Success at SLAC
When was the last time someone told you that slacking could get you a job or internship? Never, most likely.
However, that is exactly how Dan Shannon K’13, landed his first job post-graduation.
Kenyon College’s Career Development Office has been affiliated with the Selective Liberal Arts Consortium (affectionately known as SLAC) since 1990. Since then, we have organized countless regional interview days, in cities throughout the United States. These events in New York, D.C., San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia have connected students from highly selective liberal arts institutions across the country with employers looking to hire.
While the 2013-14 academic year was a bit rough for SLAC (cancellation of Chicago and San Francisco, and rescheduling due to weather for New York City), students who participated saw the value in the overall process. Emily Rose K’14 shared, “I found the SLAC event to be incredibly educational and beneficial in my search for a job after graduating from Kenyon. As a science major, I was glad to see the variety of health and science-related jobs I could have for a year or two before going to medical school. This experience both made me more comfortable with the interviewing process, and got my foot in the door for applying to future jobs.”
Catherine Lloyd, K’14 added “SLAC was a great experience. If nothing else it was a unique and valuable opportunity to have three job interviews in just one day. That the potential employers are ones who understand and value the liberal arts education was an added bonus.”
With the array of employers that interviewed candidates and information tables available for conversation, students and alumni were able to find many different options that matched their personal and professional interests. The New York and D.C. events were held in January of 2014. Current students were eligible to begin applying for these positions and interviews in October of 2013. For some, this was their first experience interviewing in a more professional setting. Another soon-to-be Kenyon alumna, stated “It was weird for me to dress-up and act like a grown-up, so I'll probably feel more comfortable the next time I'm interviewing. I was also able to practice interviewing and learned about the types of questions employers might ask. For those who intend on doing it next year, I recommend just going over your resume before the day of SLAC- figure out what you liked the most, what you didn't like as much, and what you got out of the experience.”
Daniel Shannon was available to students through the Career Development Office as they were submitting their applications for opportunities through the Consortium events. In addition to meeting with the representatives at the recruiting day, he connected with Kenyon alumni who worked for the same organizations. Making connections and staying in touch with those contacts is a critical component of the job search.
While the SLAC Recruiting Days have concluded for this academic year, the Career Development Office is still in contact with employers that want to recruit liberal arts students. Stay in-the-know with who is coming to campus, by checking out Symplicity for information sessions and on-campus interview resume submissions. Not a senior yet? Listen to Regan, Emily, Catherine and Dan who all say this is something to strongly consider for your senior year.
Spring sneaks up quickly…although you can’t tell it just yet by this weather.