To the Editor:
I would like to respond to the editorial ("Expand job services," DP, 2/7/06) in Tuesday's The Daily Pennsylvanian regarding job services, which seems to equate career counseling and on-campus recruiting opportunities. Career Services is not focused on Wharton students; we counsel undergraduate, graduate and professional students in nine schools.
Nor are employment opportunities just for Wharton students. Yes, on-campus recruiting jobs are heavily weighted toward financial services and business, but this is true at other Ivy institutions, most of which do not have undergraduate business programs.
Yes, banks and other business employers interview Wharton students, but they also interview and hire undergraduate and graduate students from across the University. Look beyond on-campus recruiting: we have job listings from many organizations, large and small, in a broad range of fields. Many are posted by Penn alumni.
Because there are employers of interest to Penn students who don't actively recruit, we work to connect our students to alumni and others in these fields.
Our Penn Career Network is an example, and we are working with Alumni Relations to expand that network in the year ahead. Career Services runs a number of mentor programs, supports others and will continue to collaborate with administrators throughout the University on the new initiatives you mention.
Patricia Rose
The author is the director of Penn's Office of Career Services
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