The University Student/Employer (U.S.E.) Network Bryan Sullivan 1, Steve Martens 1, Rob Davis 1, Dan Gallaher 1, Dr. Sergiu Dascalu 1 and Dr. Ara Nefian 2 1 Department of Computer Science, University of Nevada, Reno 2 Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA Abstract: The University Student/Employer (U.S.E.) Network is an interactive, web-based application which serves to assist university students and employers in making that all important first connection. It is an exclusive, web environment in which a university student can post a resume and portfolio, or search for a job. An employer can post job listings or search student resumes for possible employees. Currently, there are many web applications that provide similar services. However, our system differs in that it is tailored toward what a university student has to offer to the job market. General Description: The U.S.E. network has two major web environments: student and employer. The student environment allows the user to edit their personal information, post a plain-text resume and search the job postings. It also provides a U.S.E. Portfolio, which allows the user to upload files to a file container, in order to highlight the student’s academic achievements. The student user can also add class listings and descriptions to the database to better convey their specific areas of study to possible employers. The employer environment provides a medium for posting job descriptions and editing personal or company information. Employers can also search the student database for employees, using a number of different criteria, including keywords, student major/minor, college, and so forth. Both these environments are protected with a login name and password for each user that registers into the system. High-Level Design: Browser (HTML, JavaScript) Web Server running Apache Student/Employer Database User Main Specifications: The U.S.E. network uses PHP (server-side scripting language) for database interaction, SQL (Structured Query Language) for queries to our relational database, JavaScript (client-side scripting language) to aid in some aspects of web development and HTML for the underlying structure of our pages. The U.S.E. network runs on an Apache Web server. The U.S.E. network has the ability to be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The U.S.E. network allows for the creation of unique user accounts in two different categories: student and employer. The U.S.E. network requires that common contact and certain demographic information be entered upon initial user registration. Users choose their own login name and password. The U.S.E. network acknowledges successfully created accounts with a screen displaying confirmation information. The U.S.E. network allows registered users in the “student” category to add plain-text resumes as well as highlight courses they believe might make them stand out in their field of study. Additionally, registration information can be updated as needed. The U.S.E. network permits registered users in the “employer” category to add plain-text job postings as well as highlight specific aspects of a job they deem vital. All initial registration information can be updated as needed. The U.S.E. network allows students to search through registered employer’s job postings and their associated demographic information. Students may perform keyword-based searches or searches on predetermined criteria such as company/job location, field, majors sought, or a combination of these. The U.S.E. network allows employers to search though registered student’s resumes and their related demographic information. Employers may choose to perform keyword-based searches or searches by major, minor, G.P.A., etc., or a combination of these. The User Interface Goals: The major goal of this project is to provide university students with a better means of getting a job. A student’s resume lacks work experience. Current career oriented sites focus on resumes, causing the less experienced students to miss job opportunities. By making use of features such as the U.S.E. portfolio and class highlighting the students can more easily convey their academic achievements and describe more precisely their areas of study. This type of environment can also aid employers in finding highly specialized, less expensive student employees. The site is intended to act as a full-time job fair for students and employers. Special Features: The U.S.E. Portfolio: This file container allows students to digitally display their academic pursuits and achievements. The U.S.E. portfolio makes simple work of uploading pictures, programs, papers, and articles. Searching employers have access to these containers, and can even save them on their own computers (Figure 4). Class Highlighting: The addition of this feature helps to illustrate a student’s specific academic pursuits. Most employers do not know exactly what a student has learned by looking at his or her degree. This feature breaks down this information barrier by providing class descriptions and comments to searching employers. Figure 1: U.S.E. Net Home PageFigure 2: U.S.E. Net Login Page Figure 3: Student/My Info PageFigure 4: U.S.E. Portfolio Page Figure 5: Student/Resume Page This project was developed as part of the Senior Projects course CS426, Instructor Dr. Sergiu Dascalu, Spring 2003