Articles
What Next for Would-be Investment Bankers?
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, New Grads, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminListen to the McNeil Lehrer podcast, hosted by Judy Woodruff, at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/jan-june09/gennextduke_06-15.html
Webinar on Revolutionizing Career Services
/0 Comments/in Career Transformation, Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Higher Education /by ccgadminVisitors to this site are invited to view and listen to the webinar slides and discussion on Revolutionizing Career Services: Meeting the Needs of Today’s Students and Alumni, presented by Sheila Curran, and Laura Boothroyd, Managing Director of Consulting Services at Eduventures. Please send comments and questions to curranoncareers@gmail.com.
Employment and the New College Grad
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Professionals /by ccgadminSheila Curran talks with Sara Nordhoff of the Forte Foundation in a webinar titled Smart Moves for Your Career: Positioning Yourself for Success in a Down Economy, January 21, 2009. The audience is women undergraduates interested in business, but the messages are applicable to all students and graduates. Sheila maintains that success in the job […]
Getting References for the Stealth Job Search
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, New Grads, Professionals /by ccgadminQ. I’m a mid-level manager who has had five bosses in eight years, and an ever-changing set of goals. After seven years of stellar evaluations, I just received a review that convinces me I need to leave. How should I handle references? A. Life is too short to stay with an unappreciative boss. You’re wise […]
Philosophy Majors: Get a Job!
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, New Grads, Professionals /by ccgadminThe Class of 2009 must be cursing their collective bad luck. For their entire college career, they’ve watched employers wooing their older classmates with promises of high salaries and signing bonuses, but now some of the biggest recruiters are not just gone from campus. They’re gone. Period. I’ve worked with students through several economic downturns, […]
Revolution in Career Services
/0 Comments/in Career Transformation, Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Higher Education, Job Search /by ccgadminIn this article, Sheila Curran, President of Curran Career Consulting, and Steve Goldenberg, CEO of Interfolio, share a candid and provocative discussion on the future of career services in colleges and universities. Steve: Students graduating in 2009 are facing bleak employment prospects. Are Careers offices prepared for the onslaught of demand from worried students and […]
Graduate Unemployment: The Threat to Higher Education
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Higher Education, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminFiscal year, 2009, will go down in the annals of history as one of the most difficult for higher education. Many colleges and universities have had to trim to the bone, collectively shedding thousands of positions, while they try to beef up financial aid budgets. A great deal of attention has been paid to managing […]
Finding a Job in 2009: A Current Applicant Perspective
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, Professionals /by ccgadminThere are dire warnings about the employment market for 2009 grads, but what’s the real situation for current job applicants, and how can you make yourself more attractive to employers? Sheila Curran talks with Kesav Mohan, a 2009 graduate of Duke Law School, about law, consulting and entrepreneurship. Sheila Curran (SC): Many people have predicted […]
How can I get a job in finance in 2009?
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, Professionals /by ccgadminQuestion: I really want to go into finance when I graduate next year. I know the situation is bad, but there have to be some jobs available. How can I make myself more competitive? Answer: To get the inside scoop on jobs in finance, Sheila Curran asked an expert, Dr. Emma Rasiel of Duke University, […]
What Not To Do In An Interview
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, New Grads, Professionals /by ccgadminHow many times have you been rejected after a job interview and wondered what went wrong? And how many times have you been able to get honest feedback about why the job went to someone else? Chances are, no one’s going to tell you the truth. Over the years, I’ve interviewed thousands of job candidates […]
Managing Questions about Salary in Interviews
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, New Grads, Professionals /by ccgadminQuestion: I work in management for a nonprofit, and am interested in a similar job in the private sector. My potential new employers want to know my current salary. Should I give it to them? Answer: There’s an old adage regarding salary negotiation that says “he (or she) who states a number first, loses”. That’s […]
Online Job Sites and The Entry-Level Grad
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, New Grads, Professionals /by ccgadminQuestion: I’m a recent grad who is actively seeking work. Over the past month, I’ve applied for over fifty jobs through on-line job posting sites. To date, I haven’t received any interviews, let alone job offers. Should I try a different strategy? Answer: Do a Google search on the word “jobs”, and you’ll find literally thousands […]
Careers & The College Grad: What’s a Liberal Education Got To Do With It?
