Rebecca Marsh
Equinox Staff
With the economy where it is, it is hard to find a job out there. Where to start, where to go, and how to go about looking and getting a job are frequently asked questions. Keene State College students: look no further, because the Academic and Career Advising Center has them covered.
There is a slightly new feature under the MyKSC announcements. It is called “Job of the Week.” It came about last spring to help students and recent alumni become more aware about the jobs in the Keene area. It is also a way to connect students to the Job Wise database to be more in touch with jobs and internships, according to Mary Ann Gaschnig, job developer in the Academic and Career Advising Center.
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“I thought it would be a good way to get information out to students,” Gaschnig said.
Kelly Graham, associate director of Academic and Career Advising, said, “Her [Gaschnig] role on campus is to find and promote part-time job opportunities for current students.” Graham said her role in Job of the Week is to act as supervisor to Gaschnig. “As a supervisor my role is to make sure that those that I supervise have the resources and the knowledge to do the job that they’ve been hired to do, to assist them with any questions that they may have, and just support them so that they can be successful in their role here,” Graham said
According to Graham, Gaschnig thought of pretty much everything. “It really was Mary Ann’s idea. She’s very creative,” Graham said. She continues, “She is the one who oversees our online job board, Job Wise, and decides which jobs will be promoted through MyKSC as the jobs of the week.”
According to Gaschnig, she finds the jobs through the Job Wise database. “I look at what’s out there and what will interest students.” A person can access the Job Wise database through the Academic and Career Advising website. The Job of the Week is posted either on Tuesdays or Fridays. Gaschnig said, “Job of the Week basically selects one job from the Job Wise database.” She said she tries to switch the postings up between full-time jobs, part-time jobs, and internships.
“We wanted to make sure that students knew that there were really a range of positions posted on Job Wise,” Graham said.
Some of the advertising for Job Wise and the Career and Academic Advising Center is done through things such as tables at the student center, flyers around campus, and forwarding postings to faculty department chairs and alumni. “The focus is really to find opportunities for students,” Gaschnig said. She continued, “Any kind of information we can get out to students is a good thing.”
Gaschnig said she goes around town talking to companies about jobs that they may have and whether or not she can post them on the website. “It’s about letting the community know about the website to post job offerings,” Gaschnig said. Some students, such as sophomore Julia Gomberg, have heard of Job of the Week. “I’ve seen it on the MyKSC announcement,” Gomberg said.
Other students, however, have not seen it on the MyKSC announcements. Sophomore Gabby Pacella said that she didn’t know about it. Getting an off-campus job can be difficult sometimes, according to sophomore Lara Underkoffler. “I feel like it would be difficult because there are a lot of kids,” Underkoffler said. Pacella and senior Phil Elmer have a different idea. “It wasn’t a problem,” finding a job off campus, according to Pacella. “If you want a job you can probably find one,” Pacella continued.
Elmer said, “I think it’s more just who you know.” Students have found the Academic and Career Advising Center, in general, to be a big help. “I’m a communications major and an art minor so they gave me ideas that could involve both communications and art,” Gomberg said. Elmer said, “They [Academic and Career Advising Center] were pretty easy to work with. It’s a pretty good office to have.”
Pacella agreed, “It was nice to have that input,” Pacella said about Academic and Career Advising Center. From students reactions, Job of the Week is a great idea. Gomberg said that it was smart to put a link like this on the announcements.
Underkoffler agreed, “If I knew more about it [Job of the Week] or if I was looking for a job,” she would use it. She continued, “I think it’s cool. I don’t really pay attention to that [the announcements] so if the advertise that in a different way that would be good for me.”
Elmer has the same idea, “Because I’m an RA, I would definitely use that link [Job of the Week] as a helpful tool for my residents.” Elmer expanded, “It would be a nice idea to help out downtown. They can advertise for their business. It’s a smart idea.”
Pacella said, “I think it’s definitely a way to show what’s available at that time.” She continues, “Most people don’t have time to look for this stuff [a job].”
According to Gaschnig, Job of the Week is off to a good start. “I think it’s progressing well. I think getting information out consistently is a good thing,” Gaschnig said. Graham hopes “more students will visit job of the week and look at the Job Wise job board.” Having a job gives a person the opportunity of working in a professional setting, according to Gaschnig. Job of the Week gives students the opportunity to look at what kind of jobs are out there and see what they would like to do with their major or career choice.
Rebecca Marsh can be contacted at rmarsh@keene-equinox.com