The final word of the week on the Office of Career Services and the career trip to Washington, DC comes from Roxanne, who is using the trip to think through her internship objectives.

Prior to arriving at Fletcher, permanence was fleeting.  My work with women affected by conflict drew me from one country to the next, uprooting me from one community only to parachute into another.  In addition to the questions this model raised about the continuity and sustainability of impact, the lifestyle also made me crave tucking the suitcase away and putting down roots.  The depth of these roots was not important; I did not, at the time, long to own a home of my own and grow old there.  But when I arrived at Fletcher, I found myself relieved that I could have a permanent address that, in turn, allowed me to build routines and relationships that were difficult to sustain while I did field work in conflict management.

For the first five months after arriving in the U.S. to enroll at Fletcher, I did not board a single flight, perhaps out of a resistance to burst the bubble of permanence I have come to cherish.  I finally traveled for the New York City Career Trip, organized by the Office of Career Services to allow students to consider their career and internship options.  This week, I am heading to Washington with my classmates for the DC Career Trip and the itinerary is packed with site visits at international organizations, government agencies, and NGOs.  The internship search requires each of us to consider a set of questions:  Do I wish to remain in the U.S. or work internationally?  Am I hoping to use the summer experience to gain insight into a potential career track, build a relationship with a new organization, deepen an existing relationship with an institution, or try something entirely new to me?  Am I honing a specific set of skills, diversifying my experience, or attempting to create a medley of all possible options?

Self-reflection is the first, and perhaps the most critical, step of the process.  Identifying mentors and soliciting input is a necessary next step.  Through conversations with professors and career advisors here, as well as in late-night discussions with classmates, we each seek to figure out which organizations and opportunities suit our personal and professional priorities.  Once we have honed a list of organizations that interest us, the process of networking kicks into high gear.  That is where Fletcher’s current students and alumni are the most powerful resource, helping their peers connect with current or former employers or with organizations of interest.  It is a season of email writing, of introducing new colleagues to old supervisors, and new friends to old mentors who may be able to guide them.  Many of us have scheduled informational interviews during the DC Career Trip to gain a better understanding of the professional trajectory in our fields of interest and of the best way to prepare for a career in them.

To that end, during the DC Career Trip, I will be having coffee with a Fletcher alumna with vast experience in the intersection of gender and conflict.  I will also participate in a site visit to a research and policy group that focuses on women in conflict areas, and attend a panel on conflict resolution-related opportunities.  At each of these events, I will be reflecting on the skills I need to develop, the questions I should be asking of myself and others in this field, and the roles and careers in this field that I may not have otherwise been aware of or considered.

A lot of these professional questions intersect with the personal questions I was considering prior to coming to Fletcher:  Am I envisioning a career in constant motion?  Do I picture myself living internationally or within a particular country?  In the field or at headquarters?  Working with the UN, as I once did, or with a different agency?  In a research and policy-oriented role or on the implementation side of projects?  Stay tuned for the answers in my next installment of the Student Stories series….

Incoming Fletcher students have their first interactions with the Office of Career Services during Orientation, which means everyone focuses early on sharpening professional profiles and identifying internship opportunities.  Today, Maliheh tells us how she built her partnership with OCS.

My experience with the Office of Career Services at the Fletcher School has been wonderful.  From the first day, the staff has gone above and beyond in supporting me with my career search.  As an international student, I was facing unique challenges as I sought to build my career and find an internship.  Aside from employment restrictions imposed by U.S. immigration regulations, I was concerned about cultural differences that could affect my ability to successfully present my qualifications.  I was surprised to learn how different an American résumé looks from a résumé I might prepare for employment in my home country.  I had heard something about “networking” as a job-search strategy, but didn’t know that in the U.S., the primary way people get professional positions is through networking appropriate and effective contacts.  I didn’t even have any idea on how I could begin the networking process.

In my search for a summer internship, I relied on the help of Career Services.  The diverse skills and knowledge of the OCS staff matches pretty well with the diverse student body at Fletcher.  Getting a job or an internship in an international organization can be challenging, but there are many opportunities to get your “foot in the door,” which all need a good knowledge of the organizational structure and business culture in that organization.  Before I began my search for an internship within the UN and the World Bank, Career Services helped me in building my résumé and tailoring it to the needs of these organizations, and they helped me to find the appropriate way to approach my contacts.

Initially, I would stop by OCS every other day to ask very detailed questions on how to correspond with my contacts, but gradually I could be more independent than that.  Their assistance helped me find a place where I truly enjoyed working, the World Bank. During my summer at the World Bank, I was amazed to discover how many Fletcher alumni are working there, including two of the bank vice presidents, Rachel Kyte and Hassan Tuluy.  Using the Fletcher network, when I was at the bank, I was offered another internship position at the World Resources Institute, where I had always dreamed to work.  After two months of research at WRI, I received an award that is offered to WRI’s best summer researcher.  I mention this not to brag, but to say that all Fletcher students have the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in their careers.

About one year ago, as a first-year MALD student, I was filled with fear and stress about the internship search.  I knew that finding a substantive internship can be difficult even for U.S. students, and the challenge would be greater for me, an international student.  By the end of the spring, having drawn on the support of OCS, I was fortunate to be able to select from several internship offers.  Now, as a graduating MALD student, I am extremely grateful for the resources offered within Career Services as they helped me in reaching the next phase of my career path.  Looking forward to my next job search, I no longer have the fear I felt only a year ago.