RECRUITING

Welcome to the 1997 Career Forum. I hope you find the information gathered here both helpful and informational as you begin your job search. The Recruiting Office is located in Room 209 at 54 Dunster Street. Our office hours are Monday-Friday 9:00-4:00, except Tuesday 10:00-4:00. During the Fall, September-December, all information pertaining to recruiting will be found in the OCS Newsletter under On-Campus Recruiting section. The OCS Newsletter is published and distributed to the houses weekly. Copies are also available at OCS. During January, February, and March, the Recruiting Office publishes and distributes to all houses each Friday the Recruiting News. For general information regarding your career pursuits, check out the Office of Career Services web page at: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~fasocs.

Interviews in the fall are conducted at the Office of Career Services, 54 Dunster Street. Interviews for Spring Recruiting will be held at Hilles Library in the Colloquium Room. There are some instances where companies may be recruiting off-campus. You will be notified of the location when you are accepted for the interview.

Those students eligible to participate in the Recruiting Program are seniors and alumni of Harvard College, full-time graduate students and alumni of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. On occasion companies come on campus to recruit underclassmen for summer jobs and internship programs. These positions are listed separately in the OCS Newsletter, The Recruiting Office and on our web site, and follow the same procedures as fall recruiting listed below.

Fall Recruiting

There is a limited number of companies and students participating in the Fall Recruiting Program. Because of these limited numbers the procedures are less structured. When applying to companies in the Fall program you must come to the Recruiting Office and fill out a registration card and submit 1 copy of your resume for our files. In addition, we will need copies of your resume, plus all special application materials, for each open or closed company you are submitting materials to. Under the open system, first-come, first-served, you submit your resume(s) and materials and sign up for an interview(s) at the same time. Under the closed system students submit resumes and special application materials in advance for company review and selection of interviewees. Resume submission deadlines are usually 3 weeks prior to the company visit; they are listed in the On-Campus Recruiting Section of the OCS Newsletter and in the Recruiting Office, Room 209 and our web site. Companies will then notify you, usually by letter, that you have been selected for an interview. You then bring this letter to the recruiting office to sign up for a time.

Spring Recruiting

The Spring Recruiting Program consists of two rounds. The First Round of the Spring Recruiting program begins on Monday, January 26, 1998 and ends Wednesday, February 25th. The deadline for submitting materials for the First Round is Thursday, December 11th at 1:00p.m. The Second Round of the Spring Recruiting program begins on Thursday, February 26, 1998 and ends Friday, March 13th. The deadline for submitting materials for the second round is Friday, January 30th at 1:00p.m.

There is also a Late Spring Round of recruiting (March 16-19). Late Spring Round is not part of the formal recruiting process. It is reserved for those companies who have decided later on that they would like to interview students on campus. It is open to all full-time students and alumni of Harvard College and GSAS. The procedures for Late Spring are the same as the Fall. Companies participating will be listed in the Recruiting News and the Recruiting home page beginning in January.

Recruiting Orientation Meetings

The Orientation Meetings for Spring Recruiting will be held on Wednesday, November 5th, Science Center-C and Thursday, November 6th, Science Center B. In order to participate in Spring Recruiting, you must attend one of these sessions. No exceptions will be made. At these meetings all materials pertaining to Spring Recruiting will be handed out. No materials will be given out at the Recruiting Office. We will also thoroughly explain the point systems, computer forms, time tables, deadlines and all other information necessary for successful participation in the Recruiting Program. All your questions will be answered at this time.

Information Meetings

Many companies hold Information Meetings in the Fall to inform students about job opportunities. These meetings are listed in the OCS Newsletter in the On-Campus Recruiting section and in the recruiting web site. Information Meetings are also listed on the Group Meeting List posted on the bulletin board in the Reception Area of OCS. Be sure to check the Newsletter or the lists in the Recruiting Office for the time and location of the meeting, FC=Faculty Club, OCSCR=Office of Career Services Conference Room, CH=Charles Hotel, IH=Inn at Harvard, ShC=Sheraton Commandor. This is your opportunity to research the companies and network by attending as many meetings as you can. In doing so, your decisions on who to apply to, should become a lot easier.

Summer Opportunities

While the majority of companies wait until February or March to visit Harvard, from time to time a few companies come in the Fall who have special summer opportunities in which Juniors and/or Sophomores might be interested. They will always be identified by having "summer" in the job title. Some companies recruiting in Spring will also be interviewing for summer opportunities. Follow the same procedures in "Fall Recruiting" in signing up for interviews with these companies. In the December OCS Newsletters we will list the companies, to date, that are coming in February and March and their deadlines. In January, watch for the Recruiting News. It will be distributed to each house weekly and also available at the Recruiting Office, Room 209. In it will be listed the companies that are coming on campus to interview students for summer jobs. For a complete listing check out our Web site at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~fasocs/Recruit-ing. Recruiting should be only one very small part of your summer job search. For more information and a complete listing of summer job meetings, read our Summer Jobs brochure (available at OCS) or set up an appointment to meet with our summer jobs counselor, Nancy Saunders.