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Education, Liberal Arts, New Grads, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminWritten for the First National Career Summit, hosted by Sheila Curran at Duke University, March, 2006 Introduction Seventy-two percent of high school seniors perceive professional preparation as a key driver of educational value. This is according to research conducted by Eduventures, a Boston-based consulting company. When choosing colleges, these students assess access to internships, placement record and the […]
“Major” Decisions
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Higher Education, Job Search, Professionals /by ccgadminChoosing a college major can feel like an overwhelming decision. Teen Ink asked Duke University Career Center’s Sheila J. Curran to give some expert advice. Here’s what she had to say: Moms, dads, aunts, uncles, friends. As soon as you reach high school, they’re asking you where you want to go to college. Their next […]
Five Smartest Moves for Liberal Arts Grads
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Job Search, New Grads, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminSmartest Move #1: Discover where you want to go If you thought finding a job after graduation was the most difficult thing to do, think again! Far harder than the initial job search is figuring out exactly what you want to do. The difficulty is that when you’re in college you have very little time, […]
Liberal Arts Grads Meet the Real World
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Liberal Arts, New Grads, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminI met my first helicopter parent in September, 1995. He called demanding specialized career services for his son. No matter that the young man had only just matriculated at Brown University. His problem? The son had met some fellow students who had convinced him to study philosophy instead of computer science. It wasn’t necessary for […]
Designing Your Own Career Makeover
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Job Search, Professionals /by ccgadminThe holidays are coming! So what’s on your wish list? A Caribbean cruise? Playstation 3? Tickets to the revival of Les Miserables? All great choices. But the best gift—the one that you ultimately appreciate the most–may be the one that you give yourself: a career makeover. When you’re busy and you’ve established a routine, it’s […]
Negotiating Pay and Perks for New Grads
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Job Search, New Grads, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminAlmost one and a half million new grads will enter the workforce this summer. Graduates with good grades, internships, and job search savvy will often have their choice of job offers. But some of the best and the brightest will flunk their first real world test: they’ll incorrectly assess the economic value of the positions […]
Strategies for the Career Fair
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, Professionals /by ccgadminHow many times have you remarked that it seemed like only yesterday that you left high school? Now you’re much closer to your college graduation, and you probably can’t imagine the next stage of your life – being employed. Will coming to the Career Fair get you a job? Probably not. But by following some […]
The Over-Qualification Quandary
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, Professionals /by ccgadminWill 2008 be the year you finally make good on your resolution to give up the daily grind and find work you love? Perhaps you’re a lawyer who’s painfully aware that being in a courtroom isn’t as much fun as it looks on TV. Or, maybe you’re a baby boomer, whose concept of retirement is […]
Job Search 101 for College Seniors
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminIf you have a 3.9 GPA, a multitude of extra-curricular activities and a winning personality, read no further. For everyone else, follow these tips and you’ll be the one walking out of the interview with the job offer: Find a Career Advisor. Everyone can use an advocate in the job search, so make friends with […]
The Career Advantages of Study Abroad
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminWhat’s your dream? Touring castles in Scotland? Walking on the Great Wall of China? Working to improve the lives of women in rural Uganda? If you’re thinking of studying abroad, there’s no end to the places you can go, things you can see, and subjects you can study. At many top schools, like Duke, Tufts […]
Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads: Foreword for Parents
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Job Search, Liberal Arts, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadmin“Career is not what it used to be; it’s much more interesting” One week into a new term. The message on my voicemail was from a distraught father, claiming that his student son needed intensive career counseling. Returning the call, I inquired, “What year is he?” “Well, actually, he’s a freshman,” replied the father. “In […]
When Your College Graduate Comes Home
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminThis summer, there are more than 100,000 unexpected guests at the family dinner table. They’re adult children — the ones who’ve just graduated from college but expect to remain, at least temporarily, on the family payroll. Some may have jobs that don’t pay enough to support the lifestyle they expect. Others want to get a […]
Getting into Arts Administration
/0 Comments/in Career Transformation, New Grads, Professionals /by ccgadminQ. I graduated from college last year, and after many short term jobs, I’ve finally figured out what I really want to do: arts administration. Trouble is, my only relevant experience is from college. How do I get my foot in the door? A. Congratulations on identifying your passion. You’ve saved yourself years of working […]
First Jobs Are Less Important Than You Think
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Job Search, New Grads, Professionals /by ccgadminFirst jobs after graduation are critical to career success. That is the conventional wisdom of college students and their parents, alike. But a new survey of recent graduates from Duke University indicates that this assumption is inaccurate. And placing too much emphasis on first jobs is a short-sighted strategy. The “Five Year Out” survey of […]
Choosing a Major or Concentration
/0 Comments/in Career Trends, Higher Ed Data, Higher Education, Professionals, ROI on College Education /by ccgadminA number of years ago, I received a call from an anxious parent. He said he wanted urgent and specialized career advice for his son. It turned out that his son was only a freshman and had, in fact, just finished orientation at Brown University. The problem? The student had come to Brown proclaiming his […]