Opportunities Conference Logistics

Equity is at the heart of Barnard's mission as an educational institution; and issues of DEIB are among those that resonate most with Gen Z candidates that are just now (and will be for the next several years) entering the workforce. At the 2023 Opportunities Conference Keynote Discussion, Jennifer Rosales, Barnard's VP for Inclusion and Engaged Pedagogy, was joined by Jay Baeza, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Bridgewater Associates. Attending employers, students, alums, and Barnard faculty and staff had time to speak directly with each other about how they see these important issues affecting their work, recruiting efforts, cultures at Barnard and in a range of workplaces, and more.

In response to employer and student feedback, Beyond Barnard reimagined the core experience of the traditional career fair. In lieu of long lines and short conversations at employer tables, we invited students and employers to participate in pre-scheduled group discussions about opportunities (internships and full-time roles). Our ambition was to facilitate more meaningful connection, and give students and employers alike the time necessary to go a little bit deeper on shared interests. What did this look like?

• Participating employers invited representatives to the Opportunities Conference. They were be stationed in the Diana Event Oval at Barnard and met with up to 4 students at once for a total of 12 minutes per scheduled slot.
• Barnard and Columbia students who registered for the Opportunities Conference will scheduled short conversations with participating employers.
• Un-filled slots werebe open to walk-in participants on the day of the Conference.
• Beyond Barnard communicated expectations for these conversations directly to students and employers to maximize the value that all participants could get out of the exchange.

Above all, our objective was to make the Conference more useful, welcoming, and efficient for all participating employers and students. We integrated lessons we learned in the context of virtual fairs about the value of pre-scheduled conversations, while also taking clear feedback from previous participants about their preference for individualized interactions. Questions about how this worked? Email beyondbarnard@barnard.edu.

The Opportunities Conference has always been a great chance for students to connect with representatives from across industries. That said, given the way that hiring and recruiting works, there have also always been industries and areas of interest that have been under-represented. Beyond Barnard worked to fill that gap by adding more career panels featuring recent alums from the College who talked about their career trajectories. We wanted to ensure that as many students as possible felt that their interests were being addressed in a campus-wide celebration of career pathways.

Students could attend multiple panels! The discussions included:

• What are Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Careers?
• Accessing Careers in Public Service
• GRoWing an Arts Career
• Addressing Health Inequality in a Career
• The Changing Face of Well-Being in Careers: Physical, Mental, and Financial
• Research Careers for the Public Good

Student registrants for the Opportunities Conference were able to have professional LinkedIn headshots taken. Headshots were offered on a first-come/first-served basis.

Opportunities Fairs Premium Partners Have included:

• Activision Blizzard
• AllianceBernstein
• AlphaSights
• Amazon
• AppNexus/Xandr
• Brown Brothers Harriman
• Capco
• Centerview Partners
• Goldman Sachs
• HSBC
• Mastercard
• Peace Corps
• Prudential
• Revelio Labs
• Teach For America
• Moody's Corporation
• MUFG
• UBS
• Veeva Systems
• Virtu Financial