Going Mobile!

by J. Michael DeAngelis, Information Specialist

You asked for it, you got it!  PennLink, the Career Services job board and OCR manager, is now available in a mobile version!  Whether you’re on an Anroid, an iPhone, a Windows 7 phone, a tablet computer, ebook reader or any other portable device, you can now access and use PennLink easily!

The mobile version of the site activates automatically when you visit, instantly detecting your mobile device.  There’s no special app to install and one particular kind of phone or tablet is not favored over the other.  Though the screenshots below are from an iPhone and an iPad, your mobile PennLink experience should be the same across devices.

Because the main Career Services website isn’t totally mobile friendly yet (But trust me, I’m working on it for 2012!), I’ve created a shortcut to our mobile portal for you here and on our homepage, so you don’t have to navigate through a lot of layers.   I highly recommend bookmarking this page on your device or adding it to your homescreen so you can quickly return whenever you want.

From our mobile portal, follow the link to the PennLink log-in page.  Just like on our desktop version, you have the choice between logging in using your PennKey (most current students) or using your e-mail address (mostly alumni).  Be sure to select the proper entryway, just as you do on the regular site:

Important tip!
Our good friend at Simplicity, who created and maintain the PennLink software, have thoughtfully included a way for you to add a shortcut straight to the PennLink log in screen from your home screen and you may get a pop-up bubble asking you to do so.  DON’T DO IT!  As great an idea as this may sound, that particular shortcut is not currently compatible with our PennKey system.  Technicians are working on this bug and we’ll let you know when it’s resolved.  In the meantime, bookmark our mobile portal as suggested above.

Sorry, folks

Once you are logged in, nearly all of PennLink is at your fingertips!

Want to see the schedule of upcoming Career Fairs and who’s attending? Check.  Want to find out which Employer Information Sessions are coming up soon? Check.  Want to add those information sessions to your mobile calendar? Check.

Of course, what a lot of you want to do is be able to search and apply for jobs.  We’ve got you covered.  The PennLink mobile site has a complete listing of OCR and non-OCR job postings!  You can search for jobs just like you can on the desktop site (all your jobs and employers previously marked as favorites will be intact too) and submit your application directly from the mobile site using the resumes and cover letters you already have uploaded to your “Documents” tab.

Note: PennLink Mobile does not currently support uploading new files to your Documents tab, so make sure that you have already uploaded your most up to date documents!

The PennLink Mobile site is just the first phase of an ongoing effort by Career Services to completely revamp our online resources and make them accessible in the way you want them to be.  If you have suggestions about the PennLink Mobile site, please let us know in the comments below.  We’ve only been live for about four days, so if you find any bugs or note that something is not as intuitive as it should be, tell us!  We hope that come the spring semester, the mobile version of PennLink will be a popular and easy resource for students on the go.

Author: J. Michael DeAngelis

J. Michael DeAngelis is the Information Specialist in Career Services and Editor-at-Large of this blog. He is also a professional playwright and actor.