One of the reasons I enjoy working in the education field so much is the interaction with college students. Being around students makes me feel alive!

Two weeks ago, Jason and I were invited by NOVA Professor Green to listen to a marketing presentation by 3 honor students who chose Zippyjobs.com as their case study company. And what a presentation it was! Simply A-MA-ZING!

They surveyed students around campus, dissected the site and came back with some very constructive suggestions. Their basic message to us was that students are loving the site and that we must continue in our quest to serve the community by building the local job connection. The main negative point they had was the fact that the site requires a university email to create an account given that many students don’t use their university emails. We had a very interesting debate on that point using examples from other companies such as facebook which had used the same restriction in their early days…

Thank you to NOVA Professor Green and all his students from MKT 201 Section OO3N for all their hard work in making their class project on Zippyjobs.com and providing so much valuable feedback. We loved being part of your world and would love to come back at any time.

Cheers - Jai

We’re excited to report that Zippyjobs was featured on News Channel 8. Below is the video showing Jason Panda’s interview with David Lucas.

I would like to take a minute to say thanks to everyone that has continued to wish us well and help us provide a way to help students stay in school.  We are working really hard to build a community of students in DC that can share experiences, find jobs suitable to them, and make some cash to stay in school.  Here is a comment from LaQuease Roseboro at the University of the District of Columbia.

“I think this website is cool. FINALLY!!! Someone has designed a job site for us College students. Its like cutting out the hassle that i have had with Monster, where you don’t know if the job you are applying for is even meant for a college student. Now we know.”

Thanks for your well wishes LaQuease.  We will continue to work hard for you and the other students of the DC metro area.

Jason and Jai

We’ve received a lot of questions and feedback from students about the site and we would like to highlight a few things that can make the website easier for you to use. 

1. Can I change my email from my school email to my personal email? 

- Yes. This is as easy as selecting on edit profile, then selecting the tab button “contact” and proceeding to change your contact email.

2. What is “The Quad”?

- The Quad is a forum for students to ask questions, receive advice and exchange job related experiences with other students and employers.  If you want a local job or internship, you might as well check with other students to see if they’ve worked there or already had your experience.  Employers also have access to the Quad and they are usually more than willing to answer student questions. 

3. What do I do with my profile?

- Your profile your way to allow employers to find you and offer you a job.  We are really interested in building a community, so we ask that everyone upload their pictures and complete their profiles.  With Zippyjobs, you have complete control over who views your profile and who is able to see parts of your profile, so you don’t have to worry about your friends accessing your information.  You can also select not to partcipate in the social networking part, or allow employers to view your profile.

4. What does N/A mean on the salary section for the job description?

- If the salary description says N/A, it means that the employer has elected not to post the salary or range of salaries.  A lot of times, these jobs are paid, but the employer does not want to let students know about the pay range.  Because of this confusion, we have decided to change the wording to “undisclosed”.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, do not hesitate to send them to us.  Also, send us your recommendations on ways that we can make your experience better.  Thanks.

Jason

Congratulations to Safiyah Hassan.  Safiyah was the winner of the NVCC Nintendo Wii Raffle!

We were very excited to take part in the Northern Virginia Community College Student Fair on Tuesday and meet the few hundred students who stopped by our table.

We appreciated all your feedback and encouragements. Please keep the feedback flowing.

Thanks - Jai

Did you know you could tap into university discretionary funds by joining their off-campus card programs? These are programs where universities allow students, faculty and staff to use “flex” funds at specific vendors on and off-campus. Some of DC’s hottest programs are:

- GWorld program at The George Washington University (gworld.gwu.edu)

- GoCard program at Georgetown University (http://gocard.georgetown.edu/)

- Eagle Bucks program at American University (www.american.edu/ocl/housing/eaglebucks.html)

The George Washington University GWorld program is by far the best program as students must deposit between $1,500 and $3,400 a year in their account; which in turns means more money available for participating businesses.