University students might dread their first job hunt a little less starting early July.
The Office of Information Technology and career services offices at the University are working together to develop a job-listing and resume-posting Web site for all Twin Cities campus students, said Rebecca Hall, central career development coordinator in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.
The Web site, known as Gold PASS, will allow University students to post resumes and search job listings of thousands of companies for free, Hall said.
“You’ll have everyone from your Fortune 500 companies to your five-person nonprofits,” she said.
The exact number of companies that will list job openings on the new Web site is undetermined, but it will represent
the combined number of companies that recruit online from the University’s colleges, Hall said.
Students will be able to search the Web site for full-time and part-time employment, volunteer opportunities, co-ops, internships and fellowships, Hall said. There will be enough space for students to post multiple resumes, she said.
Several colleges within the University already have job-listing or resume-posting Web sites, while others have Web sites that do both, Hall said. The combined Web site will streamline students’ searching and companies’ recruiting by making listings and postings available on one Web site, she said.
Some career professionals at the University said they already see the advantage of one Web site for the entire University for job listings and resume postings.
“Gold PASS will connect employers with students and vice versa in an efficient, timely, productive and convenient way,” said Maggie Kubak, a career professional in the St. Paul Campus Career Center.
Many employers want to recruit for a lot of varied positions directly from the University, and Gold PASS will make this easier for them, Kubak said. These positions are sometimes very specialized, she said.
“Our forestry program is one of the few forestry programs in the country, and so it would make very little sense for an employer to list on a general employment Web site like Monstertrak rather than Gold PASS,” Kubak said.
Eric Kiekow, a College of Liberal Arts junior, said he doesn’t like employment Web sites that are too broad.
“I think (Gold PASS) would be a great idea, because so many job-search Web sites aren’t tailored to this university, and that makes it hard to get your name out there,” Kiekow said.