Researching Companies

Students should start researching companies and industries of interest now. Company Fact Sheets and Web Site information are available through the Recruiting Web Site. and Crimson-Solutions. Researching the companies through their fact sheets and job descriptions is the first, step in the recruiting process. On the fact sheets is where you will find the special application requirements of the companies. You are responsible for submitting all of the information that the company is requesting. Company literature and fact sheets are available for students to read in the Corporate Recruiting Section of OCS. The Corporate Recruiting Section is located on the first floor of OCS. The Recruiting Resource Center (which is in the basement of OCS), has additional company literature placed in Hanging Files. The information in the Corporate Recruiting Section and Hanging Files is there for you to read only. Additional literature that is placed on the bookcases (Hand Out Section) in the Recruiting Resource Center is there for you to take. In addition to the Corporate Recruiting Section, complete sets of Company Fact Sheets and Job Descriptions for Spring and Fall Recruiting will be available in the Recruiting Resource Center and the Recruiting Office.

The internet is another resource that you should start exploring to find out more information on companies/organizations and the industries they represent. More and More companies are setting up their own web site. As this information becomes available, we will list it on the Company Fact Sheet and on the Recruiting web site - http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~fasocs/Recruiting. At OCS, we have available on CD ROM, One Source, which is a database of over 116,000 publicly and privately held companies.

For the most up-to-date information about the on-campus recruiting program, check the Recruiting Bulletin Boards and our Web site. They bulletin boards are located in Room 209 and in the Recruiting Resource Center in the basement of OCS. All Fall and Spring schedules will be posted in Room 209. Recruiting Information and company ads will also be posted in the Recruiting Resource Center. Bid results for February will be posted on Wednesday, January 7th and for March bid results will be posted on Wednesday, February 5th on the bulletin board outside the Recruiting Office.

If you need help with your resume, counselors are available from 1:30-3:30 on a daily walk-in basis throughout the Fall. Check the schedule in the Reception Room for dates and times. Counselors are also available by appointment if you would like help with your career decisions.

We are here to help and assist you with the recruiting process. If you have any questions regarding the On-campus Recruiting Program, please see Judy Murray, Karl Treen, Jackie Malcolm or Paul Boisselle in Room 209.

Career Forum 1997

The sixteenth annual OCS-sponsored Career Forum and Study Abroad Fair will be held at the Gordon Track and Tennis Center, on Friday, October 17th from 10:00-4:00. The Career Forum will feature representatives from 120 prominent organizations covering 16 industries. This program is designed for students and alumni to learn about career and job opportunities available for liberal arts graduates. Many of the companies and non-profits at this year's forum will be participating in on-campus recruiting. The Career Forum and Study Abroad Fair also hosts our International Experience Program. Learn more about Study Abroad and Work Abroad. Representatives from the Office of Career Services, along with representatives from 30 various Study Abroad programs, will also be at the Gordon Track and Tennis Center. See the floor plan elsewhere in this newsletter.

The Forum is an excellent opportunity for seniors, graduate students and recent alumni to explore the range of training programs in advertising, management, consulting, consumer products, investment banking, communications, media, public service, publishing, sales, teaching and many other industries. Now is your chance to find out what positions are available with which companies. Put the rumors to rest and speak first hand with company representatives. Take the opportunity to discuss their company, the competition, and the industry. It is not necessary to have your resume when you come to the Forum. If you do give company representatives your resume and would like to interview with them when they visit Harvard, you must register and submit a resume through the Recruiting Office as well. See the procedures for Fall and Spring recruiting elsewhere in this Supplement.

Underclassmen should take advantage of the Forum and learn about summer jobs, internships and study abroad.

Collect company literature and explore career possibilities before it is too late. There is a wealth of information available to help you with your career quest. Take advantage of it!

Shuttle Bus Schedule

The Office of Career Services will be providing shuttle bus service to and from the 1997 Career Forum at the Gordon Track and Tennis Center. There will be two shuttle buses running in a continuous loop between the Office of Career Services, 54 Dunster Street, and the Gordon Track & Tennis Center and also Johnson Gate, Currier House and the GTTC between the hours of 9:45 and 4:30. The buses will be clearly marked Charter: Career Forum.

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OCS counselors will be available between the hours of 10:00-12:00 to critique your resume and/or cover letter. Staff will be available throughout the day to talk with students about career opportunities.