Top Career Search Tips
In our career spotlight, Linda Spenser suggests ways to find your ideal job.
This page contains content from the 2008–09 academic year. For current information, visit the Harvard Extension School website at www.extension.harvard.edu.
Career Services
In addition to our reference library and workshops, CARC offers the following career services to all students. Services exclusive to degree and certificate candidates are also described.
Career Counseling
Linda Spencer, assistant director of the Office of Career Services (OCS), offers individual drop-in counseling appointments for all students. She can answer quick questions about career options, résumés, cover letters, job search strategies, and interviewing skills. If you are a distance education student, you can receive counseling over the phone or via Skype video chat. (E-mail carc@dcemail.harvard.edu for video chat instructions.) If you want feedback on your résumé, bring a copy with you or e-mail it to carc@dcemail.harvard.edu.
Appointment Availability
Appointments—ordinarily 15 minutes each—are available Fridays from 9 am to 1 pm (last appointment is at 12:45 pm), October 3 to May 29. No registration is necessary. Just come by the Undergraduate Office (at 51 Brattle Street, Room 501) or call (617) 495-9413 between 9 am and 12:45 pm on Fridays.
Services for Degree/Certificate Candidates and Alumni
The OCS offers a variety of career services to Harvard Extension School degree and certificate candidates and alumni.
Career Counseling Appointments
Linda Spencer offers individual career counseling for candidates on a referral basis. In the appointments she can help you explore career options, develop job search strategies and interview skills, use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicators (a personality assessment tool), critique résumés and cover letters, and conduct mock video interviews. See Forms to download the OCS referral forms.
Other Services
Because of specific funding regulations arranged through Harvard College, OCS is not able to offer fellowship, global opportunities, or on-campus recruiting. Visit the OCS website’s section for students for a list of available services that include the following:
- Reading Room career resource collection (student ID card required)
- University Career Action Network (a database of internship listings)
- Crimson Compass (a database of Harvard alumni who have volunteered to talk about their career experiences with students and other alumni)
Additionally, you can research different careers through the OCS website’s careers section.
Featured Resource
Wet Feet provides insider guides to over 55 global and domestic career areas. To enter the site you must enter your Harvard University PIN. Wet Feet allows you to search industry profiles to learn about trends, markets, and major players in fields that interest you. You can also:
- Learn about certain job and career requirements
- Research career tracks and the job outlooks within that field
- Identify ideal employers
- Search jobs
- Research salaries
Career Events and Announcements
Throughout the year OCS and CARC host a number of career events for degree/certificate candidates and alumni that are relevant to the many professional and liberal arts degrees offered at Harvard Extension School. A number of industry professionals share information on careers in fields such as biotechnology, education, environmental management, finance, journalism, and museums. These events offer opportunities to network and foster relations with fellow candidates who have similar professional interests.
Every fall, OCS also hosts the Harvard University Career Forum, which provides an opportunity for degree and certificate candidates and alumni to talk with 130 prominent organizations representing 20 different industries. More information will be available closer to the event, which will be held on Friday, September 26, 10 am to 4 pm, Gordon Track and Tennis Center. Harvard ID required.
Be sure to sign up for the listserv to receive timely announcements about career events and fairs, such as the Study Abroad International Experience Fair (October), Summer Opportunities Fair (December), and All Ivy Environmental Career Fair (February). E-mails are sent out on a bi-weekly basis with career and graduate school events, as well as job and internship opportunities. You must subscribe using your Faculty of Arts and Sciences or Post.Harvard e-mail account.