Photo Courtesy of The Office of Career Services
By Amber Louis
TAMPA, Fla. — In an effort to make internship opportunities more accessible for The University of Tampa students, the Office of Career Services launched SpartanHIRE early this Fall semester. So far, it’s proving to be more efficient and successful than Handshake has been in the past.
Apart from internships available to students, SpartanHIRE is a multifaceted app that allows students to connect with employers in the Tampa Bay area and beyond, so that post-college or internship searches become easier.
Ilena Bain, manager of employer development and partnerships, explains the transition will be almost seamless, if not better for students.
“It is there to help get students hired,” Bain said. “It does everything Handshake used to do. You still make your career appointments here; you still look for events there. You [can] still find internships and jobs.”
Branded by UTampa, SpartanHIRE is a program provided by 12Twenty, which acts similarly to the previously used Handshake. Students can find this application on their UTampa Okta portal. Bain elaborated by saying she approves all companies looking for UTampa hires, making internships and job searches more feasible for our university.
“We also can track a lot more with internships and figure out where our students are really excelling, what companies are really critical for our students, and that way we can continue to have more of a relationship with them,” said Bain.
Bain noted that having this data excels the ability for students to find more accurate job fields that are accessible in the Tampa Bay area, or even beyond internationally.
The first step for students to take when navigating this new system is to tailor their page to their interests, industry, and job market availability. SpartanHIRE will prompt you to make multiple selections, and from there, you create your profile with all of the things that make you, you. After that, you can attach multiple resumes, job preferences like location and function, and other supporting documents.
Madeline Russo, senior marketing intern, elaborated on the importance of a complete profile in order to be well prepared for the most success in your job search and discovery by employers.
“I say definitely finish your profile because that’s how you can make an appointment with us easily, and also when you’re applying for jobs, it’s easy,” Russo said. “When I look at the descriptions, when I have my resume and cover letter attached, all I have to do is hit apply.”
This simple one-click apply function is similar to Handshake. You simply find an interest, and SpartanHIRE automatically attaches your resume and cover letters you select.
The release of SpartanHIRE worked well with the Office of Career Services’ Annual Internship Fair. Preceded by Internship Week, this is where students have the ability to connect with employers they’ll find on SpartanHIRE face-to-face and apply post-fair.
To learn more about SpartanHIRE and to get the most out of the resource, visit the Office of Career Services via appointment or Zoom call. You can find events and office hours on Instagram, @utampacareer.