Separate databases hinder students
By Behnnoosh Khalilil Special to the Kansan
Most students looking for a job use a copy center to create their resumes. After the expense of the paper and creating and printing the resume, the added cost of sending it throughout the country is the icing on an already expensive cake.
But students can avoid hassles by using campus placement services, which keep student resumes for company recruiters.
However, the process is not without problems and expenses.
Students who want their resumes on file in the databases at the University Placement, Engineering Career Services and Business Placement centers must pay separate registration fees and contact each center individually.
This poses a problem for students looking for jobs in the engineering and business fields.
Amir Khan, Pakistan senior and business major with a concentration in computer science, said the Business Placement Center was more elaborate and convenient.
"It would be better if I could sign up for interviews at both schools from one computer instead of having to run over to Learned Hall to sign up," he said. "Lots of companies overlap in business and engineering."
The separation of databases could prevent companies from seeing qualified resumes because potential employers
also must search the databases separately.
Mike Heuring, assistant director of the University Placement Center, said this separation was an unfortunate part of the placement centers' designs.
"We need to consolidate the centers so companies can see all the resumes at once," he said.
Counselors said consolidation of all three databases would end communication problems between the centers. Students would be guaranteed maximum exposure for their resumes.
Until consolidation occurs, counselors agreed that students should check every option for the best place to submit resumes.
The University Placement Center, 110 Burge Union, works with education, fine arts, social welfare and liberal arts and science majors. However, any KU student can register.
For a $10 fee, students can have resumes entered into the University's database and onto the Internet, and they also can participate in on-campus interviews.
Workshops, seminars, the career library career counseling and the campus career fair are available to all students, even those who do not register. The center also conducts a teacher interview day for education majors.
The Business Placement Center, 125 Summerfield Hall, requires a one-time fee of $75 to enter a resume into the School of Business's database. Registered students
Mike Houring director of the University Placement Center
have access to the resource library and on-campus recruiting.
The center provides free career advice, and students can see what jobs are available through the computer system in the Wagnon Room, 418 Summerfield Hall.
Renae Johnson, office manager at the Business Placement Center, said students also could contact companies individually for interviews.
Karen Kelm, secretary of the School of Engineering, said the Engineering Career Services Center, 4010 Learned Hall, charged no fee, but that it was less extensive than the Business Placement Center.
Students must sign up for interviews in a separate place in Learned instead of on a computer at the School of Business, Kelm said. Services available for KU students and alumni include on-campus interviews, a resume database, a career
resource library and counseling.
The School of Journalism Job Information Center, 102 Stauffer-Flint Hall, is different from business, engineering and University placement centers, said Dana Leibengood, director of Student Services.
"We deal with smaller companies. Most of our placement is by personal contact," he said.
The School has no budget for placement and charges a yearly $20 registration fee. Only journalism students and business students with a concentration in journalism may register.
These students can participate in on-campus interviews, internships, placement meetings and resume consultation. Throughout Stauffer-Flint, job and internship lists are posted and updated weekly.
For students who want to use the resume databases, problems still remain.
The University has discussed joining the databases, which use the same resume program, but no plans have been made.
Consolidation would help students stay informed about campus interviewing, Khan said. Signing up for interviews would be easier because students could sign up at one place instead of going across campus.
Students should find out which databases companies are checking to ensure their resumes are not slipping past employers, Johnson said. They should also follow up on their own leads for jobs.
...
JUAN LEO MAYO