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Six Ways that SIPA OCS Can Help with Your Career

SIPA Office of Career ServicesThe 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!

How to find an internship (or job) like a Seeple

Internships are an integral part of the student experience at SIPA. They open exciting new doors for our students and expose them to paths they may have never discovered if left to their own devices. While the incoming class doesn’t have to worry about finding an internship (or even a job) right now, it never hurts to learn the tricks to finding your ideal one. And SIPA offers several resources to make the job hunt easier. So one of our program assistants, Tinsley Corbett, MPA ’15, decided to share her job-hunting strategy with all of you. Thus, making it her farewell post on the SIPA Admissions Blog. (While Tinsley writes it from the vantage point of finding that post-graduation job, the tips are still applicable to new students looking for an internship upon enrolling at SIPA.)

Read More →

A student reflection on the DC Career Conference

The SIPA Office of Career Services hosted SIPA´s 39th Annual Washington, D.C. Career Conference from January 13 – 15. SIPA alumni and other professionals based in the Washington, D.C. area participated in the conference, which introduced attendees to the capital and informed them of employment opportunities. This three-day event consisted of 16 career panels, various employer site visits, an alumni/student networking reception, and a day for informational interviews with alumni.

Pablo Bejar (PEPM ’15) attended the event. Pablo attained his Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Economics from California State University, where he graduated with honors and published his thesis on Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance.

Here, Pablo offers his reflections on the conference and its professional value for PEPM students.

Read More →

What’s new in Career Services?

As most of the second year students can tell you: time flies at SIPA. Just when you are starting to feel that you know every building on campus you will find yourself in your last semester and looking for your next job. As we all know, the transition to the professional world can be difficult and discouraging, this is why the Office of Career Services (OCS) has been developing new initiatives to support students in their quest.

The Office of Career Services (OCS) is in charge of providing students and alumni with tools to manage their professional development. Throughout the semester, they organize several activities and services aimed at informing students about their options in terms of internships and full time jobs. As a first year student, you will profit 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, and Eurasia Group.

Along with the professional panels, OCS has put in place the SIPA Career Coaching Program where students can receive part-time coaching from SIPA alumni working in their field of interest as well as OCS assistance on resume, cover letter writing and salary negotiation strategies. A SIPA second year student, Henry Fernandez, has used OCS services in the past for polishing up his resume.  In a recent interview, he said “OCS helped me translate my experience in sustainable development into energy markets. The office does a great job at preparing students to launch their careers post SIPA.”

Finally, 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.

 

Favorite Places around Morningside Heights

If you have not already checked out the SIPA Survival Guide, I highly recommend you do so (http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/students/sipasa/documents/SIPASurvivalGuide2012.pdf). It is a veritable treasure trove of information on places to eat, play and study.  In that spirit, I wanted to share some of my favorite places around Morningside Heights, some of which are in there, and some of which are not.

Favorite place to study: Teacher’s College.  Teacher’s college is right near the SIPA building on 120th Street.  Unlike the concrete jungle that is SIPA, TC’s library and dining hall have that classic old university feeling without being overrun by undergrads like the main campus. Unlike the Law School, Teacher’s College has an open WiFi network and its library is open to anybody with a Columbia ID. The library features private group study rooms, an open plan talking area and quiet study area with big tables and smaller study carrels. There is a café on the first floor that serves (hello!) Starbucks coffee as well as other small items and people are pretty open about bringing drinks/small snacks into the library.

I am also a fan of TC’s Grace Dodge Dining Hall. It is usually pretty quiet in there but the food is the best quality I have had anywhere in campus including a pick your own salad, pizza and sandwich bar.

Favorite place to blog/apply to jobs from: Brad’s Café at the Journalism School.  When I’m feeling less academic and more professional, my favorite place to work is Brad’s Café, located at the Journalism School right inside in the Broadway 116th Street entrance. Brad’s has outdoor seating which is partially enclosed during the cooler months and features a scrawling news feed and all day TV news coverage. Note, seating is for patrons only so be prepared to buy something.  Every time I’m in there I feel like I’m about to file a story with my bureau chief.

Favorite place to bring tourists:  Grant’s Tomb. Devotees with not be surprised to learn that I’m a big American history nerd and there is a real treasure, the General Grant National Memorial, right in our own backyard. (http://www.nps.gov/gegr/index.htm) Most times it’s pretty quiet so you will be able to impress your guests by arranging a private tour.

Favorite place for a treat: Crumbs Cupcakes (Broadway and 109th).  New Yorkers love cupcakes and Crumbs is the crème de la crème, literally. Giant crème filled cupcakes in every flavor imaginable. They do sell mini cupcakes, but the smallest they come in is a pack of six. For this reason, when I’m feeling the cupcake craving I usually plan a trip right before a group meeting. That way I can buy a six pack, snag the best one (or two!) for myself and be a group project hero! Crumbs also sell Starbucks coffee and the line is usually much shorter than at Starbucks.  Ten coffees here earns you a free drink PLUS a free cupcake.

Favorite quick bite to eat: Cascabel Taqueria (Broadway and 108th).  Casual, friendly, the best tacos I have ever had. My favorite is the Carne Asada, but if you’re in the mood for something lighter the pummel (which is actually just grapefruit) and avocado salad is very refreshing.  They have fairly decent margaritas as well.

 

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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