It's Spring and Job Time for Seniors
FACED with tightening prospects for post-graduation employment, many rather surprised and apprehensive Dartmouth seniors are finding that they have quite a bit more to worry about this spring than the usual problems with theses and comprehensives. Though the number of openings for engineers, chemists and mathematicians is holding its own or increasing slightly, according to the Dartmouth Placement Bureau, the demand for non-technical graduates has dropped a sharp 10-40% from last year, especially in the automotive, petroleum, metals and heavy machinery industries.
The effects of the current recession on employment have been publicized only too well lately, but many students, lulled into complacency by stories from past years when there were often more choice vacancies than men to fill them, are often shocked and bewildered when rudely awakened to the competition for jobs today. Potentially good men are finding it a lot more difficult than they expected convincing prospective employers to hire them.
However, the ill wind blowing over the current job situation is not totally without its benefits. There being fewer openings in general this year, average starting salaries have been nudged up so that liberal arts graduates can now expect to begin work at $375 to $410 a month, a 5% increase over last year. And those students who are aware of the problem facing them and are putting forth a serious effort show greatly increased pre-interview interest, investigating the many kinds of opportunities available and becoming thoroughly familiar with the companties and general fields in which they are most interested.
Recruiters are looking for men who will be assets to their companies and they can now afford to be particular. Selections are based primarily upon grades, responsible extracurricular activities, and impressions gained from the personal interviews. Though a few positions are open exclusively to veterans, most companies are quite willing to hire properly qualified non-vets who intend to start working before entering military service. These men are then automatically entitled to a leave of absence from the company when they are called up.
The balance of choice has swung from the student to . the recruiter, but despite the recession, companies still need intelligent young men within their ranks and there are openings for those who are capable of filling them. Almost every one of the 42 companies which cancelled recruiting this year has been replaced from the waiting list of those the Placement Bureau previously could not accommodate because of space shortage. Students have an excellent opportunity to interview the representatives and survey the prospects of companies from every major field and industry. Things are unquestionably tighter, but most qualified Dartmouth seniors are still not forced to grab desperately at the first opening that comes along, though they must now give every possibility much more careful consideration than they might have in past years.
William Whyte, in his recent book. The Organization Man, levels the accusation that college graduates are gravitatino heavily toward the large paternalistic corporations whose monolithic structures, while offering "belongingness" and a measure of security, sacrifice independence and personal initiative. Happily, however, there is little evidence that such attitudes are prevalent among Dartmouth students. Donald W. Cameron '35, Director of Placement, finds that most students primarily seek opportunity for personal growth, especially if this can be facilitated through a solid training program. The large majority of the companies that recruit actively tend to be large, but information folders on numerous smaller enterprises are on file in the office library and many students demonstrate a strong interest in them.
The Placement Bureau is organized with an eye to giving the maximum contact, both informational and personal, between seniors and their potential employers. Pamphlets and bulletins distributed by the companies are filed and cross-indexed in the office, and information on general fields and industries is available to those who are uncertain in which direction their talents lie. Although most seniors are pretty sure of what they are looking for, many of those who are not use the Bureau's facilities casually and try to get some general ideas while counting on their impending military service as a time to think things out. The Placement Bureau is open to all students and recent graduates. However, approximately 50-55% of every gradauting class go on to various professional graduate schools and generally make use of the highly specialized agencies of those schools.
Students are advised by letter early in the school year of the services available to them and they are kept informed by a series of organizational meetings and preliminary interviews with Mr. Cameron at which they can outline their personal abilities and interests. Later in the fall a complete list of the companies registered with the Bureau is posted. Their specific needs, academic requirements and the approximate dates when their representatives will be in Hanover are listed, so seniors interested in specific companies may have a chance to sign up for interviews. As the winter months wear on, interview appointments are announced to seniors by postcard and shortly before a company representative is due to arrive in Hanover, a general, organizational meeting is called for all those being interviewed and any other interested students. At this meeting, Mr. Cameron outlines the general field, the experience other Dartmouth men have had with this particular organization, and what can be expected from the interviewer.
When the interview day finally arrives, seniors with brightly polished shoes and fresh haircuts sit nervously outside one of the small cubicles waiting for their half-hour session. They will be questioned about their interests and qualifications, and they, in turn, may ask the interviewer about his company's opportunities and policies. Before the representative leaves Hanover he gives his comments to Mr. Cameron so every senior interviewed may be told where he stands. Interviewers leave comments such as "a good man with good potential," "will invite," "will follow up after service," or, on the other hand, "egotistical" or just "tired."
One or two weeks after the interview, selected seniors receive invitations to visit the companies during spring vacation so they may have a chance to see the plant and meet a wider variety of management officials and some recent trainees. After this, another two or three weeks pass and those who have successfully passed all the eliminations are given definite offers to join the company. By a general agreement among recruiters, all those chosen are given until May 1 to accept or to reject the offers. However, once the decision is made, seniors are expected to honor their choices and the companies never renege on their offers. Graduates facing immediate military service are given more or less tentative offers, but these offers still represent a sort of moral obligation on the part of the company.
The recruiters themselves are generally upper-middle or higher management executives who know their company, its opportunities and policies thoroughly. They are often personnel men in charge of college relations, and companies try to send Dartmouth alumni to Hanover as recruiters whenever possible.
Since most interviews take place during the late winter months, many recruiters who are not used to such a hardy climate regard the Hanover trip as a pretty harrowing expedition. Their rigorous experiences led to the formation in 1950 of an exclusive group, "The Order of the Congealed Thermometer." So far, 25 company representatives have met the requirements for membership: interviewing in Hanover while the temperature is minus-twenty degrees or lower, or, for those gentlemen from below the Mason-Dixon line, seeing ten or more inches of snow fall while in town. Alumni representatives who have been admitted are: Marvin L. Frederick '15 (twice elected) , of Peat Marwick and Mitchell; John Herpel '28, New Jersey Telephone; Alistair Ritchie '35, Bell Laboratories; W. G. Barker '24, Western Electric; John W. Dodd '22, New York Telephone; Deighton Emmons '52, New England Telephone; and William H. Clay '47, of N. W. Ayer Co.
Clarke Church '49 (left) of Procter and Gamble interviews a Dartmouth senior who is interested in that company's job possibilities.
The Placement Bureau library contains information on every major field and industry.
A schedule of interview dates and times is posted on the office bulletin board.
Donald W. Cameron '35, Director of Placement, conducts a preliminary interview to explore a senior's interests and abilities.
