Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / May 5, 1988, edition 1 / Page 3
Part of Elon University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Op-Ed Jtudents put computer skills to use in summer jobs III till Helpml’ tips for getting summer employment The nation’s positive economic —nctute is creating an increasing and variety of oppor- for summer job seekers, in cluding college students and tachers. ■ “But even wiA ^ &wrable idds, students and others looking for summer woilc will h^e to use some resourcefulness and initiative Hmake the most of those oppar- s,” said Mitchell S. Fromsr I, President CEO of Man iac, j which expects to fill 100,000 temporary job open- ogs this summer. Fromstein o%^ some tips for Muner job seekers: L Be B^stept: Don’t , be ’Koufaged of you haven’t lined 1 summer job yet.' Mstn^ films "■ (wn’t completed their hiring. }■ Explore AH PMentiai Job Newspaper ads are a source of job leads, but not i* only source. Ask relatives, 3chen and friends; call major and inquire about openings; Wlact temporary help service ®s; check with local government or * service offices. i Contact Your Former lowers: Firms like to bring k former workers who unders- t*ow their business operates, ing training requirements. 4. Understand %ur Marketable Skills: Students often underestimate their skills. Consider your educational assets such as computer literacy, language, keybo^, research and cotih inunication experience. Arid remember that students are • ac customed to learning new skills quickly. 5. Look for Learaiag Oppor tunities: Present yourself as sp- mecm eager to learn; you m^ Iditd a job where you can dwlop skflls in work processing, computer operation or general business prac tices. 6. Have Proper Legal Iden- tificatiiMi: This year, you nlust have »pas^)ort. Social Security card or l^tHred driver’s license to prove citiflenship under the Immigration Law. Lack of identification wBl delay your job search. 7. Make Commitments and Keep Them: Employers want assurance that you will hang in for the duration of a summer job, not disai^jear after a month. Replacing workers is costly and difficult for businesses. Leaving an employer in the lurch could destroy your valuable contacts. Manpower Inc. annually pro vides employment to more than 700,000 people through its 1,400 offices worldwide. Throughout the school year, students across the nation have become familiar — even comfor table — with computer equipment and software. But this summer, they’ll face the ultimate test: Can they translate those skills into workplace profi ciency? One employer that’s confident is Manpower, the worldwide tem porary help service. “Students are coming out of classrooms with basic computer literacy, and in some cases, quite a bit of computer knowledge,” said Manpower Presi dent and CEO Mitchell S. Froms tein. “All they need is the oppor tunity to see how those skills fit in to the working world.” With about 100,000 temporary assignments to fill from coast to coast this summer, Fromstein ex pects his company to hire a veritable army of students. “In summer jobs, students can com bine their classroom learning with their desire to see for themselves how businesses operate,” Froms tein said. He also said, “I^rticipating in that interaction is a valuable lear ning experience.” Despite the growing interest in computer literacy, Fromstein said students who lack those skiHs should not feel they will be ^t out of the summer job market iir to day’s economy. “Many students are looking forward to gaining aSkx experience, but odms will be look ing to the industrial sector for tem porary summer employment — and tftb jobs are there,” Fromstein said. ‘‘Line experience in the manufacturing environment is im portant for students who intend to build management cheers in in dustry, and summer is a peak season for manufacturers looking to maintain productivity by using temporary help to fill the places of vacationing workers.” Traditionally, one problem fac ing students entering the workforce is a lack of understanding of their own skills. That problem has been licked, Fromstein said, by Ultradex, Manpower’s state-of-the- art, comprehensive test of in dustrial skills. “Ultradex gives us the ability to identify our student workers’ strongest skills and their desire to use those skills to make a high quality produce,” he said. “We can then match them with tasks they will enjoy and can do well.” At the same time, students who know they want to work in an of fice environment, but haven’t had the opportunity to pick up com puter skills during the school year, can use the summer to learn those skills — while holding down a job. Manpower trains its temporary workers in office automation skills through Skillware, a hands-on, disk-based training program that uses the actual hardware and soft' wai£ the students will encsounter in the w6ik(}lace. . V Skilfware takes only one to twb d^s to i^plete and is offered to ManpcKver’s temporary workers free of charge. Skillware packages bting workers up to date widi the latest in software for a wide range of cmnputm, including the IBM Per sonal- Computers, Pefsonal System/2, System/36 and the new 9370 computers. “Our workers are training on office software packages as they’re being introduc ed to business,” Fromstein said. “Because we work with such a broad base of customers, we’re able to identify business trends as they’re forming and can adapt quickly to anticipated changes in worker skill requirements.” Fromstein added that one of the trends they see quite clearly is an increasing demand from businesses for ‘universal operators—people who can sit down at a multi function workstation and perform any number of office applications, including word processing, data en try, electronic calendaring messag ing, spreadsheets and database management. Fromstein said, “Students who work with us can be trained and gain proficiency in all of these areas quickly and easily, broadening the range of their skills.” These wide-ranging summer jobs, he said , “give students the opportunity not just to get a foot in the door, but to open the door wide. Students strengthen their resumes, gain experience in dif ferent types of jobs and working environments and make contacts that will be valuable when seeking fiili-time work after graduation.” By looking beyond the summer p^heok,. he said, students, -who UHitbine earning wHth the learning of new skills wiH increase their future income potential. “Students understand that the nx>re skills and experience they have under their beiis, the more marketable they will be.” 'c Manpower Inc. annually pro vides employment to more dian 700,000 people through its 1,400 offices worldwide. 1st student hair cut 50 percent off with this ad. Ask stylist about free cuts! 584-4341 Burlington only
Elon University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 5, 1988, edition 1
3
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75