The internship my D had her second year would not have been listed because it didn’t exist. My daughter used a connection via a friend-of-a-friend from high school to get in touch with someone who had a job she admired and pretty much talked him into creating an internship for her-- it was an overseas internship and it was amazing… but it was a combination of chutzpah and persistence that led to the position.
My D. found the listing for the first job she got out of college on Idealist – pretty much the go-to site for nonprofit listings. (D was a poli sci major with a focus on IR, she nonprofit or NGO was the logical next step for her after college).
BC '15 grad here. I feel really strongly connected to Barnard alums I’ve met, as well as people who attended other women’s colleges. Whenever I meet a woman who shares the women’s college experience, I feel instantly like we have a lot in common. Two of the best friends I’ve made since graduation went to Smith and Wellesley. I find that Barnard women are generally eager to meet and help other Barnard women. Any time I’ve reached out to Barnard alumns on fb or linkedin, I’ve received positive responses. Since many Barnard grads stay planted in New York, the alumnae network is a great resource. I also find that in general, the friends I made at Barnard push me to be better, and are happy to do anything to support my career, including introducing me to colleagues. Hope that helps!