MyWorkster.com and Hofstra alum make job hunt easier

By Samantha Schatz


It all started in a Hofstra University dorm room. In 2005, frustrated with the difficulties of finding an internship because he lacked connections, Jeffrey Saliture founded a web site that is a networking utility for professionals, providing access to myriad of jobs and human resources.

Now, with Saliture’s help, Hofstra became the first university in the United States to provide online career advising through MyWorkster. MyWorkster@Hofstra allows students and graduates to find alumni advisers in a wide variety of professions and offers an innovative way to connect with their alma mater. Other schools on the MyWorkster network include Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and the University of Michigan.

Headquartered in Plainview, NY, the site operates on the same principles as networking utilities like Facebook and LinkedIn. MyWorkster's mission, to “help advance ambitious professionals with their career goals” seems to have special appeal in the current economy; the site had more than 250,000 new visitors in the first three months of 2009.

To accommodate the increased demand, he plans to build up MyWorkster’s infrastructure. “More people than ever before are signing up with MyWorkster to find the job they want and deserve,” says Saliture. “We just have to ensure that we have the proper pieces in place to support our growth.” Recently, MyWorkster launched Facebook Connect, a utility that enables users to import Facebook friends into, giving them a larger database of professional contacts.

During Saliture's freshman orientation, he met a senior who was starting his own business, and became inspired. “I remember thinking how far off and impossible starting my own business [seemed] for me,” Saliture recalls. “Little did I know then, that two years later, as a junior, I would be that same guy and have that exact conversation with incoming freshman.” His first business venture was an online site for buying and exchanging textbooks, SaveandTrade.com

Saliture credits his success with his “impassioned avoidance of settling for less.” Indeed, he still hopes to achieve a goal he set for himself as a history major at Hofstra: to attend law school.

MyWorkster from Brian Foote on Vimeo.