Tufts Career Services has dropped its "Winternship" program this year in favor of "job shadowing and informal interviewing," according to an e-mail from Director of Career Services Jean Papalia.
"Dwindling interest from both alumni and students" prompted Career Services to make the change, Papalia said.
The Winternship program had been offered as a way for students to intern in companies, usually with alumni, for about two weeks over winter break.
Papalia cited employers' concerns about liability as another reason for dwindling interest from companies.
"In addition to legal realities which influence an organization's ability to host a student for an extended period ... the time commitment involved in hosting and educating a student can be problematic for busy professionals, especially when students aren't there long enough to give back to the employer," Papalia explained. "Also, many students have trouble making a two-week commitment in advance to winter break."
In response, Career Services has redesigned its Winternship program to include job shadowing and informal interviewing rather than interning. "Rather than simply placing students into employer sites for two weeks, we are teaching life skills," Papalia said.
One example she gave was networking. "Networking is a great way to research career options: It includes shadowing, informational interviewing and holiday socializing."
The Tufts Career Network is extensive, currently comprising over 7,000 alumni who have volunteered to talk to students about their own career paths and offer advice to students seeking similar careers.
"Winter break is a wonderful time to set up meetings to start to develop professional relationships with alumni," Papalia said. "We teach this daily in our individual appointments with students."
The Mass Communications and Media Studies (CMS) program works closely with Career Services. With the support of Career Services and as a part of the new effort to encourage "shadowing" opportunities, the CMS program developed the "Communications Career Connection" (CCC) last year, in which Tufts students shadow alumni in various fields of the communications industry.
CMS Director Julie Dobrow says that the CCC's goal is to form a connection during a one-week shadow period.
"The entertainment industry in particular is extremely competitive, and the alumni know how important it is to have connections to help you break into the field."
The program was so successful last year that more and more alumni have been taking the initiative to call Dobrow and offer their help to students.
"This year we have three opportunities in New York that literally just fell into my lap," she explained.
Six students are shadowing alumni at various media-related firms in L.A. in addition to the three students doing the same in New York.
Dobrow hopes to expand these opportunities - especially the ones in New York - in coming years. "New York is great for the advertising and publishing industries as well," she added.
"Our alumni are so helpful. They just love Tufts and, as a result, they are so dedicated to helping current students."
Papalia defends the change by saying that the new tactics emphasize life skills over short-term internships.
"There's an ancient Chinese proverb that says, 'Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime,'" Papalia said.
