Geneseo's Career Services Office recently debuted new software that allows students to browse and ultimately apply for jobs and internships posted by potential employers.
The service, titled "Knight Jobs," was available in the past, but has been revamped as the college has started using a new vendor, CSO Research. Assistant Director of Career Services Liz Seager said that CSO is "very student focused … CSO helps us help students."
The old version of Knight Jobs used a vendor called Career Services. The decision to make the change to CSO occurred because Career Services had stopped including Knight Jobs in its business model and was no longer updating it with new technology, leaving the software outdated.
"Keeping up with technology helps us to be competitive with other schools," Seager said. "We must keep up with technology in order to properly serve our students."
Andrea DiGiorgio, coordinator of the student employment service at Geneseo, said that it was important that, "Geneseo students not be disadvantaged by outdated technology."
CSO was selected in the spring over two other vendors in an effort to bring the job-posting software up to date.
While the old service allowed only administrators to search for employer listings, students are now able to search for jobs and internships on their own. Students also have the ability to create their own profiles and upload resumes and cover letters directly from their personal computer.
A student can also opt to receive e-mail alerts when a job is posted that matches his or her search criteria. DiGiorgio said that this automatic system prevents students from having to repeatedly sign on to Knight Jobs to check for new job postings.
Knight Jobs now offers a service called Geneseo Career Partner, an updated version of the old Alumni Career Partner. Using the service, students can search for and contact over 400 alumni who participate in the program.
Beginning in October, students will be able to access the schedules of employers visiting Geneseo and electronically sign up for interviews. Though many associate the Career Services Office with professional career and internship opportunities, students can also use Knight Jobs to search for local part-time work.
Seager said that 128 students have posted to Knight Jobs as of Wednesday, citing the statistic as encouraging and one that "will only go up."
"It is more intuitive to figure out how to use Knight Jobs," DiGiorgio said. "Once you have your resume uploaded, it's nice to have only one click to apply."
"[Knight Jobs] is a wonderful way for students to find out what is available to them," Seager said. "You have to be vigilant to the world of work in this economy."