Bowdoin's Career Planning Center (CPC), under the guidance of newly appointed director Tim Diehl, has taken steps to increase its alumni and parent networks, improve transparency, and involve students in the "career process" earlier than their senior year.
Diehl said the center has expanded its alumni network by continuing to solicit alumni to include contact information on the Bowdoin Career Advisory Network (BCAN). The network, which facilitates interactions between recent graduates and older alumni, currently lists more than 1,600 names.
The CPC has also prioritized registering the names of recent Bowdoin graduates on BCAN. Diehl said this is because those who are about to graduate find it easier to relate to "alumni from the more recent Bowdoin classes" than older alumni.
The new director also said he would like to see a more formal relationship between the parents of students and recent graduates looking for an internship or a full-time job.
"Right now, the network between parents of students and soon-to-be graduates or graduates is informal," he said. "But I think [parents] are a resource that could be tapped into more fully. The CPC should help broker these introductions for students."
Diehl has already made efforts to connect with students for whom job-hunting may not be a pressing priority. This fall, he visited each of the first-year dorms, speaking with first years unfamiliar with the CPC and its offerings.
"One of the things we're really trying to focus on is outreach within the campus," Diehl said.
Diehl also spoke with the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) and the Bowdoin Outing Club (BOC). At the BOC, Diehl explained how members could continue their outdoor pursuits in careers after graduation.
"At the BOC, I wanted to try and show them how they can leverage activities and interests into particular jobs," Diehl said.
Though Diehl does believe familiarizing students with the CPC earlier in their college careers would pay long-term dividends, he does not think a mandatory meeting for first years or sophomores would necessarily be effective.
"At this point, we're not considering making a mandatory meeting for first years or sophomores, like the one currently held for seniors," he said. "Students should have the awareness to seek out help when they are ready, hopefully during the early phases of their career search."
Felix Jaeckel '08, who attended the mandatory meeting for seniors this fall, also thinks that a meeting for younger classes would prove ineffective.
"Mandatory meetings tend to annoy people," he said. "Especially if the information they present can be viewed on the [CPC] Web site."
Jaeckel has found the CPC helpful in revising his resume and cover letter, though he did articulate frustration at an overt absence of large corporations recruiting on campus.
"I don't know if it is because Bowdoin is not such a big school, but you don't see a lot of large companies like Google or Apple on campus recruiting," he said.
According to Diehl, Bowdoin's top three employers last year were Teach for America, Mass General Hospital, and Deloitte Consulting, each hiring five graduates from the Class of 2007.