This nonprofit helps first-generation graduates form professional connections

You would think that having a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Buffalo State It would be enough to land a job that pays a living wage, especially half a decade after graduating.

This is not the case of Calvin Sauveur, 31 years old. He spent the first few years after earning his degree underemployed, either because his jobs didn’t pay enough or because he couldn’t find a full-time job in his field.

No matter how well he performed, “there was no progress,” he said.

Sauveur is a first-generation American, raised primarily by a single mother in Brooklyn. Then a friend recommended that he check out COOP Careers at a networking event.

“That’s when everything started to change,” Sauveur said.

The nonprofit’s goal is to help first-generation people like Sauveur gain the interpersonal skills and connections they need to obtain the types of jobs their college education prepared them for.

Often, the difference in job prospects between people like Sauveur and her peers who grew up in white-collar families comes down to informal social networks, according to Kalani Leifer, founder and CEO of COOP Careers.

“Relationships draw you into your career more than your skills drive you,” he said.

COOP participants, called “apprentices,” are encouraged to build a community with people who will support each other throughout their careers, offering the same types of connections their more privileged peers enjoyed before they even entered the workforce. .

Additionally, COOP teaches digital skills related to high-demand fields such as data analytics, digital marketing, and financial services.

Classes are held four nights a week and are taught by “captains,” many of whom are former COOP graduates and now in the workforce. Registration is free.

“It’s not about what you know, it’s about who you know,” Leifer said.

Young recruiters and corporate managers who need to hire immediately tend to approach their employees and ask them to recommend friends, people from school, social networks, the neighborhoods they grew up in, fraternities and sororities, etc.

These are the candidates who are hired most frequently.

Inadvertently, this practice effectively screens out job applicants who went to college but lack those connections.

Consider that the average salary for new college graduates in New York City is $68,612 per year, compared to the average salary for an incoming COOP Careers trainee with a bachelor’s degree, who earns approximately $15,000 before entering the program.

Within 12 months of completing the apprenticeship, 80% of COOP alumni are fully employed in a professional-level job and earn an average of $50,000 or more per year, more than three times their pre-program earnings.

About 80% of apprentices who earned a COOP completion certificate earned an average of $75,000 after five years.

This is one of the many reasons why Brooklyn’s Sophia Love Ilizarav applied to the program. “I also wanted to get rid of my limiting beliefs,” said the 23-year-old graduate of university of brooklyn.

Although he initially planned to take advantage of the new digital marketing skills he acquired during the apprenticeship, he now intends to move to Los Angeles to work in the music industry. Ilizarav has already contacted COOP alumni there.

Kristian Orozco Mejía, resident of Mount Vernon, New York, and graduate of New York City CollegeHe first learned about COOP through his association with his school.

Initially, he didn’t think he was interested in the show because his degree was in public relations, but after working in that industry for a while, he discovered it wasn’t for him.

“I didn’t have any passion for this,” the 26-year-old said.

Mejía joined his classmates in the digital marketing program. “I’m still in touch with my 16 classmates,” she said. It seems that being so friendly pays off. Her first post-COOP job, in Media HorizonIt was through a recommendation from a COOP alumnus who worked there.

COOP Careers certificate winners are in high demand by companies such as Horizon, Disney, Google, Havas, Publicis Media and many more.

“We host recruiting events with COOP that are like speed dating,” said Jacqueline Graham, senior vice president and managing partner of talent acquisition at Publicis.

Brian Mason, associate director of talent acquisition at Publicis, is also a fan. “Not only does it help us achieve our goal of being inclusive, but the skills they learn at COOP Careers provide a good foundation,” he said.

Leighani Wright, who earned a data analytics certificate from COOP, now works at Publicis Collective as a healthcare analytics analyst. Like many of her colleagues, including Sauveur and Mejía, she has returned to COOP to teach four nights a week.

“Sometimes I’m tired after a full day of work, but being able to meet and teach new trainees and give back is satisfying,” she said.

Alumni also give back in other ways: coaching mock interviews, providing resume reviews, helping develop LinkedIn profiles, and participating in panel discussions.

Last year, 1,000 COOPers joined a virtual event to welcome new trainees.

But it’s not all work. “We also have fun together,” Wright said, referring to alumni gatherings at picnics, happy hours and sporting events.

Calvin Sauveur is now director of research at Zenith.

He credits COOP Careers for giving him the digital analytics skills he needs to work, but there’s something else, too.

“I’ve learned that I’m not alone,” he said.