Skip to main content
Link to news home page
News

Job hunting? Services offered

February 14, 2002 By Cheryl Porior-Mayhew

A variety of career fairs and other services are available now to graduating students.

The L&S/Career Services office is staging four career fairs in February including a Government Agency and Nonprofit Career and Internship Fair with representatives from agencies such as the Madison Police Department and the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, and a Persons of Color Career Fair with recruiters from businesses like Promega and American Family Insurance.

“Only about 40 percent of UW–Madison alumni live in state,” says Paula Bonner, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Alumni Association. “Approximately 63 percent of incoming freshman are from Wisconsin –that means about 20 percent of our grads are leaving.”

Those are numbers the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the College of Letters and Science/Human Ecology Career Services office are working to change with a plethora of new programs and services to keep grads here and, in the process, build the state’s economy.

Online services range from a resume database to WAA’s SEARCH, where experienced alumni provide networking and career advice to grads (See below for an expanded list of services and events being offered.)

And if the notion that “you can’t do much with a liberal arts degree” still lurks out there, Career Services Director Ann Groves Lloyd is more than happy to correct that statement.

“In these current economic times,” she reports, “a liberal arts education is what employers are asking for. They know L&S grads are flexible, work well independently and in groups, can conduct research, and are the generalists so in demand in today’s workplace.”

Remaining events include:

  • Tuesday, Feb. 26, 3-6:30 p.m., Government Agency and Non-Profit Career and Internship Fair. Representatives from agencies such as the FBI and Secret Service will meet with students to talk about internships, volunteer work or permanent employment with a government or nonprofit group.
  • Thursday, Feb. 28, 3-6:30 p.m., Persons of Color Career Fair. More than 30 employers have signed on for this unique opportunity. Afterward, there will be a networking reception with the recruiters, free food and door prizes until 7:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, March 12, 5-7 p.m., “Alumni Committed to Diversity.” A “Terrific Tuesdays” panel discussions in the Multicultural Student Center features alumni sharing their job-hunt strategies and time lines for a successful career search.
  • Tuesday, March 5, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., LBGT Campus Center, second floor, Memorial Union. An environment and identity workshop will address concrete strategies for finding an LGBT-friendly workplace.
  • Thursday, April 4, LBGT Campus Center, second floor, Memorial Union. An LGBT alumni panel will share experiences on what it’s really like out in the work world.

At Wisconsin Alumni Association Online Career Services, you’ll find:

  • SEARCH: Experienced alumni professionals volunteer valuable career advice and networking information to students, new grads and other alumni in their area.
  • MonsterTRAK.com-targeted job listings and a resume database for students and alumni. E-mail monsterTRAK.com@uwalumni.com to get started.
  • Wisconsin Future Alumni Association participants can prepare for life after graduation by exploring careers, networking and gaining leadership as a member of this student organization.