Stony Brook University SUNY Korea

On August 30, the Career Center held its third Instagram Live marathon with Stony Brook University faculty and staff members to promote this semester’s four industry virtual job and internship fairs and highlight stories of faculty and staff members across campus. Faculty and staff also had the opportunity to share words of wisdom with students related to careers and finding valuable experiences. 

Ric mcclendon

Ric McClendon, assistant vice president and dean of students, reminded viewers that they should not sell themselves short.

In a series of nine Instagram live streams, the Career Center’s ​​Elizabeth Ann Moon, marketing and digital content specialist, met with faculty members from various departments including several academic colleges, the Faculty Student Association and the Division of Student Affairs. During each session, professors, deans and other SBU leaders offered their best advice for students preparing to participate in the upcoming job and internship fairs, and emphasized the importance of persistence. 

John Longtin, interim dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, shared that his first job was during high school at a small repair shop where he fixed lawnmowers and chainsaws, among other mechanical tools. 

Longtin said, “It was a fantastic experience. It allowed me to learn things like the value of a dollar, the importance of responsibility, dealing with conflict, or if a customer wasn’t happy.”

He added, “Even after all these years, it’s funny how some of those lessons are still front and center on a daily basis.” Longtin’s experience echoed a sentiment shared by Rewa Thompson, clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing, who said, “There’s no such thing as a wasted experience.”

The social media initiative to inform students of the four upcoming job and internship fairs hosted by the Career Center reached more than 600 views. Audience members were able to send questions for the interviewees and learn more about their experiences. 

When asked about job searching in unprecedented times for recent college graduates, Peter Caprariello, professor in the College of Business, mentioned, “When there’s uncertainty, put your resume out there, send out a lot of applications, see who you can get interviews with, anything to get your name out there; and don’t worry about creating enormous pressures to ‘get it right.’ Life will work itself out, but you have to put yourself out there in order to capture the opportunity.”

During the Instagram Live marathon, students were encouraged to take advantage of resources such as resume reviews, mock interviews and career coaching to prepare for the one-on-one sessions with employers offered at the job and internship fairs. Students can register for these sessions through Handshake. 

Ric McClendon, assistant vice president and dean of students, reminded the viewers that in these one-on-one sessions and future interviews, they should not “sell themselves short.” 

McClendon said, “There are so many skill sets that I think we sell ourselves short on; we miss that window of opportunity to talk about the transferable skill sets. I always tell people, classroom work, club and activity work, volunteer work, all of it is so relevant to every single job because there are skill sets and competencies that we develop over time and it adds such value to the workplace.” 

Recordings of the livestream series are ready for viewing on the Career Center’s Instagram account (@SBUCareerCenter). The initiative featured the following faculty members:

Jon Longtin, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences 

Robin DeLuca-Acconi, School of Social Welfare

Rewa Thompson, School of Nursing 

Chris Paparo, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences 

Tara Rider, School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences

Rachel Rodriguez, College of Arts and Sciences 

Laura Martorano, Campus Dining 

Peter Caprariello, College of Business 

Ric McClendon, Division of Student Affairs 

Upcoming Career Center Virtual Job and Internship Fairs

Virtual IT and Engineering Job & Internship Fair

Friday, September 24, 2021 | 1 pm to 5 pm

Virtual Healthcare, Research, Human Services Job & Internship Fair

Friday, October 1, 2021 | 1 pm to 4 pm