First Destination Survey, a system used by University of Wisconsin to learn about bachelor’s degree recipients future plans, revealed that UW students that graduated in 2021-2022 had high rates of job placements. The survey found that 71% of recent graduates that were looking for a job received an offer by the time they graduated last year.
This is due to students’ efforts, as well as efforts made by UW colleges to prepare their students for a job post graduation, according to UW News. In fact, every college or school at UW has its own career services office.
College of Letters & Science SuccessWorks Director of Marketing & Communications Nathan Barker outlined ways that SuccessWorks helps students when they are ready to look for jobs and internships.
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“We help foster and make active connections between students and employers via things like career fairs where they can get hired,” Barker said. “But, it’s also through networking events and mock interviews where students can practice interviews with real employers in specific industries.”
Students that utilize SuccessWorks often do so as freshmen and sophomores, and SuccessWorks hopes students take advantage of the service earlier in their academic careers. Barker said 59% of all the students in the College of Letters & Science served by SuccessWorks are first and second year students.
College of Engineering Career Services Associate Director Stephanie Salazar Kann mentioned an engineering-specific career fair that is helpful for students because companies must be recruiting to partake in the career fair.
“Across both semesters, about 500 employers are physically coming to campus and recruiting specifically for engineering, so we’re bringing employers to the talent instead of relying on students having to go out and catch the eye of employers,” Kann said.
The College of Engineering also provides resources for students to create and improve resumes and cover letters and participate in mock interviews and salary negotiations, Kann said. The required curriculum within the college also purposely provides students with professional and transferable skills necessary to work in the industry.
Office of Undergraduate Advising Interim Director for Career Services Tara Milliken attributed much of the success of graduates finding jobs to the focus that the university places on helping students think about their future beyond UW and the Career Services staff that help students with that process early in their academic careers.
“One of the reasons that our post graduation outcomes are so strong is that it doesn’t start when a student is a junior or a senior — we hope to start having those conversations with students from their first and second year onward,” Milliken said. “That way, we can provide them with the kind of support they need to look for internships or to get connected with alumni and employers.”
