The horrors and joys of On-Campus Recruiting will now dog students wherever they go.
Career Services launched a new mobile application that provides constant access to PennLink, the University’s online job-processing system.
The free app, which, according to Director of Career Services Pat Rose, was released on Dec. 15 of last year, will work on any mobile device, providing on-the-go access to career fair information as well as interview openings for internships and jobs.
Manufactured by Symplicity Corporation and operated by NACElink — a national network of job listings for college students — the app was introduced to address student demand for mobile access to the website.
According to Michael DeAngelis, Career Services Information Resources manager, the mobile app seems to be functioning successfully so far.
“We’ve tested it in the office on iPhones, iPads, on Androids, on Blackberries … and it works,” he said. “It will configure to any phone. We’ve received no heads up [from the manufacturers] on any limitations.”
Students seem to have taken to the app well. “Anecdotally, I spoke with a counselor who said students were using it. We haven’t had any complaints,” DeAngelis added.
PennLink Mobile will help combat problems students had without the app.
Rae Tao, a Wharton senior, was dissatisfied at times with her experience during OCR.
She said signing up for interview slots was on a “first-come, first-serve basis.”
“If you were hesitant [when signing up for an interview time], because you wanted to make sure it didn’t conflict with class, somebody else would just take your spot. So if you wanted to go out on Thursday night, you couldn’t, because you had to sort out interviews,” she said.
In addition, she had difficulty accessing the PennLink website on her Blackberry.
“So I think the web app would be useful for those issues,” she added.
However, Femi Fadugba, a School of Arts and Sciences graduate student who applied for jobs through PennLink, believes the mobile app may give an advantage to students who have smartphones because they are able to sign up for interview times more quickly.
“It’s a collective action problem, when everyone pursues their own self interest, but no one benefits,” he said. “I think regulation, rather than giving an advantage to students who have smartphones, is a better solution.”
Fadugba is unsure about the value of the app.
“PennLink was useful for finding out about deadlines, but after you apply, there’s not much point to it,” he said. “You find out about results from the company first, not PennLink.”
He added he would not have used the app if it were available to him when he was applying for jobs.
However, Career Services anticipates that the feature will be a success. “It’s been on our wish list for some time,” DeAngelis said, adding that a mobile version for employers is next.
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