Stress — a word that many are familiar with in some form or another. Stress about relationships, stress about family and, especially, stress about the future. To combat stress on campus, the Hiatt Career Center has organized a series of events from Jan. 22 to Jan. 26 that will help prepare Brandeis students for their next step after graduation. 

This is the pilot year of Hiatt’s first Career Acceleration Week, which will help students alleviate their worries or confusions about the future through a sequence of events that will each address an aspect of life after graduation.

Career Accelerator Week has been made possible through a variety of staff and teams led by Jon Schlesinger, the director of the Hiatt Career Center. Schlesinger stated that the event was an “office-wide effort” and that none of it would have been possible without the efforts of everyone involved. 

“The entire Hiatt office came together to start this event for the purpose of providing a focused week of programs for students at the beginning of the spring semester — to really get people working towards their goals, whether that’s looking for internships, looking for jobs post-Brandeis or applying to graduate school,” Schlesinger explained, adding, “I hope this will help people get geared up and ready for the year, as well as get people to learn about Hiatt and the kind of work that we do.”

Schlesinger referenced an event that specifically targets the questions students may have about the many post-graduation opportunities, called “Working Between College and Graduate School.” 

During this event, employers, alumni who have experienced the gap between Brandeis and the next chapter of life, and admission representatives from graduate schools will discuss the possibilities between Brandeis and what’s next.           

Another event geared toward helping students navigate post-graduation life is called “Adulting 101.” This event discusses the important aspects of adult life that many college students have not had to consider before, such as salary negotiations and renting apartments in well-known job markets like New York City.       

Though it may seem as though the events in Career Accelerator Week are designed with seniors in mind, Schlesinger emphasized that the events are open to students of all years. “Although some events are geared more towards seniors, they are open to all students. There are even some events specifically designed for first and second year students,” he explained.

He noted that one particular event, “What Would You Do If You Couldn’t Fail?”, is “all about thinking about possibilities and thinking through what might be next whether it be internships, declaring majors or just exploring new possibilities.” 

Another event, “How’d You Get that Internship?”, will “[bring] in current Brandeis seniors to discuss their success and also some of the challenges they faced while working for larger, well-known companies like Microsoft and Google and also for smaller companies in the area. Also, to specifically talk to first- and second-year students about how they got those internships,” Schlesinger said. “It’s a great opportunity to both network with them and also to hear stories about how they got through this process.”

Schlesinger’s final remark on the series of events was that “the purpose of Career Accelerator Week is for students to accelerate towards their goals to get 2018 off to a running start.” He explained that the events are an opportunity for all students to explore their options both during and after their time at Brandeis, so that they never look back one day and wonder, “What if?”

For those interested in attending one or more of the Career Accelerator Week events, the majority will take place on campus in the Alumni Lounge while some are happening virtually — the schedule is accessible on Hiatt’s website.