Ben Lamm is a Touro University success story, thanks to the solid education he received at the Graduate School of Technology and the connections he made through the School’s Career Services program.
Lamm (Class of 2014) came to GST with experience
in e-commerce, but wanted to be a software programmer. Recognizing that goal, Career Services
Director Robert Grosberg arranged for Lamm to interview with FDM Group, a selective Wall Street
information technology (IT) company specializing in skills training and jobs placement for rising
technology professionals. Throughout that process, GST’s Career Services was there for me,
giving tips and helping me with my resume,
said Lamm.
Lamm was first hired as a consultant at FDM, and when he was later offered a permanent job as a Java
Developer at Sirius XM Radio, he jumped at the chance. I had to leave the FDM training program
early, because Sirius did not want to wait,
said Lamm. He worked at Sirius for three years
for a good salary. In November, he started a new job at Central Analysis Bureau as a software
engineer.
Robert Grosberg, says the beauty of on-the-job training at organizations like FDM, is that students
have the opportunity to get their hands dirty and get their feet on the ground.
Teaching the Skills to Succeed
Career Services helps tech graduates gain the necessary skills to land a job. Students participate in
videotaped mock interviews that show them how to polish their presentation skills. Your body
language, how you speak, what you say, what you are doing with your hands, and whether you make
eye contact− are all important parts of an interview,
said Grosberg.
The School also schedules Career Services nights each semester. In October, Dana Leavy-Detrick, a personal brand strategist, demonstrated digital networking, marketing, and how to best create content on social media like LinkedIn. In addition, students are taught how to write a technology-focused resume and how to get it past the usual job application screening sites.
Because English is a second language for many GST students, the department offers basic communications classes and helps enrollees hone their language skills so they can focus on landing a job.
Active recruiters like TEKsystems, PruTech, and Robert Half Technology conduct interviews at GST’s annual Recruitment Night at Touro; and job and internship placements regularly occur at city agencies such as the MTA, DOT and DoITT, and at corporate giants like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Guardian Life Insurance, or Citibank.
One of the advantages of Career Services, Grosberg points out, is that those who work there go the
extra mile.
If you just walk into an employment agency, like Robert Half, you’ll get a polite
‘how-do-you-do,’
says Grosberg, but you won’t get the kind of mentoring geared for
the technology student that GST offers.
Lamm says the importance of Career Services cannot be overstated. It is an integral part of the
college experience,
he said. Don't limit ‘college’ to the classes you are taking. At the
end of the day it's all about taking the skills you learn and turning them into a lifelong
career. That crucial step is where many people get tripped up and that is precisely the role
that the Career Services department is there to help with. Get involved early on and let them
help you,
he said.
For more information about Career Services at GST, contact Robert Grosberg at robert.grosberg@touro.edu, or call (212) 463-0400 ext. 5496.