In fall 2023, Dwight Hall partnered with Yale’s Office of Career Strategy (OCS) to offer students a Fall Series on Common Good Careers. The purpose of the event series was to help students hone professional skills useful in finding mentors, internships, and careers in the social impact sector. Events also showcased the breadth of professional and mentorship resources available at Dwight Hall and OCS.
In total, the series welcomed 265 attendees across nine events, two of which were convened by the Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance. Early semester events, such as “Nonprofit Careers Unlocked: Strategies for Student Success in the Job Search,” focused on topics like utilizing online and Yale-specific resources when searching for social sector career opportunities and tips on connecting with alumni in students’ desired fields. Dwight Hall Board Member Ben Staub ’06 also led a workshop on how to network in the social impact sphere.
In the following events, students were invited to apply the skills gained or honed through these presentations and workshops through in-person networking events. Some students visited the Yale Club of New York City to attend the Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance’s Generation to Generation Gala on October 26th and YANA’s Social Impact Conference on October 27th. Many undergraduates seized the opportunity to network at home in Dwight Hall, attending the Common Good & Creative Careers Peer to Peer Networking Event on November 2nd, which saw Yale College students representing their previous summer employers in the areas of the arts, education, government, nonprofits, publishing, and journalism.
Dwight Hall extends its sincere appreciation to Robyn Acampora, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Public Service Careers at OCS, who made this event series possible.
A summary of the events in the Fall Series on Common Good Careers may be found below:
“Nonprofit Careers Unlocked: Strategies for Student Success in the Job Search” – September 26th
Are you interested in working in the nonprofit sector but not sure where to start? Or perhaps you know that you want to work with a specific population or help with an important issue but are wondering where the jobs are? This session will be hosted by Robyn Acampora, Director of Public Service Careers & Strategic Initiatives, and will include a plethora of resources for you to help find the work you want to do. Robyn will make this virtual session interactive and provide her recommendations on approaching the internship or job search in the nonprofit sector.
“Part I. Networking for Good: Finding Contacts & Connecting in Common Good Careers” – October 2nd
This will be an in-person interactive session where students can utilize a number of resources to find alumni. Robyn Acampora from OCS will share a variety of tools to help you find alumni and offer advice on how to engage with them, from sending the initial email request, planning talking points for an informational call, and how to continue the relationship beyond that first call. Students are encouraged (but definitely not required) to bring lists of employers they are interested in to work on finding contacts during this working group session. Attendees can expect to leave this workshop with a specific plan of how to find alumni at organizations they are interested in and what the next steps involve.
“Part II. Alumni Perspectives: Networking for Success in Social Impact Careers” – October 11th
From asking people for a job to honing your elevator pitch, join Dwight Hall alum and Board Member Ben Staub ’06 for a workshop on networking. Ben owes every job he’s landed to his friends, mentors, and colleagues — including stints in advertising, speechwriting, and as a Hill staffer. For the past ten years, Ben has worked as a federal lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association — the trade association for the major film and television studios. This session will be tailored to students interested in public service, politics, and social impact careers and is open to all.
“Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance (YANA) Second Annual Generation to Generation Gala” – October 26th
The Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance (YANA) is hosting a fundraising gala at the Yale Club of NYC. The gala will be honoring David W. Blight, Yale Sterling Professor of History and Director, Gilder Lehrman Center; Richard Buery, ’97 J.D., CEO of Robin Hood; Sherry Wang ’07, Co-Head, Urban Investment Group, Goldman Sachs; and Rachel Littman ’91, outgoing YANA Executive Director.
“Yale Alumni Nonprofit Social Impact Conference: Magnifying Your Mission” – October 27th
Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance (YANA) is holding this social impact conference which includes keynotes from Tom Steyer ’79, Co-Executive Chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, and Mara Tellada ’02, President & CEO of Consumer Reports. There will be morning sessions, a plenary lunch, afternoon sessions, and networking breakout sessions.
“Common Good & Creative Careers Peer to Peer Networking Event” – November 2nd
Interested in hearing from your peers about how their summer internships went so you can get ideas for next summer? Do you want to get the inside scoop on what it was like to work for an employer in the Common Good & Creative Careers space? This event will have Yale College students representing their summer employers in the areas of the arts, education, government, nonprofits, publishing, and journalism. It will be a career fair format in which you can walk around the room and speak to various Yale students who worked at summer positions.
“How to Navigate Federal Careers: Understanding USAJOBS, Security Clearances, and More” – November 3rd
The Partnership for Public Service invites you to “What’s Your Call to Serve: Launching a Career in Federal Government,” a session open to all students who are curious about public service opportunities and how to make a difference in their community through federal employment. The session will guide students through considering, applying, and securing federal employment and will provide tools for researching opportunities and provide practical tips for applying for job opportunities.
“Small Group Coffee Chats with the Partnership for Public Service”- November 3rd
These small group coffee chats will provide students with the knowledge and tools needed to seek government opportunities and build relationships with federal agencies.
“Mastering the Federal Resume: Your Key to Government Career Success” – November 3rd
Are you looking to apply for federal government jobs and plan to use the same resume you have used in the past for private and/or nonprofit sector jobs? Think again. The federal resume is a unique document that has many unique rules from length, details, keywords, and accomplishments. This session will guide students through understanding the requirements for a federal resume and provide practical tips for applying for job opportunities.
. . .
In addition to the Dwight Hall and OCS Fall Series on Common Good Careers, Dwight Hall’s Alumni Mentorship and Career Development Task Force hosted two complementary events: a panel with 2023 Maurice R. Greenberg Yale World Fellows Janah Ncube, Binbin Wang, and Naasu Genevieve Fofanah, and a panel featuring Caterina Passoni ’18, Ahmad Saleh ’22 M.PH., and Sophie Cappello ’20, all young alumni working in social impact careers.
The Dwight Hall Alumni Mentorship & Career Development Task Force (AM&CD) events were organized and promoted by Caitlin Monsky ’24 (Chair of the AM&CD Task Force and Alumni Engagement Coordinator on the 2023 Dwight Hall Student Executive Committee) and Barbara Mola ’22 (Dwight Hall Communications and Alumni Engagement Associate).
The AM&CD Task Force is representative of the Grow pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model, developing students’ intellectual, moral, civic, and creative capacities to the fullest with interactive panels, workshops, and networking opportunities. As reflected by the fall event series, the task force strives to make Dwight Hall a hub of information, mentorship, and networking for current students and alumni interested in public service, social justice, and related careers, with the ultimate goal of exposing students to pathways to social sector careers.
Dwight Hall’s Alumni Mentorship & Career Development Task Force looks forward to growing its partnership with the Office of Career Strategy and delivering another robust event series in spring 2024. Sign up for Hall Happenings, Dwight Hall’s weekly student newsletter, and follow @dwighthallatyale on Instagram to stay tuned in!
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