UConn students are going to be in 1st Place!

Using the Department of Career Services' 1st Place! software, students will soon be able to make their resumes available to potential employers online.

Working with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), the Department of Career Services will use the software to promote UConn students to Connecticut businesses via the Internet. Nearly 10,000 Connecticut businesses are members of the CBIA.

The new software will allow a business to go into the system and enter the requirements for a position. All matching student resumes will then be sent to them electronically. "It will be easier for businesses to find students for their short-term staffing needs and to evaluate students as potential employees while they get solid experience," says Glenn Black, deputy director of the CBIA Education Foundation.

UConn joins a number of major universities around the country using this technology. The impetus for the program began last summer when Michael Cutlip, director of the honors program, asked Career Services Director Cynthia Jones to help honors students use online resumes in their search for summer internships.

The online program is being launched in March, with honors students as the pilot group. "This is a trial case in which we are pushing honors students to be involved," says Cutlip, "and it is an advantage to our honors students to be working closely with career services."

Cutlip says he urges students to take summer internships, particularly if they are paid, so they can focus on their studies during the academic year.

Although the program is officially starting with honors students, all students are encouraged to make use of the 1st Place! software. Sally Becking, associate director of career services, says about 800 students have created online resumes for internships, co-ops and full-time positions so far.

The Department of Career Services recommends that students use a variety of methods to search for internships, including attending job and internship fairs, and doing research. "Having students' resumes online makes it easier for businesses to learn more about our students," says Becking.

Becking says that although students can create their online resume via the career services or honors program web pages, she recommends that they contact career services staff first for a one-on-one critique of their resume and internship-search consultations.

Joseph Holstead