The fall recruiting season unofficially kicked off yesterday afternoon with an overflowing Office of Career Services (OCS) orientation meeting in Science Center C.

More than 500 students attended.

Last year, more than 1,500 students took part in recruiting, with nearly half the senior class participating.

"There are tons of jobs out there," Assistant Recruiting Director Paul L. Boisselle told the standing room only crowd. "The bad news is that you have to apply to them--they're not handed out in the Square. The good news is we bring the jobs to you."

Hundreds of companies, mainly investment banking and consulting firms, conducted over 6,000 interviews on campus.

Brandon P. Jones '00 was one of the few graduates looking for a job at the meeting.

"I've been spending the past semester trying to get published--now I'm trying to get myself housed and fed," Jones said.

He said he lived in Watertown with his friends over the summer. He tried to get his short stories and fiction published, but now he is interested in a consulting job where he says he hopes to use his English tutoring skills.

"I'll sell out, but, oh well, it happens to the best of us," he said. "I'm here to get a job."

However, most of the students--75 percent in the estimate of one OCS staffer--filling the aisles were seniors.

Some seniors, however, were just overwhelmed with the massive amount of information presented.

"I got to the point where I couldn't take notes anymore," said Sandra L.S. Guzman '01. "I'm going to go back later and look at the website."

But while the information was exhaustive, some seniors were happy to know they had a helping hand.

"It's reassuring to know that there are people to walk you through--that I'm not standing alone," said Sarah M. McAuley '01. "Part of this whole thing is to see what's out there."

While recruiting often attracts business-minded students, some audience members are pursuing more traditional academic post-graduation routes--along with recruiting.

"[I'm doing recruiting] in case I don't get into my first choice grad school, I will have something to do," said Nick L. Roussanov '01. "I'm neither excited nor worried; it's just something you've got to do."

Some of the non-seniors were interested in pursuing summer jobs.

"It's never to early to start thinking about your summer," said Dorothy E. Johnston '02. "Better to get started sooner than later. It's nice to get a foundation of knowledge."

Meghana A. Bhatt '01 said she was just apprehensive about taking part in the recruiting program.

"I really like the people at OCS, but it's the horror of the recruiting process that doesn't seem fun," she said. "But it seems like a necessary evil."

There will be another recruiting orientation meeting today at 4:00 p.m. in Science Center C.