Revamping PenguinLINK

While Youngstown State University has been helping students find jobs for the past five years through its online PenguinLINK service, the Office of Career Services is making an effort to enhance the program’s popularity.

Located on the left hand side of the MyYSU Portal, PenguinLINK connects YSU students and alumni with potential hiring employers and displays hundreds of full-time, part-time and internship positions.

The program also allows students to browse and apply for professional job postings, receive new alerts when positions are offered for their major, upload a resume that will be included in an employer-requested resume book, sign up for on-campus interviews and stay informed of employer visits and on-campus career events.

“By posting their open positions in PenguinLINK and participating in on-campus recruiting events, employers are saying that they are interested in hiring YSU students and graduates,” said Jennifer Johnson, director of Career Services.

Ahmed Sutton, Career Services Ambassador Leader, will be promoting PenguinLINK and helping students navigate the system. His goal is to raise awareness of PenguinLINK and demonstrate how it can be used to connect students to jobs, interviews and internships throughout the spring semester.

“Sometimes, we get so focused on our classes that we don’t spend enough time planning for our future careers,” Sutton said. “PenguinLINK is easy to use and a great resource for students to start the job search process and learn about opportunities to network with employers on campus.”

In an effort to bolster student involvement with PenguinLINK, Career Services has updated its logo and has developed a marketing campaign that will advertise the online service — information tables, posters and flyers will be displayed around campus, encouraging students to interact with PenguinLink.

Career Services has also revamped the PenguinLINK site with new features such as the ability for every student to access the program directly from the MyYSU portal rather than having to register for the service. PenguinLINK now also allows users to upload a resume that can be reviewed by a trained career coordinator.

Jay Magby, a pre-business management major, felt that PenguinLINK was user-friendly and said its most helpful feature was the specific criteria search.

“PenguinLINK, compared to other job boards, displays more detailed information, and there were no advertisements or additional sign-ups,” Magby said.