Range of New Events, Resources At Career Development Center

What do students want to do when they grow up? When they were younger, before ever stepping into a classroom, the options may have seemed infinite -- being a doctor or a lawyer made a lot of sense while others decided, out of sheer innocence, that being an astronaut or a fireman would lead to a life of fulfillment. Ironically, however, somewhere between the moon and the courtroom there is an entire spectrum of possible pursuits that often go overlooked.  The discovery of such callings is, in many ways, what the college experience is supposed to be about.

For years, Yeshiva University has struggled to define the role of its secular studies program, particularly when it comes to how its faculties would come to influence the students’ futures. Torah U’Parnasa is more than just a joke in the Purim edition of The Commentator, but a true cultural identity crisis within the very fabric of the University. For years, Yeshiva has been perceived as little more than a trade-school, preparing its students for the logical, moneymaking career options in medicine, law and accounting.

However, over the past several years, this well-established trend has begun to waver, as the ever-growing Career Development Center (CDC) begins to expand its reach throughout the Wilf and Beren campuses. Maybe you saw them distributing popcorn during orientation? While the CDC continues to provide assistance to students looking for internships and connections to the typical job markets, it has also used profiling techniques to help students discover their many talents and the trades to which those talents can be applied.

The CDC’s current executive director, Marc Goldman, was hired by Provost Morton Lowengrub in the fall of 2007 to revamp what was then known as the Office of Career Sevices. Prior to Goldman’s arrival, the CDC had been under the auspices of Academic Affairs and the Sy Syms School of Business. It was relatively unknown and was perceived by many in a negative and narrow-minded light. Goldman has worked hard to improve the CDC’s image and to make it a place where all students could discover and explore available career options. Since moving to a new office on Laurel Hill Terrace this past year, the CDC has intensified its efforts to help students develop an understanding of how their education at Yeshiva can open the doors to future careers that many may never have been aware of.    

The CDC attributes much of its success to its new philosophical foundations, in particular, showing students that career development is an evolutionary process rather than a set-in-stone plan for a student’s entire professional life. By being particularly attentive to the needs of students, ranging from financial to interest-based considerations, the CDC has been able to match students’ skills and interests with possible, previously obscure, career paths. By improving its technology, including its website and advanced profiling tests, the CDC has become a place where students have the most up-to-date techniques and resources to help them plan their futures. Weekly emails, sent out by the center, include an obscure profession of the week. Do you know what an epidemiologist is? Or maybe you’ve heard of a sustainability consultant? But every week, the CDC’s email features one of these professions that may be the perfect fit for you.

The CDC also boasts new “interview streamer,” which allows students to record practiced interviews from the comfort of their personal computers at any time, day or night. The mock interview can then be sent to the center for critiques and comments. This tool has benefited the students by helping them prepare for critical components of any application process, while taking into account the time constraints unique to YU’s dual curriculum.

Taking a counseling approach to the students’ futures has made the CDC a warm environment where students can critically assess their futures. Goldman adamantly views the CDC’s role as a partnership with the student body. They will never tell students what path to take, but they will give students the support they need and help them gain the skills and make the connections necessary for every student’s individual career aspiration. Goldman explains that getting started early is the key to success. Students should frequent the CDC from their earliest days on campus in order to properly develop their lives after Yeshiva. The center deals with an extremely broad range of students, including those who are adamant about a career path, those who have never even considered life after graduation, and everything in between.

So what do you want to be when you grow up? Maybe you want to be a doctor, or maybe you don’t have a clue. But that does not matter. Here at Yeshiva we have a tremendous resource in the newly-conceived Career Development Center. They will work with you to assess your goals, skills, and interests to help you find a rewarding and productive career