Consortium connects Arts and Sciences students to potential employers

Each year, a group of students in the colleges of Arts & Sciences and Human Ecology have a special opportunity to interview with employers in New York City, thanks to efforts of the New York Recruiting Consortium. The consortium connects students to employers and sponsors an interview day in New York City during winter break.

“We have a large number of students looking for smaller employers or those in law, communications, marketing, education, government or scientific research,” said Diane Miller, associate director of the Arts & Sciences Career Development Center.

Sally Saban ‘17, who found a job through last year’s consortium event, said it was difficult for her to narrow down her search to specific job opportunities.

“In Arts and Sciences, students have diverse interests and studies, and it wasn’t always clear where to start looking for future careers,” she said. As a pre-med student who wanted to find a health care opportunity during her gap year, Saban said. “I didn’t find that any of the career fairs were suitable for my interests. The career search looks entirely different for every individual student, and it depends on the applications of your major, your personal interests and of course, your future vision for yourself.”

Michelle Fleurantin ‘17 attests to the challenges she experienced as a student pursuing a career in law. “I found that most career fairs on campus heavily catered to business and engineering students, which leaves those pursuing law little to gain from these events,” she said.

The consortium connects seniors and juniors from the colleges of Arts & Sciences and Human Ecology to employers offering both full-time employment and internships, Miller said.

The consortium was founded in 1985 and Cornell joined in the early 1990s. The group now includes Brown, Trinity College, Connecticut College and Union College. Career services representatives from each school reach out to employers to add new companies and organizations to the list of consistent ones coming each year. The interview day typically has between 20-30 employers from diverse fields.

 “NYRC was appealing to me because they provided  a list of specific jobs, with outlined responsibilities and expectations in a variety of fields.” Saban said. “Throughout the process of looking for a job, I always knew in the back of my mind that my ultimate goal was to attend medical school and practice in the field. Still, I knew that I wanted to take a moment away from school to immerse myself into a new setting where I could learn and observe new things that are hardly taught in the classroom.”

Each year, about 30-40 Cornell students interview at the event, which will be held Jan. 12 in New York City. Students submit applications to the companies they wish to interview with by Nov. 13 and they’re notified in early December if they’ll have an interview during the event. In the past, students have received between one and seven interviews, Miller said.

Students interested in the consortium should attend an information session at 4:35 p.m. Oct. 26 in 142 Goldwin Smith Hall. Find more information on the Career Development website here.