Internships and Networking Key to Champlain Grads Finding Work in Their Chosen Field of Study

Champlain seal

Ninety percent of 2012 Champlain College graduates who answered the annual Employment Survey report that they found employment within 12 months of graduation, according to the 2013 Champlain College Employment Report. Employment data for 89 percent of the graduating class was collected.

The annual survey, conducted by the Champlain College Career Services Office, also shows that about half of the seniors who graduated in May 2013 had landed a job by graduation.

Helping to fuel those strong results, according to the Career Services Office, was the fact that the majority of respondents in both classes — including over two-thirds of the respondents in the class of 2013 — had worked at a relevant internship or job related to their career goals in the year before graduating. Students credited that experience with helping to open the doors to interviews and job offers.

Champlain College, a private college established in 1878, offers a wide range of majors and areas of study in three divisions — Communications & Creative Media, Education & Human Studies, Information Technology & Sciences and the Robert P. Stiller School of Business. In addition to its Burlington campus, the College has full academic campus facilities in Montreal, Canada and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain also offers undergraduate and graduate level online degrees for adult learners.

For the 2012 Champlain graduates surveyed within a year after graduation, the results were even stronger when compared to national statistics. Eighty-eight percent of those responding secured employment that is relevant to their major-well above the national benchmark of 65 percent reported in the Rutgers University John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development's May 2012 report "Chasing the American Dream: Recent College Graduates and the Great Recession."

An overwhelming majority of responding 2012 alumni credited their education at Champlain with preparing them well for their current jobs. Eight out of 10 respondents indicated that in comparison to their peer group from other colleges and universities, the career-focused education they received at Champlain College prepared them "well for success at work." Over 30 percent also indicated they had already been promoted from their original post-graduation job.

Opportunities Abound at Champlain

The employment indicators are significant, according to Ian Mortimer, Champlain College's Vice President for Enrollment Management, because of the ongoing stiff competition for jobs from seasoned professionals in a tight job market. A Champlain graduate often attributes his or her early employment success to the many opportunities and strong educational foundation the College provides through internships, networking opportunities, up-to-date skills and social media training, and ongoing career services support.

"We help our students find and delve into their passions from day one on campus and that continues right through their senior year. They leave Champlain well on their way to taking their first steps on a lifelong career path after graduation with the communication, critical thinking, teamwork and technology skills to adapt and be flexible in a changing workplace," Mortimer said.

"We tell our students that the keys to success are to stay focused, be persistent, take advantage of every Champlain opportunity and never give up on the pursuit of their dream job," Mortimer said. "Champlain's career counselors help students create a planned approach to the job search and regularly follow up with contacts and applications. Employers want to see relevant experience and skills on a resume. It is important for graduates to remember that their professions and interests will change over time, so they must maintain focus on developing transferable skills and experience for a lifetime of strategic career management."


Founded in 1878, Champlain College is a small, not-for-profit, private college in Burlington, Vermont, with additional campuses in Montreal, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland. Champlain offers a traditional undergraduate experience from its beautiful campus overlooking Lake Champlain and over 90 residential undergraduate and online undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certificates. Champlain's distinctive career-driven approach to higher education embodies the notion that true learning occurs when information and experience come together to create knowledge. Champlain College is included in the Princeton Review's The Best 384 Colleges: 2019 Edition. For the fourth year in a row, Champlain was named a "Most Innovative School" in the North by U.S. News & World Report's 2019 "America's Best Colleges,” and a “Best Value School” and is ranked in the top 100 “Regional Universities of the North” and in the top 25 for “Best Undergraduate Teaching.” Champlain is also featured in the Fiske Guide to Colleges for 2019 as one of the "best and most interesting schools" in the United States, Canada and Great Britain and is a 2019 College of Distinction. For more information, visit champlain.edu.