Summary

• Member of the Investopedia Financial Review Board
• Current Vice President of Career Services at Berkeley College
• Lifelong advocate for the unemployed, chronically unemployed and underemployed
• Trainer, resume reviewer, LinkedIn guru, educator, mentor

Experience

Amy Soricelli has spent her entire professional career (40+ years) working with individuals in their job search. Whether it is a one-on-one session discussing skills, experience, and goals with a new graduate, or constructing the resume for a job seeker who is returning to the workforce after a considerable break. As a fierce advocate for the under-represented, Amy works with hundreds of employers to provide opportunities for the population she serves. It would not be unusual for her to conduct a workshop on interviewing do’s and don’ts to a group of students seeking an internship, and then later that day providing a workshop on Ageism to the clients of a not-for-profit organization.

In addition to the career planning and assistance for the higher education population, Amy spent fourteen years in a boutique staffing firm working with administrative professionals throughout the tri-state area. Working with the general population provided a wealth of opportunity to expand her network and Amy’s current network of professional connections on LinkedIn is over 27,000.

Conducting workshops and seminars on all aspects of the job search is another area of expertise that Amy has acquired. Whether it Is in front of a classroom, or on an evening Zoom session with working alumni, her intention is for engaged conversation around the challenges with seeking and obtaining employment in a volatile market. She believes that the isolation of the job seeker adds to the frustration of an already broken process and encourages “group advocacy” (through break-out rooms and “buddy systems”) whenever possible.

Active listening and compassion are the foundations of successful career search assistance. Amy believes in a “soup to nuts” approach which involves understanding the job seekers immediate needs and how they can be incorporated into long-term career planning. Amy’s background in Specialized Services in Education allows her to relate well to job seekers in all stations of life, and she prides herself on her ability to work well with anyone.

Amy has been a consistent contributor to HBCU Career Connection providing a wealth of information on career planning to their current students and recent graduates.

Education

Amy has a Bachelors’ degree in English from Herbert H. Lehman college where she was the recipient of the Grace C. Croff Memorial award for poetry. She has gone on to be widely published in anthologies and journals and was nominated for 2 Best of the Nets and a Pushcart Prize. Billy Collins nominated her for the Aspen Emerging Writer’s Fellowship in 2019.

Amy also has a MS In Specialized Services in Education/Guidance and Counseling and conducted research on the state of career education in high schools during the period she was a student. This research was conducted in an actual library and the thesis was typed on an actual typewriter. I believe this is important to note when working with the unemployed—the resources one has available today are invaluable and cannot be underscored.