Senior Launch took off this year for the first time in the William Pitt Union Ballroom… Senior Launch took off this year for the first time in the William Pitt Union Ballroom yesterday.

A direct idea from Kathy Humphrey, Pitt’s vice provost and dean of students, the job resource fair provided information to seniors about how to conduct a successful job interview, find internships, tips on networking, completing a graduate school application and when to attend various seminars.

Marvin Roth, director of Career Services, said, “Dr. Humphrey’s goal for this event was to provide as much information as possible to provide a ‘kickoff’ for seniors early on in the year.”

Senior Launch was originally planned to be a picnic, but because of rain, it ended up in the Union Ballroom.

An added incentive for students was a free career portfolio for the first 1000 attending seniors.

“Our aim was to provide information and fun,” Roth added.

The fun was apparent in the wheel of professional knowledge and a basketball hoop with prizes.

There was also the Information Central area, essentially the nucleus of Senior Launch. Representatives from different organizations such as Career Counselors, Pitt Career Network and Financial Aid provided answers to the majority of students’ questions.

Megan Humphreys, from the Career Networking table, discussed the advantage of the network program

“Any Pitt student can go through the Web site to get advice from Pitt alumni,” she said.

The Web site can locate alumni in a specific field, and students can talk directly to alumni in positions that interest them. They can get advice on how the alumni got their jobs and what students should do to better their employment odds.

Casual acquaintances may prove to be much more valuable than a friendship when it comes to finding a job.

Student Chante Richardson noticed that the Senior Launch was “more geared towards people graduating in the spring and not to those graduating in December, but the free food was fun.”

Seniors who could not attend Senior Launch can go to Career Services on the second floor of the Union for resume-building advice and mock interviews.

“At this point, seniors should already have a resume and should concentrate on refining it. The job search starts much earlier than most think. Employers are here all the time,” Roth said.

There is also a Job Fair in the first week of October. A Pathway to Profession program is on Oct. 19th, where students can meet Pitt alumni in person to get employment advice in specific fields.

Senior Launch was helpful for some, including med-school hopeful Dawson Park.

“This has been pretty helpful. My department [neuroscience] is small, so my advisor already went through the majority of what’s here,” she said.