1993_04 Insight April 1993

              April 21,1993
Page 5
Student job hunters
given new advantage
* Phone based system
matches students
with employer needs
By Jenny Steffens
Staff Writer
A career voicelink jobsline providing detailed job opportunities with
potential employers has been established for CSUF students and alumni.
By punching apasscode intoa touch-
tone phone, students with a current
CSUF ID and alumni with a valid
placement card can choose various
categories to hear directly recorded
messages from employers.
The jobsline is accessible 24 hoursa
day, seven days a week.
There is no charge for currendy enrolled students and a $25 per year
charge for alumni.
After dialing the jobsline, students
are connected with a main menu and
have four categories to choose from.
The categories include: part-time,
summer or temporary jobs, full-time
career opportunities, paid internships
and co-ops and community service
and volunteer opportunities.
Next, students choose from a job
search menu which includes: 1)
today'snewjobsacategory; 2)search
by number from a category code sheet;
3) a guided search and; 4) a career
related events schedule.
By inquiring about a specific job, a
recorded message provides the date
the job was advertised, acontact name
and number to call, the location of
employment, plus a description of
job-related duties, pay rate and hours.
The main purpose of the jobsline,
according to Paul DeRuosi. coordinator of student employment and coop-
era tiveeducation, is to provide access
to a faster, more accurate method of
job information al no charge to students.
DeRuosi hopes to see an increase
over last year's 4,000 job placements
with the new system which will be
fully implemented by May 10.
Until May 10 students may access
the 16-line system since employers
are already listing jobs dirccUy into
me system.
To receive the telephone number to
call and the passcode, students and
alumni must sign up for the service in
the career dcvelopmentoffice in Joyal
Administration Room 2S6.
After signing up, students are encouraged to continue checking the
job board since some employers may
choose not to use the voicelink system. Anywhere from 10lo20jobsare
listed daily in the career development
and employment services office.
DcRousi said the new jobsline system originated because the placement
office is dealing with less resources
and facing decreasing funding.
By implementing the system, staff
hours can be saved providing more
lime to help students through career
events and workshops.
"We don't want to sacrifice any services. We want to concentrate more
on helping students as counselors,"
DcRousi said
The system is nol only serving students and alumni, but it also assists
employers. For a S5 to $12 fee, employers can advertise a position for
two weeks. There is no time limit for
employers to promote a job.
"Employers arc really appreciative
of this," DcRousi said.
According to the advertising department at The Fresno Bee, it would cost
a local employer $2.30 per line per
day to advertise a job in their 'classified' section Monday through Saturday and $2.60 per line per day on
Sundays. For a five line advertisement in the Bee on a Tuesday only,
employers would pay $11.50.
Ray Castillo, director of career the
development office, said die system
has been designed as an advancement
and offers a lot of flexibility for employers.
To entice employers to list jobs wiih
the voicelink system, a marketing
campaign is being implemented. Fulltime jobs will eventually come from
all over, while summer and temporary jobs will be more local, DcRousi
said.
CSUF is ihc third campus within the
20 campus California State University system to establish this kind of
job placement program. It was modeled after successful systems at San
Francisco State and Hayward State.
rLXOdllS, from page 1
More than 73 pcrcentof lost jobs
were in industries with wages above
the average for California's total private sector employment (1991 hourly
wage estimate was $10.97), according to the study.
More than 87 percent of the businesses that have relocated cite
California's ncgati ve business climate
as a major factor for ihcir leaving the
state, specifically citing labor costs,
worker's compensation costs and h igh
taxes, according to the study.
In addition to these costs, excessive
and often confusing government regulation, not necessarily environmental
regulation was considered to be a
prime factor in why businesses choose
to move.
"Business have always had to deal
with changing regulations,"said
Johnson." Right now. it's more difficult for businesses to operate, nol
because of more rcgu!a lions, but there
are newer and more complicated ones
today."
Dr. Louis Piscioiloli, a CSUF economics professor who specializes in
regulation and public finance, said
that there should be less overlap in
California's regulations and fewer
permits needed to change production
processes and start companies.
"California has to be vigilant because of air pollution and crowding,"
Pisciottoli said. "But regulations
should be predictable so new and existing firms can comply while baring
only the direct cost of compliance."
The majority of manufacturers leaving ihe state move to Mexico (21
percent), Nevada (11 percent). Texas
(10 percent) and Arizona (7 percent).
Oregon, Utah and Colorado arc tied
for fifth place in receiving California's
businesses (4 percent each).
