UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Career offices from across Penn State announced the development of Nittany Lion Careers, a collaborative, University-wide career management system.
Nittany Lion Careers will become the single career-management network for all students, alumni and talent recruiting organizations. This effort will merge multiple portals across University colleges and campuses into one central platform.
This initiative is the result of a coordinated effort between Penn State Career Services, a unit of Student Affairs, and all of the individual college and campus career offices. The system provides a seamless experience to all students and alumni, enhances customer service for recruiting employers, and allows more consistent and complete tracking of career success.
“It has been heartening to see the team approach among career services professionals across the entire University,” said Bob Orndorff, director of Career Services, a unit of Penn State Student Affairs said. “This collaborative spirit has empowered us to build a state-of-the-art, integrated career management system."
In April, Orndorff announced the initiative to the University Park Undergraduate Association. UPUA leaders were consulted during the initial development stages and were excited to hear the Nittany Lion Careers would soon be available to students.
“The University Park Undergraduate Association fully supports the implementation of the Nittany Lion Careers initiative and we are eager to use this new resource,” said Cody Heaton, student body president. “The ability for any student or alumnus to be able to network and find jobs through one unified system is essential to 21st century career searching.”
Nittany Lion Careers will help career office staff maintain and grow collaboration; provide consistent service to students, alumni and employers; and allow units to track and report career outcomes more effectively.
Rick McClintic, director of the Engineering Career Resources & Employer Relations office in the College of Engineering, noted that the new system allows college and campus offices to stay connected while broadening the range of career and job options available to students.
“Our staff looks forward to maintaining our longstanding relationships with employers while maintaining our commitment to personalized career support for our students,” McClintic said.
Organizations actively recruiting at Penn State will have the ability to post openings in one location, source a candidate pool of students and experienced alumni based on qualifications rather than solely major, and maintain the ability to track and manage outcomes.
Amanda Callahan, a university and early talent manager with MARS North America, says that this effort aligns with her organization’s principles and will help recruiting efforts.
“Penn State’s utilization of a single sign-on career services system maximizes the efficiency of recruiting for both employers and students,” Callahan said. “This enables employers to better focus efforts on valuable interactions while providing students with a simpler, streamlined candidate experience.”
Career counseling scheduling, on-campus interviews, and career fair information will also be available through Nittany Lion Careers. Penn State will continue to offer students exceptional career-related services through the established college and campus career offices and Career Services. The staff in those offices will remain an integral resource for students throughout their Penn State career.
Nittany Lion Careers will become available summer 2018. Students, alumni and employers will receive email communications throughout the transition. Additional information about the system transition can be found at nittanylioncareers.psu.edu.