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Undergraduate
Students
Getting Started
This section contains information on
how to get started with your job search
and use the Office of Career Management
(OCM) to assist you with the process.
The Smith Career Search Timeline
outlines for you the ideal path for
reaching your career goals upon graduation. It
is based on the recruiting process that
most recruiting companies follow to hire
undergraduates for intern and full-time
positions, as well as recommendations for anyone
looking for a job or career change.
On-campus Recruiting Process
FALL Semester – This is when
most companies recruit students for
full-time positions that begin after a
December or May graduation, or part-time
internships/co-ops that would begin over
winter break and continue through the
spring semester.
* It is
important to note that some of the “Big
Four” accounting firms are starting to
recruit for summer interns in the fall
semester as a strategy to get the best
and the brightest.
SPRING Semester – This is when
most companies recruit students for
summer internship positions.
Employers who are looking to fill
entry-level positions en masse will
usually look to recruit on college
campuses. After evaluating schools for
location, academic credentials, special
programs, demographics of student body,
diversity, etc., employers will
generally select a group of target
schools. They will recruit 1 to 30
students per school, depending on their
needs.
1. Employers who
recruit at Smith will first post
their positions in the Smith School’s
e-recruiting system, HireSmith, in
August/September (for fall
recruiting), January/February (for
spring recruiting), and throughout
the semesters.
2. Next, they
will come on campus to meet students
through venues such as the campus
career fair, club meetings, general
company presentations, and “Employer
of the Day (table in the Atrium)” at Smith. These events
help employers to make selections,
and thus
you should make your best effort to
meet employers when they are on
campus.
3. After the
application deadline passes for
positions, employers will make
interview selections and notify
candidates via HireSmith. This
usually takes about 2 weeks.
4. Once you are
notified that you have been selected
to interview, you must schedule an
interview time in HireSmith within
72 hours of being notified you have
been selected for an interview. The employer may
come to campus the evening before
the interview to meet with selected
candidates and tell them more about
the position and interviewing
process. This is usually called a
“pre-night” information session and
attendance is mandatory for selected
candidates. Sometimes the pre-night
information sessions are open to all
students and can be a great way to
get on a company’s interview
schedule last minute if they have
openings.
5. The employer
and student will then meet on campus
(at either the Office of Career
Management in Van Munching or main
career center in Hornbake Library)
for an interview that may last
anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
You may interview with one person or
two, and the interviewer may be the
company recruiter or a line
manager/professional. The on-campus
interview is usually termed “1st
rounds.”
6. The employer
may then decide to invite students
they liked from campus interviews to
a “2nd round” of interviews at the
company office. These interviews
usually last a half a day to a
full-day, may involve multiple
interviews with people at different
levels in the company, and may
involve a lunch or dinner.
↑ t o p
Career
Search Timeline
Access a personalized timeline based on
your current class status.
↑ t o p
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