By Shelley Broxton

Check any college poll. The number one motivation for attending college is to have a fighting chance in a competitive job market.

Despite the time, money, and tears put into acquiring a degree, it alone does not guarantee a job. No college can guarantee that, but Mercy is working to increase the odds.

This fall semester, Mercy College Career Services has teamed up with PACT in order to enhance their career planning and placement services, thereby enhancing students’ chances for success in the professional job market.

Career Services has been most recognized for their student worker program. The program allows students to work on campus while pursuing their degree. There is also the cooperative education program where students gain experience in their field of study while earning credit for it.

The official kick off for the additional professional resources provided by Career Services took place on September 30, 2010, with an event known as Career Day.

“Our goal is to increase our student’s professional marketability,” says Ana Molenaar, a Manhattan campus PACT counselor and activities coordinator. “We are starting with our goal to provide every student with a finalized resume.”

Each Mercy campus has a designated day of the week when the career development events take place. They are open to all Mercy College students and alumni, unless otherwise noted. Past events have been hosted through workshops, seminars and career fairs.

The workshops, so far, have focused on resume building, writing and interviewing skills, dressing for success, and volunteer experiences. The countdown to graduation seminar was exclusively for seniors.

“We are teaching career readiness so that our students and alumni can develop lifelong career management skills,” say Kevin Joyce, Director of Corporate Outreach. “Projecting forward, it is our intention to continue concentrating on delivering workshops for the core skill sets our students and alumni need to help them confidently articulate their value propositions to prospective employers.”

The career fairs and other employer-based events provide students and alumni with the opportunity to interact with representatives from approximately 100 different companies across a broad range of industries. For up and coming Career Day events, the agenda and schedule can be accessed through the Mercy College website under the career services event calendar.

In addition to the events, Mercy College has also added two free online resources to the Mercy College website: Resumes Edge and Career Maverick.

Mercy College students, alumni, and employees can log on the database 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from anywhere internet access is provided.

Through Resume Edge, students can create and format their resumes through a step by step process. Career Maverick allows members to upload their resume to the site as well as develop a customized plan for short and long term career goals.

“Career Maverick is great database that provides seamless access to Focus 2 and Interview Stream,” says Joyce. Focus 2 is a self assessment tool that assists students in their educational and career planning processes. Interview Stream is a new technology being offered to the

Mercy Community that provides access to virtual mock interview training. A webcam is needed to utilize Interview Stream. “There are approximately 1,500 students and alumni that are already registered with Career Maverick,” Joyce adds. “That number is growing daily.”

In order to access Resume Edge, students must register through a link provided in Mercy Connect. Returning Users may access their accounts through either Connect or Career Maverick.

The URL to register with Career Maverick is: https://mercycsm.symplicity.com/. The link can also be found through the Career Service and Center for Student Success and Engagement page on the Mercy College website. A student id number is required for registration.

Students who registered with Career Maverick can also search for local, regional, national (and even international) fulltime and part-time jobs and internship opportunities through the site. Outside professional job recruiters will also have access to student resumes, bringing students another step closer to their professional goals.

Joyce says the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from students who have started taking advantage of the new resources provided to them. The services are beneficial to all members of the Mercy College Community, no matter the current stage of their academic or professional careers.

“We are bringing our community and prospective employers closer together,” says Joyce. “And that’s always a good thing.”