The Personnel Office has made major changes in its web pages so members of the community and job applicants from outside MIT can interact with Personnel more quickly and easily.
The URL is http://web.mit.edu/personnel/www. The pages also can be reached by clicking on "Administration" on the MIT home page and then selecting the Personnel Office.
On-line applications for positions, departmental forms and recruitment resources are all part of the revamped web pages. These changes are in response to suggestions from the community.
When job applicants find a position they want to apply for, they can cut and paste their r�sum� into the on-line application and then e-mail it to the Personnel Office. (Positions Available are published both on line and in the printed version of MIT Tech Talk.) Submitting an electronic application and r�sum� to Personnel means an applicant's resume will reach the hiring manager more quickly than those sent through regular mail.
Members of the MIT community who don't have web access can use a Macintosh or Windows NT computer at the Professional Learning Center (Building W89) from 8am-4:30pm. (Remember to bring your r�sum� on a disk.)
"In this job market, processing applications quickly is imperative," said Robert Lewis, director of Personnel for Employee Relations. "This new process is more convenient for applicants, and it means that the hiring manager receives the r�sum� much sooner."
Although the formatting of an applicant's r�sum� may not be perfect because it's sent by e-mail, the advantage is that the hiring manager can quickly see if the applicant has the experience and qualifications to warrant an interview. Applicants should probably bring another copy of their r�sum� to the interview.
Throughout 1999, MIT's job listings will also appear on the Boston Globe's job site, one of the most heavily visited sites of its kind. Information Systems and a number of other departments are contributing to the cost of this service.
More Personnel Office forms are now available on line and can be downloaded to print using Acrobat Reader. The forms include those for performance evaluation; leave of absence; and notice of resignation, termination or transfer. Other forms, such as the request for personnel and the position ad request, can be filled out on line, routed through the required approval process and then sent to Personnel electronically. (Instructions for downloading a free copy of the Acrobat Reader are availabel on an Information Systems web site.)
"Giving employees the ability to complete Personnel forms from their desktop computers saves the time and trouble of bringing forms to Building E19. It also will help to reduce both the amount of paper that's generated and the number of times that data is entered," Mr. Lewis said.
A new on-line exit survey form has been created so people who are leaving MIT can have a convenient (and anonymous) way to indicate their reasons. Personnel will continue to conduct in-person exit interviews for those who prefer that option.
Resources to help departments in their recruiting efforts are also on the web. This site provides information to help with search plans and reports. In addition, it contains the Diversity Resource Guide, which lists many web sites for posting jobs or searches for resumes. Details about the major job fairs are listed, as is information on local and national publications that target diverse readerships.
If you have questions about these services, please contact your Personnel Officer.
A version of this article appeared in the March 3, 1999 issue of MIT Tech Talk (Volume 43, Number 21).
