DragonConnect Improves Job Search Features

02/13/2013 

Red Dragons hunting for jobs or internships have an improved search tool at their disposal in DragonConnect, a free online service designed to help SUNY Cortland students and alumni find work opportunities.

The web-based offering, launched by Career Services in January, replaces JobConnect and takes a giant step forward with its search capabilities, according to Michele Baran, the College’s assistant director of career services and online operations specialist.

“The biggest thing is just how much this allows our students and alumni to expand their searches,” Baran said, pointing to two key improvements.

The first is a new source to feed job and internship opportunities. The Experience Network, a database connected to more than 100,000 employers, significantly increases the number of search results yielded for a job seeker, especially if the person looking is a recent college graduate.

“Essentially, they’re tapping into a much larger network than what was previously available,” Baran said.

The second improved feature is the ability to customize both personal information and job searches in more specific ways.

A job seeker’s personal profile, for instance, can include all of the vital information contained in a résumé plus unique social features, such as a synced LinkedIn profile. Likewise, the search field can be narrowed beyond industry and location, by customizations such as experience required or essential job function.

“What we’ve heard from employers is that the more information people fill out in their profiles, the more likely they are to find matches for their dream jobs,” Baran said.

DragonConnect currently offers SUNY Cortland students and alumni the ability to search jobs and internships. In the future, the tool could include volunteer opportunities or student employment openings on campus, Baran said.

SUNY Cortland students or alumni who graduated in 2008 or later can use the feature, accessible at cortland.experience.com, by logging in with their myRedDragon credentials. Alumni who graduated before 2008 can contact Career Services at 607-753-4715 for access.

Employers also can post jobs for free.

SUNY Cortland’s Career Services offers several other programs to help students in their work-related pursuits, including drop-in résumé and cover letter critiques Mondays and Thursdays from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and Tuesdays from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m.

And according to a report released last summer by the National Survey of Student Engagement, the office’s work is paying off.

By their senior year, 73 percent of SUNY Cortland students surveyed had participated in a form of hands-on learning, whether it was through an internship, clinical assignment or field experience. By comparison, 50 percent of fourth-year students surveyed at more than 600 other institutions shared a similar hands-on experience.

For more information on the DragonConnect resource, contact Baran at 607-753-4715.