EMPLOYMENT FOR ALUMNI
Council Sets Up Organization To Help Men in Service
THE PROGRAM FOR vocational aid to servicemen approved at the November meeting of the Alumni Council is an expanded continuation of the "Alumni Vocational Committee Plan" which has been in force for some years. The new Dartmouth Plan puts special emphasis upon conditions which are now beginning to present themselves as men are returning home from military service.
The historical background of the Alumni Vocational Committee begins approximately with the year 1937, when Louis E. Leverone 'O4 of Chicago first presented to the Alumni Council his plan for the establishment of such a committee. The plan was to supplement the aid being given by the College to seniors and to alumni in locating job opportunities, as well as to discover well-qualified men for openings as they presented themselves. Mr. Leverone had been and still is active in assisting members of his fraternity and other young men in locating jobs. The Alumni Council appointed committees throughout the United States in 1938 with the Personnel Bureau serving as a clearing house for these voluntary workers. The organization was set up directly under a special committee of the Council with Mr. Leverone as its first chairman.
In 1939 he was succeeded by William R. Abbott Jr. '27, who in turn was followed by J. William Embree Jr. '2l in 1941. The chairman of the present committee is Fred C. Shaneman '24, Tacoma, with the following men as his associates: James J. Norton 'OB, Los Angeles; John W. Bates 'lO, Tulsa; Edward Stafford 'll, Washington, D. C.; Harold W. Mason 'l7, Brattleboro; Thomas P. Campbell 'lB, Denver; Hubert A. DesMarais '26, San Francisco; and Clifford A. Randall '27, Milwaukee. Others will be added to the group from other centers to make the representation truly national.
The peacetime organization consisted of committees or local representatives in approximately 100 areas. The demands that have been made upon these committees have varied tremendously according to locations. Naturally, most time has been required from the Chicago, Boston, and New York committeemen. As is obvious, the New York committee has had the heaviest load, and special recognition is due to Winthrop A. Griffin 'OB who has carried on the work painstakingly and effectively since the beginning of the organization.
With the war situation in mind, the committee, with proper foresight, is now developing procedures so that we may be ready to carry on without delay as soon as men return from the services and are in need of vocational assistance. Men have already begun to return in small numbers which will continue to increase steadily until the war ends and we shall reach the peak of demand.
Under the organization that has vailed until the present, there have been many men on the general committee who due to their locations were not called upon to render service. The old large committee plan is, therefore, being abandoned and instead there will, at first, be twelve regional committeemen covering the strategic areas who will be responsible for the working out of the plan in their districts. From time to time new representatives will be added as demands become apparent in certain cities. Inasmuch as the strength or weakness of the Dartmouth Plan depends so greatly upon the effectiveness of the individual committeemen, the men invited to serve must be sincerely interested in the program and able to take adequate time from their other duties to carry on the work promptly and thoroughly. These jobs will be difficult. The appreciation of the College and the alumni should be expressed in advance to the men who are willing to make sacrifices to launch this important program effectively.
In his talk at the Alumni Council meeting of November 12, Carl Gray '23 presented a very complete and workable plan for post-war employment, emphasizing the very crucial need in all communities for careful surveys of job opportunities and for the setting up of local committees who will counsel with the returning men and serve as liaison officers between the applicant and the various national and local agencies. It is visualized that the Dartmouth committees will not attempt to work independently and rely entirely upon contacts that they themselves are able to find, but will work in cooperation with such organizations as the National Association of Manufacturers, the Committee on Economic Development, and with whatever local groups may have been established by that time in progressive communities.
CHAIRMAN HAS NATIONAL ROLE
The chairman of the Vocational Committee will establish contacts with national organizations and keep the committeemen informed. The committeemen for various areas will be responsible for contacting the local organizations and for preparing lists of opportunities that may interest Dartmouth men. This material is to be forwarded to Hanover to the Personnel Bureau, which again will serve as a clearing house for the committee and relay information to other committees whenever it is thought that such information will be useful to a given area.
