The Crier

With the economy in recession, colleges and businesses nationwide are cutting back, leaving millions unemployed and on the hunt for jobs. Although Saint Anselm College is tightening its budget in some places, including higher tuition and stalled construction plans, the college is not cutting back on hiring in some areas.

The college website currently lists twelve open positions. The jobs feature a vast range of departments, from 2nd cook in dining services, to residence director, and even to executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

The number of jobs, though, is typical for this time of year, according to Human Resources director Kathleen Parnell. Parnell explains that this time of year sees more job openings for next year because people are relocating; some are even leaving to pursue higher education.

Vice president for administration Patricia Shuster echoes Parnell.

"Spring is the time for change," Schulster said. "The employee base is expected to stabilize soon" because, as Parnell adds, "most of the turnover comes as we set up for next year." The fact that this time of year has seen fewer turnovers is a direct result of the current climate, according to Shuster.

Human Resources has received many applications for the open positions. Parnell, who is primarily responsible for the hiring of non-faculty jobs on campus, has noticed an "incredible increase in amount of qualified applicants", which as Shuster adds, makes the job easier because there is a larger pool to select from."

Although Parnell is primarily the one who handles the hiring, the job opening itself first has to be approved, and then the college can begin to hire. The recruiting begins in Human Resources, and throughout the process she reports to Shuster for things such as budgeting and planning decisions. Parnell explained that "when it comes to hiring in this climate, all eyes are on deck."

While the school seems to be cutting back, there is no hiring freeze; instead, there is a hiring "slow-down." This slow-down means that all jobs are going to be looked at, but some take priority over others.

"Ones that are critical to missions or operations of a department are being filled first," Shuster clarified. "There are others," she continued, "that we can get away without filling until next academic year." By prioritizing the jobs that need to be filled, she said, it helps to organize the hiring process.

The executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, which has been an interim appointment that ends as the financial year closes, is among jobs which need to be filled faster than others. With the unemployment rate increasing drastically each month, it gets harder and harder to see people out of work. The field of hiring, especially during this current economic situation has not changed that much overall.

Parnell explained that you still "feel badly when you need to turn away so many applicants." On the other hand, we can't afford to hire every single person that is qualified, or else tuition would increase on a much larger scale.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools

This article was published on 4/17/09 in the News section.