High technology manufacturing,
electronics and aerospace have accounted for about one-third of total
manufacturing in California and half
of durable goods jobs. This area has
suffered the most cuts because of defense downsizing.
Because California's economy has
been so dependent on business in this
area, the recession of the late'80sand
early '90s is likely to continue to
effect this state longer lhan any other
state in ihe nation.
Unemployment in California
dropped from 9.8 percent to 9.4 percent in March, but thai has not diminished the stale's leadership status in
unemployment concentration in the
United States as a whole.
"The state has been too dependent
on military funding," said Pisciottoli,
"more so lhan it would like to admit.
Some in legislation thought that California was recession proof, especially
if peace ever broke out. We've usually had a small military complex, but
the 'cold war' era made a real difference in our standard of living, especially in Southern California."
"The transition there [away from
ihc defense industry] will be difficult
and those people will be hard to cm-
ploy right away," said Pisciottoli.
One of the most receni examples of
the migration of high technology
industries is ihe March 29 decision of
Hughes Aircraft lo move its $2 billion
missile facility from Canoga Park in
Southern California to Tucson, Arizona by 1994.
The Los Angeles Times reported that
the move will eliminate 5,100 jobs
and 1,900 engineering-related jobs in
the area. Executives at Hughes expect
to have 8,000 employees at their new
Tucson location by ihe end of 1994, a
4,200 increase from thcirpresentCali-
fomia employment level.
Hughes Chairman C. Michael
Armstrong stated the state's business
climate and political inaction regarding problem solving as main reasons
for the decision to move, according to
the Times.
"This is another wake-up call from
the state's largest industrial employer," Armstrong was quoted as
saying. "Wc need to change. The
message to the slate is that the market
has no more patience. We have to do
what is necessary to get our company
competitive."
Johnson said that there are three
things that the state needs to do in
order loencourage businesses to move
to California and slay.
"California will have to developcm-
ploymcnt opportunities in order to
Insight
News
ReSUmeS, from page J
get you ihe job," Cords said. "I
could, maybe see it in advertising."
In an article that Douglas B.
Richardson wrote for ihc Wall
Street Journal he stated, "Steer
clear of fancy fonis. peculiar paper, flashy formats or other "Look
at this!" visual stunts. They detract
from content and merely provide
me an excuse to break off reading
to share a good laugh with my coworkers."
Cords also warned against using
strange colored paper and fancy
fonts.
Resumes printed on bone or buff
colored paper with black or navy
blue type are a personal favorite of
Cords.
"I don't believe in white paper,"
Cords said. "J ust look at my desk."
In today's competitive market
grabbing the attention of the pro-
spec ti vc cm ploy cr is necessary, but
gimmicks may nol be the best way
to do it.
A concise objective stating what
the applicant can offer the company can be just the tiling that will
get noticed.
Nol everyone agrees that an objective should appear on a resume
however. Some people say that
stating an objective can limit job
possibilities.
Caroline Williams, who has
workedat ihe Career Development
and Employment Services Center,
said, "It is important to have an
objective."
Williams has been helping students with their resumes for the
last 20 years.
"If you can't state an objective, it
probably would look unfavorable,"
Williams said.
Cords also believes that it is important to have a specific objective
in mind.
"If you've done your homework
correctly you can put down a specific job that you want," Cords
said. "If you don'tknow what you
want to do, you're wiped out."
Another item that seems lo be
debatable is whether or not references should be included on a resume or simply stated, "References
available on request."
Cords doesn'tthinkthatan applicant should ever put, 'References
available on request.'
"It's insulting," Cords said.
"Would you state. 'If you say preuy
please. I'll give you my references?" When a prospective employer asks for your references,
it's nol a request, it's a demand."
However, an article in the 1992-
93CSUFPlacement Manual staled
that students should include the
statement "References will be furnished upon request" so that the
number of times references are
contacted can be controlled.
Another CSUF guide to writing
resumes available through the Career Center stales that references
and the statement, "References
provided on request" should be
omitted.
encourage business," said Johnson.
"The state will have lo turn around
what it's doing to the CSU education
system and start giving funds in order
to prepare students for productive careers, and provide academic research
which is helpful for businesses."
"There needs to be a more positive
attitude toward business on behalf of
the state," said Johnson, "particularly
toward small businesses because the
majority of jobs arc started there."
"The stale needs to provide encouragement to help in the creation of
small busincsscs,"said Johnson, "by
making capital available for those in
the $25,000 to $50,000 range, by
making paperwork easier, and by talking about the benefits of small businesses in the slate. We never hear that
they arc the major source of employment."
