In these days of dual-career couples, when one partner pulls up roots and takes a new post far away, the other partner must relinquish his or her job as well.
To help ease the impact of this phenomenon on Yale's national recruitment efforts and to enhance the University's affirmative action recruitment efforts, the Department of Human Resources and the Office for Equal Opportunity Programs have introduced the Dual Career Networking Service.
Available to partners of ladder faculty and senior administrators from out of state who have accepted a post at Yale within the last year, the new service offers these individuals support as they search for a new job in the area.
Here's how the Dual Career Networking Service works: When interviewing prospective faculty or senior administrators, the department chairs or directors can provide them with a brochure about the service. When the candidates accept a post at Yale, their chair or director can contact the appropriate Human Resources representative if the non-Yale partner is interested in the new service. These representatives are: on the Central-Science campus, Eileen Dubois, 432-5702; at the University Libraries, Christine Pedevillano, 432-1810; and at the School of Medicine, Clemence Palcso, 785-3845.
The representative will arrange to meet with the non-Yale partners to assess their needs and provide them with information. Human Resources has put together a packet of information that includes an introduction to the University's employment services and postings, as well as a list of other public and private job placement services and employers in the area; materials on preparing resumes, interview techniques and job search strategies; and general information about the Greater New Haven area.
Services will continue to be provided until the participant secures a new position, up to a period of six months.
"We can't guarantee employment," notes Ms. Palcso. "But we can provide help and guidance to assist partners through the transition, and offer them information about the wide spectrum of places in the area where they could look for employment." Human Resources is also compiling data about the State of Connecticut's requirements for teacher certification and professional licenses, she adds.
The Dual Career Networking Service is not only designed to help departments attract talented staff and faculty by offering them a way to ease their partners' transition to a new area, "It is also a way to help retain those staff members," says Gloria M. Arons, head of Human Resources' training and development unit, who spearheaded the creation of the program. "If someone's partner is unhappy because of his or her employment situation, it's less likely that the Yale staff member will want to stay here."
Many schools and corporations now offer similar services to partners of new employees, she adds. "It's becoming a very common approach to dealing with the realities of today's workforce."
For more information about the Dual Career Networking Service, contact one of the Human Resources representatives listed above.