Planning for the future

According to an article in this week’s edition of the Orient, many seniors are dissatisfied with the resources provided by the Career Planning Center (CPC). In the Orient’s biannual approval ratings survey, more than a third of seniors reported disapproving or strongly disapproving of the CPC. In a follow-up survey conducted this week, the number was similar, with 31 percent of seniors expressing dissatisfaction.

We think it’s troubling that the class facing the highest career stakes is so frustrated with the CPC. We acknowledge that seniors are also more stressed than other class years as the prospect of finding a post-graduation job looms, which likely contributes to their dissatisfaction, but we don’t think this is the sole cause for the widespread discontent.

We believe that the CPC genuinely wants to do the best job it can. In the past few years, it has expanded offerings for international students and launched a campaign to dispel the stress-inducing misconceptions that often come up regarding the career-planning process. Therefore, we feel confident writing about where students feel the CPC falls short and how we think it might improve. We believe they want the best for us, that they’re usually doing the best they can, and that this, like so many things at the College, is a question of resources and funding.

One resource that could be improved is the job board. Based on the Orient’s preliminary research, joining Handshake, which connects over 700 college career planning centers and job boards, would expand our network and the opportunities available to Bowdoin students and decrease the pressure on CPC counselors.

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