To maintain the integrity of the work that will be done by this committee, it is essential that an honest appraisal be made of the qualifications of all candidates as they present themselves for interviews. Regular personnel procedure will be applied and alumni committeemen should suggest only candidates to prospective employers whom they themselves would employ if they were doing the hiring. Unless the committeemen continue to use discretion in recommendations, the good will and confidence of employers will disappear very rapidly and the Dartmouth organization will lose caste. Also, what is even more important, it is the function of committeemen to assist an applicant in finding a position that meets his needs, interests, and aptitudes, and not merely to get him a job so that we may say that he is not unemployed.,.
With the restrictions that candidates are apt to put upon their own applications such as locations, salaries, etc., it will not always be possible to locate a suitable opening immediately. The candidate will be asked to understand that suggestions made by the committeemen are to be considered only in the nature of temporary employment with the privilege on the part of the candidate of again returning to the committee at any time for further discussion. In the normal course of events, the local committeemen will dispose of applications adequately; however, if situations arise where outside discussion is desired, other members of the general committee or the Personnel Bureau will be glad to be brought into consultation.
As has been indicated, the Vocational Committee of the Alumni Council determines the general policies to be followed in carrying out the plan; the Personnel Bureau at the College will serve as the clerical agency and see to it that adequate life histories are procured from candidates and that these life histories are submitted to committees in those areas where employment is desired. Alumni who wish to avail themselves of these opportunities must keep the Personnel Bureau informed of changes in address and changes of interest. The Dartmouth Vocational Plan covers all Dartmouth alumni who are interested in placement with special emphasis, at the present moment upon men who have been in the service. We are assuming that the civilian alumni are receiving the ALUMNI MAGAZINE regularly, hence will be acquainted with the organization, and will not hesitate to write in to the Personnel Bureau if they are interested. We are, therefore, sending out special letters with application blanks only to the men in the services.
ALL SERVICE MEN QUERIED
Many men will return to their former occupations in the course of time, and others have definite opportunities waiting for them. We are, however, requesting all men in the service to fill out at least part of the blank even though they may not be interested in the program so that Alumni Records may be brought up to date. Men who wish to continue their education after returning to civilian life and who wish to consult on their programs will be given whatever information we have directly from the Personnel Bureau. Likewise, men who intend to go into teaching will be cleared directly through the Personnel Bureau at Hanover rather than through local committees. However, local committees may be extremely helpful by keeping the Personnel Bureau informed of possible openings in schools. Many Dartmouth graduates are either members of school boards or have other contacts with the educational programs of communities and are interested in having more Dartmouth men go into teaching. The blanks of men who have majored in the Thayer School or the Tuck School will be forwarded by the Personnel Bureau to the Deans of these schools so that the intimate contact which has been maintained in the past in these cases will not be interrupted.
It is anticipated that a sizable number of men will wish to go into Civil Service or into post-war government work. The washington committee will be the best medium for gathering and keeping up-to-date on these opportunities not only through publications but also by personal interviews with various bureau heads. Information that the Washington committee makes available to the Personnel Bureau will be relayed immediately to the various committees. Opportunities in government service should be more numerous and more attractive than they have been heretofore.
The blank which will be used for applicants is comprehensive and may seem to some considerably fuller than necessary. However, inasmuch as all employers are not interested in the same qualifications but have their individual ways of judging a candidate, we feel that the fullest possible information should be gathered and made available. Some employers are not impressed by undergraduate activities, by whether or not a student has worked as an undergraduate, or by his academic standing. On the other hand, other employers may base their decision entirely upon one of these factors. We are asking for special skills that men may have developed in the services; also for a full statement of language training and ability. Many men in the services who are writing in to us are being groomed in foreign languages for overseas service. Unless our government should again return to complete isolationism, which seems impossible, numerous opportunities in foreign fields will develop and men who have facility in a language together with good business aptitudes are ideal candidates for such openings.
The Alumni Council with the close cooperation of the College embarks this month upon an ambitious, large-scale program to assist those of its alumni in the armed forces who accept its offer of postwar re-employment help. No miracles are offered but a plan is being organized throughout the nation to help fellow Dartmouth men so far as the service may be possible and needed.
NATIONAL CHAIRMAN of Dartmouth's new vocational organization is Fred C. Shaneman '24, Alumni Councilor from Tacoma, Wash.
PROF. FRANCIS J. NEEF, director of the Personnel Bureau, whose office will serve as clearinghouse for the vocational program.
DIRECTOR, PERSONNEL BUREAU
