COLUMN: The truth about OCRS: Only consulting, really sorry

From Emily Lieff's, "Sassy Peach," Fall '99 From Emily Lieff's, "Sassy Peach," Fall '99For four years, I've been told that Penn's On-Campus Recruiting Services would be a huge help in finding me a job after graduation. This, it turns out, is possibly one of the biggest Penn myths ever created -- right after the one about students getting a 4.0 if their roommate commits suicide. Ask them, and their answer will go something like this: "Consulting is when a consultant consults with someone who needs to be consulted by a consultant who consults in the field of consulting." Does this frighten anyone else? What worries me even more is that students are being forced onto career paths that they had no intention of pursuing and then fighting to get jobs that they don't understand. Suddenly, seniors from all walks of life are ripping one another to shreds in the hope of getting a rare interview with these prestigious, yet elusive, consulting firms. And not just Wharton students. These seniors are English, History and Psych majors who have suddenly decided to throw their liberal arts education to the wind and dive into the business-oriented world of consulting. Personally, I can't understand why these students are interested in consulting. I also can't understand why consulting firms would want to hire one of them. Can you picture the interview?. "Any business experience?" No. "Related Skills?" No. "Do you know what consulting is?" No. Perhaps these students should start looking for other career options, perhaps in a field that they know something about. The problem is, OCRS doesn't give students many other options. Most students find themselves herded into consulting simply because it is the easiest option. Of course, there is one other choice -- investment banking. If there is anything that I understand less than consulting, it's investment banking. The only thing that I know about this profession is that people like to call it "I-Banking." People who want me to think that they're important always start talking about I-banking. My theory is that this term is used only when people want you to think that they are old golfing buddies with Mr. Goldman and Mr. Sachs. Really, we all know the truth -- they're just in it for the money. I like money just as much them, but I'm not willing to work until 3 a.m. every night just to make some. It's easy to tell which students are interviewing for investment banking jobs -- they are the ones who wear suits to class every day. Don't be fooled. They're not dressing that way because they have interviews, they just want to look important. I guess they have a right to look important, though they are the only Penn students who will actually be able to buy expensive suits with their starting salaries. I'll be lucky if I can afford Old Navy Performance Fleece. So, it seems that neither consulting nor I-banking is in my future. This begs the question -- what is in my future? My Wharton -- and Wharton wannabe -- friends have all been able to take advantage of OCRS' system, which allows them to find a job conveniently and with minimal effort. I, on the other hand, seem to be facing four more months of fruitless poring through the want ads, without any help from Penn. I've been to OCRS and they haven't been much help. Through the entire 16-week resume drop period, I've only found a handful of non-consulting jobs that I'm interested in. Penn is sending us a clear message. For four years, Penn encourages students to become individuals and celebrates our diverse interests. Come senior year, OCRS forces us to merge into one mass of indistinguishable pinstripe-wearing, resume-toting consultant clones. Unfortunately, there is no simple process for students who want to pursue their interests -- unless, of course, we can finally figure out what a consultant does.