"Finally, the state needs to provide
more internships and technical training, and job related skills development in the education system," said
Johnson. "Wc should develop an apprenticeship model."
Pisciouoli sees California's lack of
quality secondary education as an im
portant issue that should be addressed
as well, in order to attract businesses.
"If I were a business person looking
to move, I would look for a place wi th
strong secondary educators whochal-
lengcd students and made them ready
to face four years of college, with the
knowledge of a need to upgrade themselves in the workforce" said
Pisciouoli.
Overall, Pisciouoli said that the state
neglected to plan for a recession and
didn'tconsiderthecumulativeeffects
of confusing business regulations.
The state has recently tried to make
an effort to reexamine its business
practices and the governor and others
in the legislature appear to want lo
make changes.
The Economic Report ofthe Governor to state senators and
assembly members in 1992 addressed
some of these issues.
"The quagmire in which California
business is trapped must be drained,"
Governor Wilson said in an opening
letter. "Government's role should be
to create a climate in which businesses can compete, thrive and hire
California workers; not a climate thai
encourages businesses to take ihcir
jobs elsewhere."
"California's business climate, the
engine that drivesoureconomy.needs
an overhaul."
A 1992 report of the Council on
California Competitiveness found a
growing perception that California is
a bad place to do business. According
to the report, many of ihe problems
were determined to be "self-inflicted."
"For instance;
"Our workers compensation system
is a national disgrace.
•We have a permit and regulatory
system that overwhelms small and
medium-sized businesses.
*Our civil justice system is capricious and costly, driving up die cost
of products and services without adding value.
•Our schools aren't preparing students to meet the challenges of today's
job market."
The state assembly proposed a bill
earlier this year (AB 110) to iry and
reform California's worker compensation system, one of the problems
addressed by the governor.
CLOVIS BICYCLE CENTER
Tune-up Special $19.95
10% Discount
Sales. Service. Parts & Accessories
MOUNTAIN BIKE HEADQUARTERS
FREESTYLE & MX BIKES/KHS BICYCLES
> NISHIKI • CYCLE PRO • HARO • GT • DYNO •
We Service What We Sell
91 W.Shaw Ave.. Clovis
299-BIKE
T3~99 Buffer; ,
M-F 11:30-1:00
includes: Pizza
Breadstix, Salad Bar        I    I
Pasta |   |
Congratulations to
Alii Crow
The new Sweetheart of
I       2 Medium       . \
■   Specialty Pizzas • i
$12.99
Dine-In, Carry-Out.
Ptai
-Hut.
-Hut.
I Now accepting applications
, 1414 t. bhavy^^^/   »^ fordrivcrs! J' ^^
Sunridge Townhouses
2 Bdrm 11/2 Bath & 3 Bdrm 2 172 Bath
• Woibor/DryaK ovaltabto
• Rr*piac««
• Tonnto * Icsk^tbofl Courts
» Club Houm • Wafclng DWanc* To School
Starting At £460
STUDENT DISCOUNTS
Call 2944012
Radio Controlled i
Hobbies
Cars* Boats* A irplanc*Trains
Model Rocketry & Plasiic Models
Hobby Supplies
10% Off with this coupon
226-1209
4169 N. Fresno Sl   |
GREEN'S CYCLERY
TUNE-UP SPECIAL $19.95 w »>     |
• Adjust front & rear brake   • Adjust fork ■
• Ad ust front & rear shift    • Adjust crank ■
• Adjust front & rear hubs    • External lube ■
Free tube Insulation w/purchase
4571 N. Fresno St.. CA 93726  OOT.RQQI 1
(at Gettysburg)
m Shiatsu
m RmLki.
m Swedish rlassagm
mSowtcch  (ujliutuiivoil
hlqh cntii)i)  yitld)
255-7939 279-5990   pag«
INSIGHT
ADVERTISING
278-3934
TOMODACHI
Japanese Restaurant
5730 N. Fir* SL #102
Hoover Market Pine*
(209)447.9068
Dine In or Take Out
Sqity No Checks!
Mon.-Sat. llam-9pm
Closed Sundays
2100 Willow Ave.
Clovis. CA 93612
(209)291-1982
* Compact cars : $13.99 per day.
50 miles free; 15 $ per mile afterwards.
• U-Haul trucks : $19.95 per day.
39 4 per mile. 10-ft and 14-ft trucks available.