Experts Offer Career and Salary Negotiating Advice at CUNY Multi-Campus Alumni Event

The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) co-hosted the 4th Annual CUNY Multi-Campus Alumni Career Event on Thursday, May 20. Organized by the Offices of Alumni Relations and Career Services at CUNY SPS, the virtual event was held in collaboration with six additional campuses: Brooklyn College, the City College of New York, the Graduate Center, the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, the New York City College of Technology, and Guttman Community College. 

The workshop event included more campuses than last year, and with 125 alumni attendees, it also grew in size and scope. The theme for the evening was “How to Advocate for Yourself and Discover Your Earning Potential.”  

The evening opened with a presentation by Andrea DeMarco, career services consultant at Brooklyn College’s Magna Career Center. DeMarco overviewed salary negotiating strategies, noting that while employers plan budgets expecting negotiations for new hires, 56% of job-seekers accept initial compensation offers without further discussion. 

Following DeMarco’s presentation, several experts led a question-and-answer panel, fielding specific alumni questions. Panelists included: Nadine Martin, CUNY SPS Foundation Board member and associate director for oncology global marketing at Merck; Rhea D. Faniel, senior associate director, diversity recruitment and employer relations at the Career and Professional Development Institute, City College of New York; and Shanelle Glasgow-Davis, New York City College of Technology alumna and director of human resources, Central Amusement International.

Each panelist answered participant questions on various salary negotiation topics, from the interview stage to promotions and raises. The panelists stressed the importance of negotiating in the hiring process because starting salaries become the basis for future incremental raises. 

In addition to offering advice for how best to negotiate a raise, CUNY SPS Foundation Board member Nadine Martin later shared, “It was my pleasure to speak with the hard-working CUNY alumni at last Thursday’s event. I truly hope that they feel even more empowered and confident as they navigate their careers and advocate for their advancement.” 

CUNY SPS alumna Ruth Arthur-Asmah (MS in Business Management & Leadership ’18) summed up the workshop perfectly, “Such a beautiful, smart array of women of color teaching us how to succeed professionally... This has been very inspiring!”

After the Q&A session, attendees broke out into networking groups to connect with alumni from the other participating campuses.

This Spring marks the fourth year that the CUNY SPS’ Offices of Alumni Relations and Career Services have co-hosted this popular alumni career services event. Nidia Cordova, alumni relations specialist at CUNY SPS, offered her take on the evening, “It's a joy to create new and lasting engagement opportunities for our CUNY SPS alumni, and I am honored to be a resource to our graduates.”

About the CUNY School of Professional Studies

For over 15 years, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) has been leading online education in New York. Notable for offering the most online bachelor’s and master’s degree options at the City University of New York, and for serving transfer students as the University system’s only undergraduate all-transfer college, 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.

The School’s growth has been remarkable, with twenty-four degrees launched since 2006. Enrollment has risen by more than 30% in the last four years to over 4,000 students in the credit-bearing programs. Thousands more are enrolled in non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs. In addition, the School has an active alumni network and has established the CUNY SPS Foundation, which offers multiple scholarship opportunities to current students.

CUNY SPS has consistently been named by US News & World Report as one of the country’s top online institutions. This year, the School was ranked in the top 2% in the nation on the publisher’s list of the 2021 Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs.

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