7th Annual Alumni Career Event Features Record Number of Attendees and CUNY Campus Participants

2024 Career Development Webinar Explores How AI Can Be Used for Job Searching

The Office of Alumni Relations and the Office of Career Services from the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) co-hosted the 7th Annual CUNY Multi-Campus Alumni Career Development and Networking Event on June 13. A record-breaking audience of almost three hundred CUNY alumni and students attended the webinar, which explored harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) for more effective job search strategies. 

In a first, a record sixteen CUNY colleges participated in the 2024 multi-campus career event, along with CUNY SPS. This year’s list included: New York City College of Technology, Brooklyn College, Baruch College, City College of New York Alumni Association, College of Staten Island, Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, CUNY Graduate Center, CUNY School of Law, Guttman Community College, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, Lehman College, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Queens College, Queensborough Community College, and York College.

Alumni Relations Manager Nidia Cordova, who served as moderator and has been one of the key organizers of the multi-campus alumni event since its inception, marveled over the program’s CUNY-wide expansion. “Every year, we are thrilled to welcome new campuses and their alumni communities to join this career development opportunity,” said Cordova. “We are so very grateful for their collaboration.”

The evening’s workshop featured Jeremy Schifeling (pictured left), a dynamic career coach who has worked for LinkedIn and more recently published a best-selling book on using AI for career development. Throughout the workshop, Schifeling discussed best practices and helpful hacks for growing networks and optimizing job searches.

Schifeling encouraged participants to utilize ChatGPT to enhance their LinkedIn profiles while he detailed the process involved.

“We’re going to have ChatGPT say which of your job’s keywords are missing from your LinkedIn profile…Now, paste in your profile, [to the prompt section of ChatGPT],” Schifeling said. “ChatGPT can do for you exactly what the ATS (applicant tracking system) does for recruiters.”

Then Schifeling explained that AI would suggest which keywords should be added to the profile to make it fit the job description in question.

By polling participants and asking attendees to volunteer for demonstrations, Schifeling kept the audience lively and engaged. He also gave away free copies of his e-book, reviewed LinkedIn profiles, and provided access to his digital career toolkit.

The program closed with breakout groups, where alumni had a chance to use Schifeling's tips to peer-review each other’s LinkedIn profiles and, in the process, network with the CUNY community.

Alumni and students shared their enthusiasm for the workshop’s helpful hacks. New alum Roberto Rosario (BS in Information Systems ‘24), who attended because he was interested in how best to use generative AI to enhance his LinkedIn profile, offered his takeaway. “Given Jeremy's background with working at LinkedIn, I found his insights from the recruiter's point of view very helpful.” Rosario added, “He also showed some useful tips on getting the most out of the platform in ways I never was aware of.”

Similarly, Jason Gilbert, who is a current Psychology student and expects to graduate with his BA in 2025, also gave positive reviews.

“I appreciate the effort to connect CUNY alumni with the shared goal of furthering their careers,” shared Gilbert. “I learned some useful techniques to speed up the application process which I plan on implementing in the future.”

After the webcast, Schifeling talked about the personal significance of running a professional development workshop at CUNY. "As the grandson of Brooklyn College and Hunter grads, I owe so much of my success to the incredible foundation CUNY laid for my family,” he said. “And so it was a true privilege to see so many awesome CUNY grads in the newest generation launching their careers and building success for their own families."

Moderator and organizer Cordova was pleased with the outcome. “I’m still blown away by the success of this event. Alums were flooding the chat with praise,” Cordova said. “Many thanks to our wonderful presenter Jeremy Schifeling, who provided our alumni with valuable information that we anticipate will impact their career growth.”

To learn about using AI in professional development, please see the video recording of the workshop. 

About the CUNY School of Professional Studies

As New York's leading online school since 2006, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) offers the most online bachelor's and master's degree options at the City University of New York, and serves as the University's first undergraduate all-transfer college. With 26 degrees and numerous other non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who wish to finish a bachelor's degree, progress from an associate's degree, earn a master's degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers. Consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for its online offerings, CUNY SPS has emerged as a nationwide leader in online education. The School's renowned and affordable online programs ensure that busy working adults may fulfill their educational goals on their own time and schedule.

Press Contact
Prerna Dar
CUNY SPS Chief Marketing Officer
Prerna.dar@cuny.edu