The Office of Career Services (OCS) provides students and alumni with tools to manage their professional development. OCS offers a variety of services to help current students and alumni find their career paths, such as individual career advising; required professional development courses; networking events, on-campus recruitment sessions, professional networking opportunities, and internship grants. Throughout the semester, OCS organizes numerous activities and services aimed at informing students about their options in internships and full time jobs.
As a first year student, you will benefit from the professional panels where you can learn about possible employers and the procedure to apply to future positions. Some of the employers that have participated in these panels are: The Federal Reserve Bank of NY, the Central Intelligence Agency, Human Right Watch, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Eurasia Group.
As career development is a tenet of SIPA’s core curriculum, the OCS supports students’ career paths in the following ways:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Professional Development class, which is administered through OCS, heightens the awareness and involvement of students in career planning. This mandatory half-credit course develops the skills needed to compete effectively in the international and public affairs job markets. Instructors provide direction on writing resumes and cover letters, job search tactics, successful interviewing, networking, negotiating employment offers, and other key career topics.
INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENT
Students are required to conduct an internship as part of their degree requirement, and this is also administered through OCS. The internship is typically done in the summer between the first and second year, although it can be completed at any time during the program.
INDIVIDUAL SERVICES
On an individual level, OCS career advisers provide students and alumni with career advice, job search strategy tips, resume and cover letter reviews, and general career information. OCS also maintains the SIPA Career Coaching (SIPACC) program, which is comprised of alumni working in a variety of jobs who provide industry specific information and advice. Students can arrange appointments once they have registered for classes in August through SIPAlink, our recruitment software. (See more )
WEEKLY ONLINE NEWSLETTER
To update students on programming and services, OCS compiles a weekly newsletter that lists information on career events, fellowship opportunities, upcoming recruitment visits, job/internship postings, and other essential information for their job search. (See more )
JOB DATABASE
OCS offers a database of current positions, including internships, for both current students and alumni in a variety of professional fields. The database, which can be access through SIPAlink, has proved to be quite useful to current students in helping them to find internships.
If you are curious on what other things OCS does, visit our past blog post or go to the SIPA OCS website: http://new.sipa.columbia.edu/careers/career-services.
CAREER COACHING
Finally, SIPA Career Coaching (SIPACC) is offered free of charge by experts in the field. SIPACCs are full-time professionals who volunteer throughout the year to offer industry-specific knowledge to current students. Sessions run 30 minutes and Seeples can sign up for them in SIPAlink, SIPA’s job and internship database. Within the sessions, SIPA Career Coaches will:
- Dispense industry-specific job advice in their field(s).
- Share their knowledge about various career opportunities related to the advisee’s SIPA concentration or specialization.
- Establish steps that should be undertaken by the advisee in order to advance in a particular industry.
- Offer other career advice at their discretion.
SIPA students and alumni can sign up for three coaching sessions per semester.
SIPA’s Office of Career Services is another reason why SIPA may be the place for you. We hope to see you this coming year!
