One UF student is competing to win the New York Job Project, a contest geared toward people with a passion for public relations and social media. Affect, a firm in New York City, is hosting the contest to find the most qualified applicant to fill the position of account coordinator.
“It’s better than sending in a resume and biting your nails and hoping they like it,” said Hannah Swerdloff, a 22-year-old UF public relations senior and entrant in the contest.
There are currently 33 entries, but applications will still be accepted until Friday. Swerdloff is in third place.
“Contests like this are awesome because they allow candidates to put themselves out there,” Swerdloff said.
Maria Parra, a career ambassador for the Career Resource Center and 22-year-old UF business administration senior, said the job market is a lot more competitive than ever before, and applicants need to do as much as possible to stand out.
“Contests like the New York Job Project give students the ability to apply what they’ve learned in school so far in a real-world setting,” Parra said. “It’s about going above and beyond just getting good grades.”
The entrants promote their pages through social media. The goal is to get the most votes. There are five judges who each have 200 votes to give out to contestants they deem deserving. Of the three finalists, one will earn the job with Affect with a starting salary of $36,000.
