Software Eases Job Posts, Searches

Moving a major step beyond posting forms and job descriptions online, Human Resources will soon offer job applicants and hiring managers a customized, Web employment process that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Starting on Dec. 11, UCSB will become the first UC campus to use a Web-based system developed in partnership with employment software specialists PeopleAdmin, said Melinda Crawford, manager of HR's employment and training departments.

Two-hour training sessions for 45 hiring managers will be run by PeopleAdmin on campus Thursday and Friday, Dec. 4 and 5. One of the sessions will be videotaped for future use. Additional training sessions by HR staff are being planned.

"This new online employment system will facilitate and automate many of the labor-intensive, paper-driven aspects of the recruitment, application, and hiring process," said Crawford.

She noted that the new system offers features to applicant and potential employer that are difficult or impossible to duplicate with the manual systems still widely used in higher education: Hiring managers and search committees would have access to applicant pools 24/7; electronic retention of resumes, applications, and support materials; customized, job-specific screening; and tracking of applicant records and statistics.

"Applicants will find it much easier to apply," she said. Each would have a protected user account and be able to create a template, or applicant profile, for multiple submissions. Besides easier application revision and submission online, the potential employee will get immediate confirmation and be able to monitor the application's status or check for interview arrangements.

Administratively, it "eliminates hours of data entry," saves money, and "allows us to focus more on customer service," said Crawford.