UCLA incorporates Internet, churches as career links

UCLA incorporates Internet, churches as career links

Program designed to embrace diverse pool of applicants

By John Digrado

Daily Bruin Staff

As a result of a collaborative effort from Campus Human
Resources and Southern California area churches, members of the
community will soon be able to apply for campus jobs over the
Internet.

Agrippe Ezozo envisions a day when members of the community can
visit their place of worship for more than spiritual reasons –
namely, to fill out a resumé and be placed in one of a wide
variety of employment opportunities on campus.

"We’re linking (the Campus Human Resources web site) to the
churches in the southern California area," said Ezozo, publisher of
the Black Church Review and budget assistant for Campus Human
Resources. "All churches shall be included to let people be aware
of our services. We want to embrace all cultures."

Churches and other places of worship tend to be a type of "hub"
within the community, Ezozo said, making them invaluable sources of
information about jobs and other community information.

"(UCLA) is the only university in the United States where you
can apply over the web and be put into a system like this," he
said. Currently, the office is receiving over 2,000 resumés
per month.

Once area churches are linked to the system in September,
however, that figure is expected to at least double, said Jim
Lemke, manager of employment and Human Resources Information
Systems.

The new resumé-builder system also cuts down on the
time-consuming process of sifting through classified advertisements
and filling out myriad applications in search for employment.

"(The churches are) a central point of communication for a lot
of people," said Itibari Zulu, a librarian at the UCLA Center for
African-American Studies. "There are a lot of community-based
organizations we could have contacted. (Churches are) just the most
visible organization we can tap into."

A small, part-time staff representing Campus Human Resources
will visit churches in the community that already have computers
and modems and outfit them with the proper Internet software.

Representatives will then train church staff, ministers and
other members on how to link to the campus resumé builder,
Lemke said. From there, community members will be able to simply
input their personal information and send it directly to the Campus
Human Resources web server.

Once the resumé is received by the system, it automatically
links the applicant with the position that he/she is most likely to
fill, Lemke said.

By seeking to link churches to the Internet, the Campus Human
Resources community outreach program can not only widen its
applicant pool, but also provide a valuable service to the
community, organizers said.

"Community groups give us a good, diverse pool (of applicants),
Lemke said. "Odds are that we will get a group (of employees) that
reflects the community" by using this system, he added.

Although the technology is new, the idea behind securing
employment through churches is an old concept, Zulu said.

"Churches are usually a staple force within the community," he
added. "Traditionally, that’s where people get their professional
skills. That may not be as true now as it used to be, but the
church does accept anyone who is willing to work."

The church-based service is of particular interest to the
African American population, Ezozo said, because information about
and within the African American community is often buried under
other, more general issues.

"For most of us blacks, the information is hidden away," he
said. "The church plays a vital role because … it (serves) as a
pool of information for the black community. It’s what we have in
common."

Although area churches are not yet linked to the system,
resumés can now be submitted to Campus Human Resources at
http://www.chr.ucla.edu.Comments to
[email protected]