Campus News
April 26, 2010
Need help? Hire a student
Babysitting is one the postings on the Emory Employee-Student Job Network.
As the Emory WorkLife Resource Center celebrates its first birthday, one of its new programs is gaining traction.
Five months ago, the WorkLife Resource Center launched the Emory Employee-Student Job Network on campus as a way to help link staff, faculty and graduate students looking for Emory students to help them with part-time jobs at home, from tutoring and yardwork to sitting for children and pets.
“There are many students looking for extra cash these days,” says Audrey Adelson, dependent care program specialist in the WorkLife Center. “Also, employees would like to hire Emory students to help manage their work-life, but have had difficulty finding them. The program offers a way to help both parties.”
The new program was created in effort to meet a recommendation made by the Work-Life Initiative Task Force in its 2007 report. Emory WorkLife staff collaborated with Britney Fields and Paul Fowler in the Career Center to help get the job network going.
“I think it’s a great way for faculty, staff and their spouses to tap into the Emory community and hire students that are looking for part-time work during the week and weekends,” says Fields, associate director of the Career Center. “I hope that people continue to post positions, and that students continue to respond to their requests.”
Users of the service express their satisfaction.
Kim Collins with Emory University Libraries says that a colleague alerted her to the program when Collins was looking for a babysitter to watch her two boys on three different evenings. “I received a plethora of e-mails with resumes from qualified students, choosing Christina [Bittar] and Elizabeth [Snarey] for the job.”
Collins adds she plans to use the service again.
Susan Henderson in the School of Medicine says she will continue to use the program. “I have three girls, ages 5, 5, and 3. I hired Brittany [Kovacs] because she was an Emory student, had childcare experience, and my children really liked her when she came to interview,” Henderson says. “She has taken my girls to swim lessons and gymnastics, seemed very responsible and had a clean driving record. Overall it’s been a good experience.”
The WorkLife Resource Center created tip sheets for employees posting positions and for students looking for work, in an effort to help them with safety and interviewing. Emory Police can do free background checks on Emory students who are Georgia residents and WorkLife staff can help potential employers find reasonably priced background checks on students who are not from the state.
While babysitting is currently the most frequently posted job, followed by tutoring, says Adelson, at least one employer used the network for a different job.
Eve Rose, who works in the School of Public Health, says, “Reid [Curry] did some work on the tile in our existing bathroom. We had to re-grout and seal some sections and it looks like new now! He was very professional and did quality work at a very reasonable price. The employee-student job program is a great resource.”
Loria Pollack, whose spouse Brian is an assistant professor in the School of Medicine, also accessed the network for babysitting and says, “I am recommending it to other moms who are affiliated with Emory. The ones I speak to don’t know much about it, so in my opinion the Emory Employee-Student Job Network is an under-utilized community resource.”
The Emory Employee-Student Job Network was designed to build community and therefore is available exclusively for the employees and students of Emory. To learn more about this program, visit www.worklife.emory.edu/job network.
