Kalamazoo community asked to post on BroncoJobs

By Garret Schuelke
Western Herald

In order to help Western Michigan University students find employment, departments within the university have been asked by WMU’s Career and Student Employment Services to take a greater interest in posting job positions on BroncoJobs.

BroncoJobs is a website that features listings for campus, community and volunteer jobs.

“Not all university departments were posting job positions on BroncoJobs, opting instead to post flyers around campus or to put job listings in the Western Herald,” said Lynn Kelly-Albertson, executive director of WMU’s Career and Student Employment Services.

During the summer, there are only a few hundred student workers on WMU’s campus, according to Albertson, because there are fewer classes taking place. Once the school year begins in the fall, that number will jump up to around 4,000, Albertson said, making it the largest employee population on campus.

“For new and returning students, it has sometimes been difficult to find a campus job, let alone know how to apply for them,” Albertson said.

“So we are asking the university community this fall to post their jobs on BroncoJobs.”

Some of the major employing departments on campus include Residence Life, Dining Services, Landscaping Services, and the Student Recreation Center, Albertson said.

“This move is all about visibility,” Albertson said. “[The move is meant] to get the jobs out there to the students who want them.”

Also, as part of a campaign to celebrate and make visible Kalamazoo businesses that actively employ college students, stickers that say “We love student employees!” and provide a link to WMU’s Career and Student Employment Services have been passed out downtown to businesses who wanted them, Albertson said.

“We are lucky that this community treats our students so wonderfully. We are also lucky that main campus is so close to downtown.”

Though they currently do not have a sticker on their window, Michigan News Agency, located on 308 W. Michigan Ave., has been one of Kalamazoo’s most steady employers of college students, according to Dean Hauck, owner of Michigan News Agency.

Hauck, who is a certified high school English instructor, said that the agency only hires full-time college students who have at least one year of school under their belts. This policy has been in place since the agency opened in 1947, Hauck said.

“I think that college students understand that work is work, and that they will do what needs to be done” Hauck said. “They are also intelligent enough to realize how important their education is, and that is what I like about them.”

“I plan on continuing to hire college students in the future,” Hauck said.

“Every day at the career center and at orientation I am always asked by students about how they can get a job at WMU,” Albertson said.

“I would really encourage students who are either here now or coming in the fall to register at BroncoJobs, apply for jobs right away, and to contact their respective departments.”

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=18360

Posted by HeraldAdmin on Jul 25 2010. Filed under Breaking, Campus, Local, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com