I’d love to hear from some current students/alumni at W&L about after graduation and career opportunities. How good was the career services office (and school connections in general) in helping you find an internship or job? Have you been able to find the job you were hoping for? Has anyone used “Handshake” and, if so, how helpful was it? I’m looking at Business Administration major. I’ve heard from alumni at other school I’m looking at about recruiters coming to the school and tons of info sessions, interview and resume prep/help, and how all these resources helped them get the job they always wanted. Is this the case at W&L?
Soon-to-be second year here. I can’t speak much about what I know about post-graduation opportunities and how it’s been for Business Administration students since I’m doing pretty much only STEM, but based on what I’ve seen of networking events here, I for one was astonished at how easy it is to make connections here. Anyone can sign up for them whether you’re a first-year or senior, and it’s very easy to do it through Handshake. I’ve been to a couple of networking events myself, and I’ve so far found that the alumni here are super great to talk to and learn from. They understand that connections can be a huge factor in your success, and they’ve been in your shoes, so they’re more than happy to help. From what I’ve seen for me and my peers, getting connections to internships and/or jobs can be as easy as showing up to one of the many networking events here, meeting an alum, and asking for their email—it’s worked for quite a few of my first-year friends (one of whom is an Economics major).
In regards to Handshake itself, as I said before, I found it fairly easy to use. I’ve liked to check into my account from time to time just so I can see what events W&L is hosting next because for many of them you need to RSVP in advance, but even then you may just need to turn in a form (maybe a very small fee if you’re getting food) at most. If you put your interests, it also gives you a list of job and/or internship opportunities for you to look into. I haven’t applied for those because I’m STEM and premed so my summers are pretty much going to research and clinical experience lol, but they seem interesting.
All in all, I would say that at least in terms of the school connections (ESPECIALLY if you’re doing something business-related), W&L has you covered. I don’t doubt that the Career & Development department is good to its students too, but I haven’t personally taken them up on their resume and interview assistance opportunities (which to be fair they do advertise about), so I won’t weigh in on that. I’m sorry it took so long for you to get a response to this; I wish you the best of luck wherever you go! 