Tufts has phased out JobX, its job-finding platform for on-campus and childcare jobs, and expanded the role of Handshake, a platform that was previously launched for students to find off-campus jobs and internships. Handshake will now handle all on-campus jobs, while a new website will host childcare and babysitting job postings.
The decision to switch was facilitated by the student financial services office, according to Assistant Director of Financial Aid and Student EmploymentChristi Conkling. According to Conkling, using Handshake as an on-campus job platform will benefit students, who will now only need to be familiar with a single job-finding platform throughout their entire Tufts career.
“Students will use Handshake to get a work-study job, to apply for internships as sophomores and juniors, and to apply for full-time post-graduation jobs as seniors," Conkling told the Daily in an email. "Rather than learning multiple systems, our undergraduate students now have just one platform to learn.”
For on-campus employers and staff, the functionalities of JobX and Handshake are similar, according to Conkling.
“In their essence, JobX and Handshake offer employers the same resources, but Handshake offers additional functionality to all and much greater ease of use for students,” Conkling said.
Paul Sweeney, Tufts' sports information coordinator, has used both platforms to hire students and found them equally effective.
“At first I wasn't sure if the jobs we were advertising were reaching as many students as they did with JobX," Sweeney told the Daily in an email. "However, over these last few weeks … I've found that the quantity and quality of students who applied for the jobs [were] about the same. Every application has a resume so I found it equally serves my needs compared to JobX.”
The switch from JobX to Handshake is accompanied by other changes. According to Conkling, Tufts is no longer posting part-time jobs, which students reported as unreliable forms of employment. In addition, job postings will no longer include those from individuals, but rather come exclusively from “reputable organizations and companies,” according to Conkling.
Students who have used JobX in the past have stated they had difficulty in locating jobs at first. Katherine Alpert said that she had used JobX in the past to find babysitting jobs.
“I thought that was pretty useful to find a quick and well-paid job,” Alpert, a senior, said.
Following the transition, Alpert noted that it has been harder to find babysitting jobs in particular.
According to Conkling, all babysitting and child care jobs are now being posted on a dedicated website.
“We recognize that Tufts students are interested in providing childcare and our community certainly wants to hire Tufts students; we are hosting this job board through the Tufts site rather than Handshake,” Conkling said.
Conkling acknowledged that it may take students some time to become accustomed to the new platform.
“We encourage students to go to the student employment website to read more about filtering for on-campus positions in Handshake, application tips, and what to expect from the hiring process,” Conkling said.
University phases out JobX, expands Handshake to on-campus jobs
