Housemates Sophie Rowen and Anne Wallace worked on homework and casually checked Facebook at… Housemates Sophie Rowen and Anne Wallace worked on homework and casually checked Facebook at neighboring computers in Hillman Library on a quiet Monday night.

The pair of seniors — like many others at Pitt — haven’t started applying for jobs yet.

Luckily for them, time is still on their side. They’ve been preparing for careers for more than three years, but now that they are preparing to leave the Pitt community for a spot in the “real world,” timing the application process is key.

Freshman through junior year

Cheryl Finlay, director of the Office of Student Employment and Placement Assistance, said that the job search starts as early as freshman year. Students should research potential jobs and employers, network with teachers and reach out to professionals for job shadowing opportunities.

Finlay encourages underclassmen to check out the Career Fair because employers might be looking for interns as well.

Mark Simon, UPMC’s manager of talent acquisition, said UPMC posts new job and internship openings at more than 400 physician practices, hospitals and offices regularly on its website.

Though Pitt students don’t have a golden ticket to a job at UPMC, they’ll be more competitive if they’ve interned with the company. Simon said internship programs like the summer associate program help him identify talent. His department, human resources, has hired several former summer associates for full-time positions.

September and October of senior year

Students should take care to prepare a resume and letters of recommendation that they are ready to send out quickly. Finlay stressed the importance of researching employers so that students can go into the Career Fair this coming Thursday knowing who they want to meet.

“It’s a really good opportunity for students to do some comparative shopping,” Finlay said. “I think you need to be open in your pursuits.”

More than 40 of the about 200 companies and employers at the Fall Career Fair will interview applicants in the William Pitt Union the next day. Fifty-eight graduate schools and law schools are also projected to attend.

After going to the Career Fair and meeting recruiters, Finlay suggests contacting the recruiter and thanking them for the information within a few days. Recruiters travel from career fair to career fair and forget students’ names among all of the handshakes and smiles. Students can stand out by mentioning a specific question they brought up, something they discussed or even what they wore.

During Homecoming weekend, SEPA puts on a Pathway to Professions event, which will be held on Oct. 28, to help students network with alumni from around the country. SEPA targets young professionals who will be helpful during the hiring process.

Finlay said in a follow-up email that more than 19 percent of students found their jobs through career fairs, on-campus interviews, the FutureLinks system and networking events.

The Career Fair isn’t the only option, but it’s a good way to get students thinking seriously about applying for jobs, Finlay said. SEPA surveyed students last year about how they were employed. Twenty-three percent reported that a previous internship helped. Sixteen percent found their jobs through networking, 15 percent contacted their employers directly and 14 percent found their jobs through Internet job listings.

No need to panic

For those who are graduating in December or feel compelled to hang on to this article into the spring, fear not.

“Just be up front with folks and the recruiter,” Simon said.

He added that students should be as specific as possible in their applications and not submit resumes blindly.

For UPMC, the recruitment cycle takes between six and eight weeks. There are general hiring seasons, Simon said, but students should apply for jobs as soon as they appear online.

“In terms of our fiscal year (July to June), sometimes we wait to hire new positions until we better understand our financial states. So sometimes you see our summer months are busy for us specifically,” he said.

After June, different departments often start hiring people when they know how much they can allot for projects.

Rowen and Wallace plan to apply for jobs when they come back from winter break this year. Though many application deadlines would have already passed, they have researched many of the jobs they’re considering. Rowen, a communication and psychology major, has been looking for year-long internships with sports teams. What team she’ll be cheering for, she isn’t sure.

“I think it’s tough because we don’t know where we want to live yet,” Rowen said.

Rowen and Wallace went to the same high school in Lancaster County.

Wallace, a political science and urban studies major, said she would consider the Peace Corps or paralegal work. But not working until she finds a job isn’t an option.

“If I couldn’t get a job, I’d have to work at Panera for the summer,” she said.

Rowen said she’d try to hold out for a job with a sports team. She has interned with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Eagles and hopes to work with the Philadelphia Eagles again.

“I want to make sure that what I do is what I want to do,” she said.