On-Campus Resources: Beyond Barnard
Beyond Barnard is Barnard College’s one-stop shop for career advising. Beyond Barnard helps students get on and off-campus jobs, find and apply to internships, and apply to graduate schools/programs. Beyond Barnard helped me get my job as a BSAR through their beginning of the year career and job events that inform students about getting jobs on campus. Throughout this semester I have been applying for different Fall and Spring internships, and Beyond Barnard has been an incredibly helpful resource in navigating the internship search and application process every step of the way.
My first experience with Beyond Barnard was during my first few weeks at Barnard as I was looking to apply for student jobs on campus. As soon as you arrive on campus, Beyond Barnard helps students, especially those who have a Work-Study or Barnard College Job award, find on-campus and off-campus work opportunities, and guides them through applications and the necessary paperwork.
Beyond Barnard also holds a variety of programming throughout the year to support students in their internship search, application, and networking. For example, this past summer they held a series of events aimed at helping students explore different careers and graduate programs and connect with mentors. One memorable event was called Looking Back/Looking Ahead: Conversation with Distinguished Barnard Alumnae, where I was able to hear from and connect with Barnard alumni and learn about their experiences and different fields/organizations I am interested in.
This is one of my favorite parts about Barnard; we have such an expansive alumni network, and the connected, collaborative, and supportive community found on campus is also very present among Barnard alumni, who are always willing to connect with and sometimes mentor students. Much of this is thanks to the work of Beyond Barnard. Throughout the school year, Beyond Barnard invites alumni from a variety of different fields and backgrounds to share their experiences and advice, and allow students to connect directly to professionals in their fields. This is done through different panels and events such as the one discussed above, as well as with Career Insights and Mentor-in-Residence events. Beyond Barnard provides these resources and opportunities for students even after they’ve graduated from Barnard.
In addition, Beyond Barnard holds different career skills events to guide students through building resumes and LinkedIn profiles, writing cover letters, networking and finding mentors, preparing for interviews, and more. For one-on-one help, students can meet with Beyond Barnard Peer Career Advisors (PCAs), or Beyond Barnard professional staff members. I’ve met with PCAs who’ve helped me restructure and improve my resume and make edits and suggestions for my cover letters, in order to put my best foot forward in my applications.
As a student who is still pretty unsure of what she’d like to do after college, Beyond Barnard’s different events, advising, and resources have been really helpful in navigating the internship search and application process, which can be a bit overwhelming, especially in the midst of a pandemic. This level of support is one of the many things I’ve loved having access to during my time at Barnard.