The University of Delaware Career Services Center (CSC) has added an important new recruitment tool that is making job searches much easier for both students and employers. Last year, UD joined a group of 90 other colleges around the country to be the first in implementing a user-friendly, online recruitment program. The cutting-edge technology gives students 24-hour access to job postings and allows them to electronically submit resumes and sign up for interviews with more than 300 companies.

"We've seen a dramatic increase in the number of students participating in our Campus Interview Program as a result of this technology," says Jack Townsend, CSC director. "It is much easier than our old system, which was paper-intensive and required numerous trips back and forth to our office. Now, students can point and click their way through the job search process."

Townsend notes that online recruiting is just one of the many ways that the UD center is helping students and alumni find exciting employment opportunities. The CSC staff works with students from the freshman year through graduation, helping to build practical experience, develop job-seeking skills and, ultimately, find employment. "We have most often been associated with job placement, but our true focus is much broader," Townsend says.

A survey of baccalaureate recipients from 1998-99 showed that 77 percent of those responding had used the services and programs offered by the Career Services Center. Forty-four percent of the graduates said they also had participated in three or more programs offered by the center.

The first step in building a successful career is to gain the practical experience that employers value. At the Career Services Center, students can learn about part-time and summer jobs as well as internship and other field experience opportunities. Marianne Green, who oversees these programs, pays special attention to meeting the needs of liberal arts students. "More than anyone else, they need to build experiential activity into their education so they can show a practical link when they go out looking for a position," she explains.

Experiential programs:

• The Field Experience Program, which offers updated lists of internships at nearly 300 local organizations;
  
  
• Experiential Education, a course that allows students to obtain credit for their internships and get the most out of their experiences;
  
  
• The-Day-on-the-Job Program, which links students to alumni mentors. This program recently went online to give students greater access to professionals in their field;
  
  
• Part-time and summer jobs, which are listed in binders and on the Career Services home page;
  
  
• The Summer Jobs for Engineers Program, updated weekly and in which nearly 200 engineering students participated last year;
  
  
• The Engineering Co-op Program, a joint venture between the College of Engineering and the Career Services Center; and
  
  
• The Department of Biology Cooperative Education Program, which helps place biology students in career-related positions.

Each year, Career Services offers more than 300 workshops to help students prepare for their job searches. Programs in resumé writing, interview preparation and job-search strategies give students the skills to pursue employment. Presented at the Career Services Center, in residence halls and at student organizations, many of the courses now can be viewed online as well at [www.udel.edu/csc/students/html].

Students can also learn about questions that recruiters ask, how to dress for success, networking and information interviewing, identifying sources of employment, using the Internet for a job search and how to contact a potential employer. "For a lot of students, the job search process can be a big mystery. Our job is to give them direction and offer specific support in terms of what they need to do," says Townsend. "We're here for any student at any time who needs support in this process."

Stephen Sciscione, associate director of career programming, says that individual counseling also is available. "For the student who is about to graduate after changing his or her major, individualized coaching is ideal," he says.