The Envoy

Hunter’s Career Center transition from Symplicity to Handshake as the primary job-searching platform last July has sparked discussions among students exploring new pre-professional opportunities offered by the college. 

Handshake is more “mobile-friendly” for students’ everyday use and connects them with four times as many employers as Symplicity, according to the Career Center’s Associate Director Shayne Bernstein. The app has been popular with Hunter students since it launched, and is considered the “preferred platform for employers” to post job opportunities for students.

“We really encourage students, as soon as they’re freshmen, to create their profile and start to familiarize themselves with the platform, because I do have a feeling we will have Handshake for many years to come,” Bernstein said. 

Enrique Collado-Vincente is one Hunter student who noticed the Career Center’s recent efforts to promote Handshake on campus. An orientation leader encouraged him and a classmate to register for the platform. 

“The sooner you download Handshake, the better,” the freshman said. “I found it to be very helpful, mostly for job search and Career Center events. It’s easy, it’s free, and it’s convenient to take these opportunities.”

Collado-Vincente attended the Career Center’s “Power Networking: Take Charge of Your Success!” event in November with Valerie J. Lyons, the Assistant Director of Student Affairs, after he saw advertisements for it in the West Building.

“The Career Center makes a concerted effort to try and publicize its events and resources as much as possible throughout the campus so you will find information about programs, events and resources on the screens, as well as through printed materials and social media,” Bernstein said.

Jack Cronin, a recent Hunter alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in history, said he utilizes Handshake’s job search capabilities even after graduation.

 “You have better opportunities on Handshake than if you were on larger platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed or Google,” said Cronin.  

A recent transfer student majoring in public health at Hunter’s Silberman School of Social Work, junior Valerie Muse said the Career Center and employer events advertised on Handshake helped her to “click in the school.”

Muse attended the 7th Annual Pre-Health Fair in October after she saw an advertisement for it on Handshake. 

“I was looking for a space that connects to my academic field at Hunter, a group of students who are interested in some of the things I’m interested in, and a chance to network with professionals,” Muse said about the Pre-Health Fair.

 “I was really shocked that there were so many clubs, organizations, and resources to help.”

Bernstein recommends that students who are interested in attending future Career Center events stay tuned for in-person fairs in April, as well as three upcoming virtual fairs on Handshake. 

Students in the meantime can opt in to receive email notifications about upcoming events, job postings, and fairs on Handshake.

Bernstein also said the Career Center will offer additional student resources in the spring, including on-campus recruitment sessions, career information sessions, industry panels and access to Quinncia, a resume and mock interview artificial intelligence tool.

Cronin received a 1-year free trial of Quinncia after attending the Resumes and Applicant Tracking Systems Workshop hosted by the Career Center in November.

“The likelihood of getting filtered through the system would be less and less likely if I don’t have the optimized layout for my resume, so [Quinncia] helps out a bunch,” Cronin said.

According to Muse, the skills and resources you gain from the Career Center are “not something that you use one time, but for the rest of your life.”  

“I emphasize finding, talking, sitting back, and seeing the different opportunities that Hunter has because, you know, your tuition is paying for it,” Muse said.

The Career Center’s integration of Handshake, Navigate and Quinncia underscores a broader initiative to engage with Hunter students at rates similar to those seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our numbers are almost as high as they have ever been because coming to the Career Center is so much easier for students,” Bernstein said.

Students can schedule appointments at the Career Center through Navigate, where they can choose from services such as resume critique, cover letter critique, mock interviews, job search assistance and other career counseling topics. 

Appointments can be conducted via Zoom or at the Career Center Office in room 805 of Hunter’s East Building.