“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.”