![[Navigation Map2]](images/jean.gif)
Jeannette Gerzon: Helping Students Learn Lifetime Job Skills
"HSPH students have expressed their desire to prepare themselves
for jobs that allow them to contribute to the advancement of the
public's health and welfare," says Jeannette Gerzon, interim director of
career services. "Their dedication has truly impressed me."
Jeannette Gerzon, interim director of career services, pictured with a student in
the career services resource library.
The HSPH Career Services Office, a component of the Office
for Students, is committed to providing HSPH students and graduates
with the support and services necessary to prepare them for these jobs,
and over the longer term, for their careers. "We're teaching skills for
a lifetime," says Gerzon. "For many people, seeking a new position
or even changing careers is not something that is only done once, but is
a process that can be undertaken several times throughout their lives.
In career services, our job is to teach the skills that will both enable
recent graduates to land a desirable position in the near future, and
allow them to undertake a successful job change later in their lives."
These skills include basics like creating a strong resume, writing effective cover letters, and preparing for interviews. Less tangible, but not less necessary, is forging and maintaining personal and professional connections that can be used throughout a lifetime of work.
Gerzon is here to help students learn these skills and more. "I'm here to assist students with anything from proofreading cover letters to advising someone how to look for a job in a particular field or location, to offering seminars and workshops on topics like last week's session on conducting a job search, to offering general career advice," says Gerzon. "When students come to my office, I often ask 'What do you want to do? What kind of environment do you enjoy? What are your financial needs? When would you like to begin working?'"
Gerzon, who works at HSPH on a part-time basis, is most readily available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She urges students to contact her through staff assistant Ernesto Salas-Arroyo at 432-1034.
Bernita Anderson, assistant dean for students, says, "Jeannette is an experienced career services provider who received accolades for her fifteen years of service in MIT's Office of Career Services and Preprofes-sional Advising before joining us here at HSPH. We're fortunate to have her with us to keep the career services function running smoothly as we undertake the search for a permanent director."
In preparation for hiring a permanent director of career services, Anderson has met with several groups that have a stake in HSPH career services: the alumni council, individual students and student focus groups, and employers. In addition, she has been investigating the operations of career services offices at other graduate schools and schools of public health.
"I've been gathering information about what we want and need in a career services office and in a director," she said. "This stage is almost finished, and I expect that we will post a job description for the director's position sometime next month. If students or others have further thoughts about the school's career services, I encourage them to convey their thoughts tome before the winter break." Anderson can be reached via Email at banderso@sph.harvard.edu".
In the meantime, and for the foreseeable future, Gerzon is here to assist students. She is planning to offer additional seminars and workshops, including an upcoming session on interviewing skills. "If there are other topics students would like to see covered in a workshop, I hope they will let me know," she said. She is also working to improve the career services resource room, found in Kresge G-29c, a library she encourages students to utilize. "There are reference manuals as well as directories of various kinds, such as a volume of health care companies and another on environmental organizations. We also have listings of many fellowships that are available. While it is currently small, it is growing and is an important resource for students." A temporary staff member has been hired to help organize and update these resources.
Improvements have already been made to the Job Opportunities Bulletin (JOB). Job announcements are now added to this online resource as they are received, rather than being distributed monthly. The JOB can be found at www.hsph.harvard.edu/careers. The username is "hsphjobs," and the password is "jobs."
Asked about when students should begin thinking about
their career search, Gerzon said, "My first answer is yesterday. My
second answer is that a person's career is something that he or she can
always be thinking about and working to maintain and advance. I
hope students who would like help getting started, or who would like
to talk with me about job skills, will come by the office or call and
make an appointment to see me."
