Students applying for employment through the Program to Aid Career Exploration (PACE) will find the process has changed from a ranking system to an interview process with the hope of better matching students and employers, said Dan Frech, assistant director of student employment
Approximately 400 students find work through the program, which is intended to give them a work-study experience for their future careers, according to the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships.
Frech, who also is director of the PACE program, said in the past, students and employers ranked each other in a computer program, and it matched them. But the ranking system often was not successful in pairing either party with its top choice.
This year we are doing it the way it works in the real world
Frech said.
The new system is based on interviews. Students applied in April for as many positions as they wanted, and employers had 10 days to review applications. Employers then contacted students they were interested in interviewing and were required to interview everyone before filling the position, he said.
Sophomore management information systems and marketing major David Royer said the new system is similar to how real job applications work.
It replicates the real environment more he said. Royer worked this year in Research Communications for Perspectives magazine, and next year he has a job in Web design for Kennedy Art Museum.
Mike Stein is also a sophomore majoring in management information systems, and next year he will be a graphic arts lab coordinator.
Stein said the program helped him get career-related work experience and he was satisfied with the new system.
It's not just a normal job he said. Stein said the application
and interview process went well and he was able to communicate with employers.
It was really smooth
he said about the process, it was easy to contact everyone.
Frech said at first there might be confusion, but it is typical any time a system is changed.
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