Career Readiness and Success

Career Readiness and Success provides a wide range of personalized services for RCC students and alumni.

Our primary mission is to help students achieve the following:

  • Better understand their interests and abilities
  • Explore academic and career possibilities
  • Align educational and career goals
  • Gain experience through internships
  • Network with professionals
  • Write effective resume and cover letters
  • Learn interview techniques and practice
  • Acquire professional and interpersonal skills

Students and alumni are welcome to attend any of our career workshops.

It is the policy of Rockland Community College not to discriminate on basis of age, alienage, color, creed, disability, gender/sex, marital status, national origin, prior non-job related record of conviction, race, religion, sexual orientation or veteran status in its programs and activities.

FOCUS 2 – Career and Educational Planning System

FOCUS 2 is an online, interactive, self-guided career, major and education planning system. The system enables users to discover and learn about career options related to their personal attributes. Users learn to make realistic decisions about their goals and plans, how to self-manage their careers and the importance of adaptability in these times of change.

New Users

How to Set Up Your Focus 2 Account:

Return Users

Log into the account you already created.

Resume Writing Assistance

For more information, please contact:
Jessica Gilot, Senior Career Navigator, [email protected] or 845-574-4327
Sharada Brooks-Glenn, Interim Career Navigator, [email protected] or 845-574-4539

How to Avoid Job Scams

If you receive an email promising employment that seems suspicious, please review some of the common scams below to determine whether you may have been contacted by a scam artist. If you are still unsure about the sender’s intent, feel free to reach out to the Career Readiness and Success Center, and we will be happy to help.

Scam artists take advantage of college students since they tend to be new to the job search and quite vulnerable during the process. Most of the positions that we post through College Central are legitimate, but it is important to be vigilant while you are searching for a job or internship. The following are common scams, but it’s essential to stay vigilant as scammers frequently create new tactics:

Common Job Scams

  • Phishing Scams: These involve fraudulent emails, messages, or websites that impersonate trusted organizations to steal your personal information.
  • Tech Support Scams: Scammers claim to be from tech support and convince you to grant remote access to your computer, leading to data theft or malware installation.
  • Check Cashing: Applicant is sent a check(s), asked to deposit, and wire funds (while keeping a portion for their salary). When the bank determines the checks are fake the amount is deducted from the applicant’s account.
  • Rebate Processing: Applicant pays upfront for training, certification and/or registration, and then there are no rebates for the applicant to process.

Following are some steps that you can take to protect yourself from job scams.

STEP 1: Do Your Research
  • Visit the organization’s website: Review websites to help verify legitimacy. If the company doesn’t have one, it takes you to a different website, or it is poorly developed, consider that a red flag. How professional is it? Is there legitimate contact information? Are jobs/internships and career information posted on the site?
  • Use Google: Search by organization name to see what information you can find (if a company name isn’t provided, consider that a red flag). Take it one step further and perform an internet search on the company’s name and “scam” or “complaints” to see if others have reported issues.
  • The following sites may help you to find additional information including any negative reviews:
STEP 2: Look for Red Flags
  1. Request for Money: Be cautious if the employer asks for money upfront, such as application fees, training costs, or equipment purchases. Legitimate employers typically do not require you to pay them to work.
  2. Too Good to Be True: If the job offer seems too good to be true, with extremely high salaries and minimal requirements, it might be a scam. Research the company and the position thoroughly.
  3. Poor Communication: If the email is riddled with grammatical errors, vague job descriptions, or doesn’t provide clear details about the position, it’s a red flag.
  4. Unverified Sources: Check the sender’s email address and the company’s website. Scammers often use generic email addresses (e.g., Gmail or Yahoo) and may lack a legitimate online presence.
  5. Urgent Requests: Be cautious of emails that pressure you to act quickly, claiming the job is available for a limited time. Scammers use urgency to manipulate victims.
  6. Unsolicited Job Offers: If you didn’t apply for the job or have no previous interaction with the company, be skeptical of unsolicited job offers.
  7. Virtual Interviews: If the employer insists on conducting the entire interview process via email or chat, without any real person-to-person interaction, it could be a scam.
  8. Lack of Company Information: Legitimate companies provide clear information about their organization. If there’s no verifiable information about the company, be cautious.
  9. Check the Job Posting: Research the job posting and compare it to the email you received. If there are discrepancies or inconsistencies, it might be a scam.
  10. Personal Information Requests: Be cautious if the email asks for sensitive personal information like your Social Security number or bank details before you’ve been hired.
  11. Trust Your Gut: If something about the email or the process feels off, trust your instincts. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
If you have any doubts or concerns about a job offer, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Career Readiness and Success Center for guidance and verification. It’s essential to protect yourself from potential scams when seeking employment opportunities.
Reporting a Job Scam

Steps to Take for Victims of Job Scams
Have you been scammed or almost scammed? Here’s what you can do to protect yourself and others.

  • Notify all banks/credit unions and close all accounts at the places where scam-related transactions were conducted.
  • Order a credit report from all three credit bureaus every 2-3 months to look for unusual activity on accounts. Place fraud alerts if needed.
  • If possible, permanently close the email accounts associated with the fraud/scam. If it is a university-affiliated email, contact IT services.
  • File a police report with local law enforcement officials or the local Secret Service field agent (for international payment scams) · Report the scam to The Internet Crime Complaint Center: www.ic3.gov
  • File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1.800.382.4357 or www.ftc.gov
  • Report the scam to job sites where the posting was found and/or any companies the scam impersonated.
  • Notify the Career Readiness and Success Center at 845-574-4715 or [email protected]
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