Career Fair to Reflect Diversity of Student Interests By Offering Consulting, IT Consulting

Responding to criticism that its undergraduate focus is too “pre-professional” and “limited,” Northwestern University plans to expand its annual Winter Career Fair to include a diverse array of career options. In the past, so-called career fairs have largely revolved around consulting companies and positions, much to the exclusion of students interested in literally anything else. “We realize that with over 70 majors and five schools, students have a diverse range of interests and passions,” Northwestern University Career Services representative Julia Mankey said in a statement. “That is why we are excited to announce that tomorrow’s career fair will not only feature the usual booths from McKinsey, BCG, and Bain that target students interested in consulting, but IBM will also be making an appearance for students interested in IT consulting.”

The news has been met with an overwhelmingly positive student reception. However, there has been some criticism that the administration still has a long way to go before the career fair accurately reflects and caters to the wide-variety of consulting-based jobs available to Northwestern graduates.

When asked how students not majoring in Econ or interested in consulting, who make up the vast majority of Northwestern’s undergrad population, could best make use of the career fair, Mankey needed the question repeated to her and explained several times before she understood that there were careers besides consulting. “Everyone jokes that liberal arts majors are going to be baristas when they graduate, which is just patently false,” Mankey said. “They aren’t even interested in jobs.”