First-Year Forward

IBM SkillsBuild is a free, career readiness platform that offers more than 1,000 courses designed to help you build in-demand AI skills. Through IBM SkillsBuild, you can expand your technical expertise while earning industry-recognized credentials that can be showcased on your resume and LinkedIn profile. You can access this on RamConnect when you claim your account in Fordham My Apps or go directly to RamConnect. 

Handshake is the Career Center's one-stop shop for all things career-related. Once you activate your account and complete your profile, you gain access to a robust job and internship database, hundreds of curated career resources, thousands of events hosted by the Career Center and employers across the country, and a portal where you can book one-on-one appointments with our staff of career counselors. You can access Handshake by claiming your account in your Fordham My Apps, or go directly to https://fordham.joinhandshake.com/ using your Fordham single sign-on credentials.  

RamConnect is a Fordham-exclusive networking and student success platform, designed to help you build meaningful professional connections and gain valuable career experience. Through RamConnect, you can connect with Fordham alumni and peers, apply for Fordham-exclusive experiential learning opportunities, and participate in both formal and informal mentoring programs. You can access RamConnect by claiming your account in your Fordham My Apps or by going directly to ramconnect.fordham.edu. 

PathwayU is a career and self-discovery platform available through RamConnect. It helps you explore careers, majors, and industries that align with your interests, values, personality, and workplace preferences. By completing a series of assessments, you receive personalized career recommendations and insights that can help guide your academic, extracurricular, and professional decisions. 

The Co-Curricular Transcript is a feature within RamConnect that allows you to track and document your experiential learning experiences. By recording internships, research projects, volunteer work, and other activities, you can build a comprehensive record of your involvement outside the classroom. The transcript also highlights the skills and competencies developed through these experiences, helping you demonstrate the employer-valued strengths you have gained throughout your time at Fordham.

We recommend preparing for your internship or research search by starting early! During your first few months at Fordham, prioritize meeting with a career counselor to explore industries, employers, faculty mentors, and research areas that align with your academic and career goals. 

From there, we can help you build out your application materials, strengthen your job board profiles, and locate relevant networking events. You can use RamConnect to discover and track exclusive opportunities reviewing your Experiences tab and connect with Fordham alumni for mentorship. When you start applying for roles, be mindful of application deadlines, as many competitive internships and research programs recruit well in advance.

You can check out our upcoming events by visiting the Events page on Handshake!

On-campus employment for federal work study and non-federal work study positions is managed by the Student Employment Office (SEO). The SEO matched students with positions that will enable them to learn and practice valuable work-related skills and to help meet educationally related expenses while studying at Fordham University. 

Book a virtual appointment, email them at [email protected], or call 718-817-3820.