The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

Student builds networking site

A student-founded and run company is looking to help college students build their resumes before graduation.

 

Beacon VT is a networking service that connects employers with students looking to gain work experience while still in college. It was launched Sept. 2 and founded by juniors Peter Silverman and Max Robbins.

 

“We find students micro-jobs that don’t interfere with their schedule, small things you can do with classes,” Silverman said. “What if a student wants to get experience doing graphic design just a few hours a week?”

From left to right: John Tyner, Shoko Plambeck, Peter Silverman, Natalia Korpanty and Max Robbins of Beacon VT. The startup helps college students find career-related jobs. Photo Courtesy of Liz Trombino

He said he feels internships are limiting and the application process often takes too long; which is why he started Beacon VT.

 

One way Silverman and Robbins find job openings is by going to networking events and talking to employers looking for students, Silverman said.

 

The other way is through the website’s subscription service where businesses pay Beacon VT a monthly fee to advertise a job opening on their website and weekly email.

 

Businesses can choose from three different subscriptions.

 

The first costs $10 per month and includes unlimited job posts  and access to student resumes.

The second costs $30 per month and offers posts shared to 20,000 students.

 

The third option, which costs $150 per month, offers all previous benefits. Beacon will put up posters on college campuses advertising job offers.

 

“If you go to our website you can enter in your information and we’ll send you a weekly newsletter that says, ‘Here are the volunteer opportunities, here are the micro-jobs and, if you want, here are internships,’” Silverman said.

 

The newsletter currently has over 600 subscribers and the website gets over 350 hits a day, he said.

 

“We want to expand nationally, but we want to do it from the bottom up,” Silverman said. “We don’t want to expand nationally to, like, Texas and Seattle and say we’re a national platform and hope people fill in the jobs.”

 

Beacon will expand in Vermont first from Burlington to Williston and then Middlebury, he said.

“We’re going to build it community by community,” Silverman said.

 

At the current rate of growth, Beacon will have 3,000 to 4,000 people on its Listserv by the end of the 2016-2017 academic year, he said.

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Student builds networking site