Work study website revamped

Freshman Marquitta Howard said her job search would have been a lot harder without the new interactive online system for finding federal work study jobs at UNC.

“I thought it was really cool because I was afraid that they were going to be like, ‘You need work study. Go out, and find a job. Good luck,’” she said.

Howard said she was pleasantly surprised by her options in the new system, which is available for the first time this academic year.

“They actually provide you with a long list,” said Howard, who got a job as a scorekeeper for UNC Campus Recreation intramural sports. “They give you the pay rate. They give you a little description about what the job consisted of.”

The site is run by a third-party company that provides personalized access to UNC.

Phillip Asbury, deputy director for the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, said the company is required to update the system annually, which he thinks will keep it from becoming obsolete.

Michelle Klemens, assistant director for UNC’s federal employment programs, said students previously used an online database where they could only see jobs openings.

“They’d look on a database, contact supervisors and set up interviews. So it was a lot of walking around campus and emails and phone calls,” Klemens said.

“With the new system, it’s still an online database, but it actually has the capacity now that students can apply to these positions online, and they can upload resume and cover letter material.”

Employers benefit from the site too, she said.

“Supervisors can communicate with students through the site. They can also make hiring decisions through the site as well,” she said. “It’s actually a big change.”

Asbury said in an email that students will still have to take part in many of the traditional aspects of looking for a job.

“A system will go only so far in relieving the stress involved in a job search,” he said. “The system will be much more modern but much of this process still involves human interaction between employer and potential employee.”

But junior Dylan Zanikos, who has worked as an administrative support associate at the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center since January, found his job through the old system last winter.

This fall, he said he had to seek help from his supervisor to navigate the new system.

“The new system is not as intuitive as the old one and is much more difficult to find,” he said.

But Klemens said she thinks the new system may decrease some challenges for other students.

“Supervisors are still making hiring decisions and students are getting settled into their jobs or are still looking for jobs, but I think this is a good indication that the system is effective and meeting the needs of everybody involved.”

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