At the Emerging Talent Showcase at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) next month, new graduates will have a chance to show off their work to more than 100 prospective employers in art and design fields. By wooing representatives from the likes of Target Corp., Popular Front, the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and even Google, MCAD's director of career services, Christine Daves, hopes the event will kickstart grads' networking. "It's a difficult time to be starting a career, but this will help students make connections and maybe walk away with an 'in.'"

This kind of concerted effort to help grads find jobs is happening at all 17 Minnesota's Private Colleges this spring. We share three examples of how these activities are playing out.

To prepare MCAD students to be working professionals, the college now requires juniors to take a professional practice class (previously a class for seniors). It includes discussions about lifestyle as well as budgeting and interviewing. Daves related how a furniture design student had approached her last year, concerned that it would be hard to have a traditional life with her major. "We talked about what was important to her and how we could set her up for that," Daves said. After two internship experiences, the student decided that she wants to design, not build furniture and she's exploring what's available that will give her the more traditional career she wants. "Most students don't want to be a starving artist," Daves said. "We talk about how they can maintain their creativity while having the lifestyle that they want."

MCAD students do their first résumé in their sophomore year, then again in their junior and senior years. Their senior project class is where they get a cohesive body of work completed and ready for professional presentation. In preparation for this year's showcase event, Daves has been working with students to make sure they are polished in presenting and speaking about their work. "My hope and expectation for this event is that a couple of job offers result and that some of the connections students make lead to future jobs," she said.

Daves' top advice: students need to talk to people; putting your résumé on Monster is not enough.

It's who you know
The Career Center at Concordia College in Moorhead piggybacked on the recent Minnesota's Private Colleges Job and Internship Fair in Minneapolis - organizing a networking lunch at Target headquarters. About 20 Concordia students met with four Concordia alumni who work at Target. One of the students returned to the job fair to talk with Target's recruiter and was ultimately offered an internship, according to career center director Jay Thoreson.

"We're seeing that the old adage is true: 'it's not what you know but who you know;' we're doing a lot more to connect our students with alumni," Thoreson said. Concordia has held networking events this year with its national alumni board, alumnae in the Fargo-Moorhead area (at an event called "Sweet Life After Concordia") and alumni working in the nonprofit world. The college also tapped the local chamber, Rotary and an HR association to help students gain access to their members.

New this year at Concordia is a Professional Skills Institute, a Career Center workshop series. Workshops focus on career decision-making, job searches and preparing for life after college. Among the offerings are sessions on the art of networking, negotiating a benefits package and money management for new grads. "It's been amazing that by giving catchy titles to the workshops and branding them with a fishbowl, it's made a huge difference; almost 200 students have participated," Thoreson said. Students appreciated that the center was stepping forward rather than waiting to be asked, Thoreson said. "We called attention to things that were not showing up on their radar."

Thoreson's top advice: "Shoot for the stars, but have a contingency plan. If you can't get the job you want, look for opportunities that build transferable skills that prepare you for your next job."

The alumni connection
This year, Macalester College's Career Development Center sent an invitation to each graduating student to come in and talk. "We're giving more individual attention and trying to reinforce the basics, said Denise Ward, who directs the center. "Students must access every single resource - and networking will be key," Ward said.

Recognizing how valuable alumni connections are to students, Macalester gave its seniors access to the online alumni directory last fall. It's helping so far, Ward said. For example, a student interested in the finance field connected with a local alum at Ameriprise and is now being considered by the company. Another made contact with an alum who works at Walker Art Center. The student was invited to do some unofficial interning and is now interviewing for a position there.
 
Macalester also offered a six-week job search group during the fall and spring that attracted about 30 students each semester. Ward said that the groups help students get their networking going and get organized. The career center also offered mini-grants to departments this year to do career-related activities. A grant to the Art department paid for a photographer to photograph students' work for their online portfolios. A Political Science department grant helped pay for a plane ticket to bring in an alum who works in Washington D.C. "It's not just the career center that's helping students get jobs," Ward said.

In response to a tough job market and reflecting Macalester's emphasis on service and civic engagement, more students are considering Teach for America; seven students have been recruited so far. "A liberal arts background produces graduates with "multi-potentiality," Ward said. "The two-year Teach for America commitment gives them time to check things out and reflect on what's next."

Ward's top advice: Do something job search-related daily; time has a way of slipping away.

Editor's note: Working professionals can provide invaluable assistance to grads in a tough job market. Consider getting in touch with your alma mater to find out what you can do to help.