On March 15 at NYU’s Silver Center, 30 college students working with Let’s Get Ready’s College Success Program met with employees from a variety of companies and roles for a Career Launch event. The students are alumni of Let’s Get Ready’s College Access Program, which provides free SAT prep and college admissions guidance to students from low-income backgrounds, and are now being mentored by the organization as they earn their college degrees.

At Career Launch, volunteers conducted mock interviews and resume reviews. Students could also attend a seminar conducted by Agency Within’s Stephanie Panama on applying for jobs, navigating applicant tracking systems (ATS), and managing their online personas.

   

Cindy Morand, a Let’s Get Ready alum now working at the Columbia School of International Public Affairs, was one of the volunteers. “Engaging with the different students and doing practice interviews with them was truly rewarding,” she says. “I was very impressed by how professional the students were and also very open to feedback.”

Morand spoke to two students at Queens College, one majoring in childhood education, the other in English and music. “Both students were very driven and dedicated to their studies,” she remembers. “One had previous internships and was ready to start applying to jobs, so the mock interview was helpful to her. The other student recently switched majors so I gave her feedback on her resume and how to position herself for internships next year.”

Volunteers included professionals from some of the top companies in their field, large and small. A great number work at Let’s Get Ready’s philanthropic partner NewsCorp or one of its subsidiaries, including Dow Jones, HarperCollins, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and Storyful.

Other volunteers worked with employers that included Fontbonne Hall Academy, Tanglewood Publishing, Democracy Prep, Facebook, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Year Up, Google, VeridianPrep, Harbor Group International, JetBlue, Burns Group, JPMorgan Chase, Alvarez & Marsal, and Claremont Capital. There were also independent consultants and artists available to field students’ questions.

Let’s Get Ready is very grateful to all of the volunteers and students that participated in this exciting and productive event. We look forward to collaborating with all of you in the future to help more students achieve their career dreams.

Please enjoy these photos from the event Elizabeth Mcgrady:

On January 10, Let’s Get Ready held a Career Launch event for New England students at the NonProfit Center in Boston. Photos by Diego Navarro: