<p>MQD- I have run campus recruiting for a large US corporation and I would not describe the resources at a single campus we visited/leveraged as abysmal or a waste of money and time. Most of them are run by highly skilled professionals who offer a wide range of services and options to their students. Whether the students are interested in teaching overseas, getting a Truman/Marshall/ other type of fellowship, applying to grad school, or getting a corporate type or non-profit job, every career services operation I’m familiar with offers tons of help, guidance, support, practical advice, etc. Want to teach overseas? Here’s how to get a job, here’s how to deal with visa issues. Want to work in finance? Come to this seminar to teach you the difference between commercial and investment banking; the difference between a career path in corporate finance/valuation or treasury/cash management. Come talk to recent alums who can tell you about life as a CPA at one of the Big 4. Come talk to older alums who can talk to you about venture capital or media convergence or trends in the pharma/life sciences industries.</p>
<p>I also know at least a dozen students who have already graduated from college who did not avail themselves of a single one of these services. Many of them dropped off a draft resume and cover letter to one of the career counselors and never bothered to retrieve it to see what edits or changes were suggested. Many of them signed up for job fairs but didn’t show up (they were too busy is the common excuse but I’ve heard others). Many of them told me “only tools and ******s use campus recruiting” whatever that means. And virtually all of them have told me that campus recruiting cannot help them with their dream job- and they are correct if your dream job is managing an NFL team, running a television network, or making a few million dollars a day at a Hedge fund (yes I’m serious.)</p>
<p>These students do not- will not believe that nobody graduates from college and lands a prestigious job running anything. And unfortunately- career services is there to help these kids get their foot on the first rung of the ladder- which some kids refuse to climb.</p>
<p>MQD you are really blaming the wrong player here. Innovate? I’ve participated in Podcasts, online symposia, virtual career fairs, tele-presence interviews, and a variety of social media networking opportunities. If kids are too busy playing Angry Birds and Beer pong to log on… I don’t think you can blame the college.</p>
<p>There are indeed kids in my neighborhood living on mom’s couch. Eventually they show up in my kitchen for free career advice. If they’ve been as hostile to the career guidance folks at college as they are to me (not personally hostile- but basically shooting down every idea as “I won’t commute” or “I won’t move to Dayton Ohio” or “I won’t take a job that doesn’t involve strategy” which I find hilarious) then I really can’t blame the career folks on campus!!!</p>