Q&A with new Director of career Services Steve Langerud
By: Macy Ayers
Issue date: 8/28/09 Section: News
The DePauw sat down with Steve Langerud, the new director for Career Services, to find out more about his background and about his vision and plans for Career Services.
What experiences brought you to DePauw?
I've done all kinds of things: I've been president of a bicycle company, worked as an archaeologist and been a ski bum. I've also been dean at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa College of Law. I got to DePauw because I'd been doing some consulting work with DePauw and really fell in love with the school and the people and students I was working with.
Are you excited to begin working here?
Yes. I found this to be a really captivating community. Currently, I think the aspirations DePauw has are really commendable and terrific and I want to be a part of that. I also think the energy [President] Casey brings to DePauw is infectious.
Will the Career Center maintain services it performed in years past?
There is a set of things everyone needs to know: how to communicate effectively with potential employers or graduate schools, how to write a cover letter and resume and how to interview successfully.
What new services will the Career Center be offering?
There's a bigger component to Career Services we haven't addressed before, and that's helping students to create their personal identities. I would like students to see themselves not just as students, but as emerging professionals. I would like to start encouraging students to not just have a resume, but a LinkedIn page.
Also, students who are serious about their work should create their own blogs so that they can reach out, demonstrate what they know and potentially be hired.
In what ways will the Career Center be more accessible around campus?
I would like to be able to come to campus organization or sorority and fraternity meetings to help those students with advice which pertains to them. We need to be much more targeted about how we distribute our information, and not just assume that one size fits all, because it doesn't. I would also like to set up a time when I can be in the Hub when students can ask me any questions quickly and easily without having to sit through an entire presentation.
What events will be taking place in the next month?
In the next month we will be holding several seminars about resume and cover letter writing, behavioral interviews, and how to create professional relationships. We will be bringing in a DePauw alumni who has worked in the Harvard Medical School admission staff to discuss the medical school admission process. The first week of October, we will have the entire alumni council here to give a session on their real world careers- this of course has potential to evolve into an opportunity for internships, shadowing experiences, or job offers.
What are your overall goals for the career center?
Liberal arts students have a curse which is that they like too many things, are good at too many things, and society pushes them to choose just one. I'm interested in helping students really look at those things not as separate pieces of themselves, but by finding a place that someone will pay them to put it all together. We're changing the question that DePauw students are being asked from "what are you going to be when you grow up?" to "where are you going to go with what you do well and care most deeply about?"
What is the most important thing you want DePauw students to know?
I think many times students are reticent to come to Career Services before they have everything figured out because they want to be well prepared. However, this is a safe place to sort things out and when your issues are the messiest is when you should come see us.
What experiences brought you to DePauw?
I've done all kinds of things: I've been president of a bicycle company, worked as an archaeologist and been a ski bum. I've also been dean at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa College of Law. I got to DePauw because I'd been doing some consulting work with DePauw and really fell in love with the school and the people and students I was working with.
Are you excited to begin working here?
Yes. I found this to be a really captivating community. Currently, I think the aspirations DePauw has are really commendable and terrific and I want to be a part of that. I also think the energy [President] Casey brings to DePauw is infectious.
Will the Career Center maintain services it performed in years past?
There is a set of things everyone needs to know: how to communicate effectively with potential employers or graduate schools, how to write a cover letter and resume and how to interview successfully.
What new services will the Career Center be offering?
There's a bigger component to Career Services we haven't addressed before, and that's helping students to create their personal identities. I would like students to see themselves not just as students, but as emerging professionals. I would like to start encouraging students to not just have a resume, but a LinkedIn page.
Also, students who are serious about their work should create their own blogs so that they can reach out, demonstrate what they know and potentially be hired.
In what ways will the Career Center be more accessible around campus?
I would like to be able to come to campus organization or sorority and fraternity meetings to help those students with advice which pertains to them. We need to be much more targeted about how we distribute our information, and not just assume that one size fits all, because it doesn't. I would also like to set up a time when I can be in the Hub when students can ask me any questions quickly and easily without having to sit through an entire presentation.
What events will be taking place in the next month?
In the next month we will be holding several seminars about resume and cover letter writing, behavioral interviews, and how to create professional relationships. We will be bringing in a DePauw alumni who has worked in the Harvard Medical School admission staff to discuss the medical school admission process. The first week of October, we will have the entire alumni council here to give a session on their real world careers- this of course has potential to evolve into an opportunity for internships, shadowing experiences, or job offers.
What are your overall goals for the career center?
Liberal arts students have a curse which is that they like too many things, are good at too many things, and society pushes them to choose just one. I'm interested in helping students really look at those things not as separate pieces of themselves, but by finding a place that someone will pay them to put it all together. We're changing the question that DePauw students are being asked from "what are you going to be when you grow up?" to "where are you going to go with what you do well and care most deeply about?"
What is the most important thing you want DePauw students to know?
I think many times students are reticent to come to Career Services before they have everything figured out because they want to be well prepared. However, this is a safe place to sort things out and when your issues are the messiest is when you should come see us.
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