Smith School’s New Career Center Opens

The Smith School’s Office of Career Services (OCS)opened its new Career Center on September 15 with an open house for employers, faculty and students. The new center will help the school make key connections, create partnerships and build relationships with corporations to help companies meet their recruiting goals and students achieve their career aspirations.

The Career Center offers a full-service on-campus recruiting suite designed to facilitate world-class concierge service for employers visiting the Smith School. The design is the culmination of many hours of consulting with recruiters about their needs.

Dedicated interview rooms give employers all-day access to office space for meeting students, rather than scheduling interview times around available space. New telepresence technologies give companies the ability to connect with students from anywhere in the world—an option many employers requested to comply with cost-saving or green initiatives at their companies. The employer lounge is fully equipped to allow recruiters to conduct business while on campus.

The multi-million dollar renovation of the Career Center, funded by a generous gift from school benefactor Robert H. Smith, is part of a major strategic initiative to transform corporate relations at the Smith School.

“The War for Talent requires companies and universities to be obsessed with innovation so they can differentiate themselves in the marketplace and delight their customers,” says Jeff Kudisch, managing director of the Office of Career Services and Distinguished Tyser Teaching Fellow. Kudisch transitioned to that role in October, 2010, from his role as a highly-ranked teacher in the school’s MBA and Executive MBA programs. An industrial psychologist, Kudisch is co-founder and principal partner of Personnel Assessment Systems, Inc., a human resources consulting firm specializing in management and executive assessment, and has extensive consulting experience with both public- and private-sector companies.

While the new Career Center is designed to provide a seamless experience for recruiters, its construction represents the school’s commitment to helping students achieve their career goals even in a tight labor market. To support this career initiative, the Smith School has devoted additional resources towards strengthening its career services. OCS has doubled its staff and significantly increased its budget. Staff have also been working to ramp up outreach efforts—not just to corporations but also to Smith alumni, whose networks and connections are crucial for young job-hunters. “Our state-of-the-art Career Center and talented OCS team deliver on Bob Smith's vision by allowing us to engage our recruiting partners and alumni, and promote our Terp talent in a way that truly raises the level of our game,” says Kudisch.

These efforts are already reaping major dividends for students, despite the difficult economy:

• Increase in placements for full time MBA graduates
• 93% placement for internships for first-year full-time MBA students, a 35% increase from the previous year
• A 7% increase in starting salaries for graduates

For more information about the Office of Career Services, or if your company is interested in partnering with the Smith School to meet your talent management needs, contact Dr. Jeff Kudisch.