Rockhurst University Partners With Local Startup Briefcase

Thanks to a partnership between Rockhurst University’s Helzberg School of Management and local Kansas City startup Briefcase, job hunting just got a bit easier for students in the University’s graduate business programs.

Briefcase selected Rockhurst University as the first of four universities to receive access to their innovative, mobile-friendly platform, which offers students the chance to search for current internships, part- and full-time positions in any industry, career level and location, all in real-time. Other universities participating include the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Trulaske College of Business at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and Park University.

“We’re thrilled to be the first university to pilot the Briefcase platform,” said Cheryl McConnell, dean of the Helzberg School of Management. “We understand that finding that dream job is all about information access and connections. Not only might this be a great benefit to our students, but we also get to be a part of one of Kansas City’s fastest growing startups.”

While logged on, students can input job requirements, upload their resumes and view personalized job applications based on their unique skills, experience and education.

“It’s a platform that learns about them,” said McConnell. “In turn, Rockhurst can also include internship and job postings from our own business network. These would be opportunities students would not be able to find on other job search platforms.”

Chief Operating Officer Caleb Phillippi, ’11, ’12 MBA, is a Rockhurst graduate and co-founder of the startup.

“As a SparkLabKC collaborator, Rockhurst wove the Briefcase project into one of its MBA capstone courses,” said Phillippi. “This provided students with the experience of working with a startup, allowing them to be part of the process – the challenges and the triumphs.

Now that we’ve received seed funding, we want to test out the platform with real students looking for real jobs, and Rockhurst was the perfect place to do so.”

And students are already on board. After just one email offering them access, nearly 25 percent of students in Rockhurst’s graduate programs have signed up and created their professional profiles.