Campus Visitor Removes Mystique of State Employment
Published 02.03.2009
News
Student News
A human resources analyst and recruiter for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry was on campus Tuesday to take the mystery out of the application process for state jobs. Through a presentation in Room 211 of the Bush Campus Center, Christopher Roehm walked students through the commonwealth's merit-based Civil Service Commission hiring process and advised them to monitor the ever-changing roster of exams to make sure they are "in the right place at the right time" when a job in their chosen field is open for consideration. Fewer than 40 percent of college graduates are putting their specific degrees to work, he said, noting that Penn College students are among the exceptions to that statistic. In fields ranging from information technology to HVAC, he added, the very marketable skills being gained here put graduates in good stead for the thousands of state vacancies expected to follow a flood of retirements in the near future. Roehm also offered students a primer in job-search vernacular, schooled them on the importance of self-promotion in resumes and job applications, and because knowing how to express proficiency to a potential employer is nearly as important as knowing how to perform the skill itself advised them to hone their communication techniques.Photo by Kenneth L. Barto, student photographer