Before getting a video editing job at VDOWorks in Pleasantville,  Christina Iacopelli, a Mercy College alumna with a degree in animation, was still living at home with her sister Amanda job searching on Craigslist three days a week.

“I would search anything that mentioned my field,” said Iacopelli, who stated she did not limit her search to traditional methods. Like many other recent graduates, she has chosen to search for jobs through social media networks.

In a 2014 survey by Jobvite, the leading recruiting platform for the social media, stated that employees were having the most success with Facebook and LinkedIn during the job hunt.

A Jobvite 2014 survey found that 71 percent of the U.S. work force is on the job market. Between the ages of 18-29 workers are looking for another job while currently employed. These workers usually have one type of college degree, associates, bachelors, or masters degree. Jobvite also found that four out of 10 people found their “favorite or best” job through online social networking.  The social job seekers are usually women, 70 percent, and are between the ages of 30-39 years old. However, 60 percent of mobile job seekers are men and and are 18-29 years old.

Another online job seeking program is located directly on campus at Mercy College. Mercy Mavericks Career Services helps current and previous students improve their resumes, connect with successful leaders in big companies, and have companies post jobs through the Mercy Careers’ online portal.

Director of Career Services, Jill Hart said, “Our program is really built around career readiness for students.  PACT mentors discuss careers with their students. They support their students in all areas. The Career Service Center works with employers.”

Students can call one of the career service members or do walk-ins anytime. Hart does recommend all students, no matter their grade, should start searching early and have a resume. Students can go to the Student Life section of Mercy’s website and click on the link, Mercy Careers. Students have to register to get support from their advisors and see what jobs or internships are posted. There are also career services at both the Manhattan and Bronx campuses.

Right now, there are 9,000 students registered.

Hart states that alumni who registered when they were current students can stay on Mercy Mavericks Careers on forever if they desire.

The Lunch with a Leader Program was started nearly three years, is run on all three campuses, and has been very successful.

Hart said, “We bring in leaders in business, local community, government people who have become very successful in their field. Typically, 10 to 12 students have lunch in Verrazzano Hall, and a speaker shares a story with students with regard to the decisions made, places visited and tactics used.”

Catherine Cioffi, Associate Director of Public Relations at Mercy College added that the program is a great opportunity for a student who doesn’t have the resources or advice back at home. “If I’m a student at Mercy, and I want to go into finance, but nobody in my family has gone into finance, I have the opportunity to sit down with some one for over a month and ask that person questions such as ‘How did you do this’ or ‘How did you get there?'”

When it comes to networking and searching for internships/jobs though the Career Service Center and social media sites, Hart says to do both.

“I would start with Career Mavericks. The reason is that employers come to advertise their openings. On a public job board, they are just putting their jobs up there for anybody anywhere. When they come to Mercy College, they are looking to recruit our students.”

Hart does state that students should search other places as well, like the public job board. “We encourage students to look at many different places and create a plan.”

In a 2005 Pew Research Center report, by 2014 the use of the Internet will increase the size of people’s social network. This wide range of sources from which will verify information about job opportunities, personal services, common interest and products.

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2005/The-Future-of-the-Internet/05-Predictions-and-Reactions/02-Social-networks.aspx