Over the summer TigerTracks made a database switch from Experience to Symplicity, and staff at the Hubbard Center for Career Services are hoping that the new database will live up to its name.
"Symplicity compared to Experience, which we used to work with, is a much more in depth system. It gives students much more resources and opportunities," Liz Freedman, career services advisor, said.
Freedman also hopes that the new system will have a simpler user interface and that students and employers alike will be able to find what they're looking for more easily than before.
Symplicity also leaves more up to DePauw management, so updates and quick fixes will be readily available. However, this "customizable" nature does have its drawbacks.
"It's a lot of hard work getting it up and running because it is so customizable, so we're changing things as we go trying to get it how we want it," Freedman said.
Another flaw during the switch has been that while information about employers has transferred to be available for DePauw students, the job opportunities have not.
"These will all be new jobs," Erin Mahoney, associate director of career services, said of the job opportunities available on the new database. "So on the good side of it, all these jobs have been shared since August, so they're all current and up-to-date."
Students log in using their DePauw email address and network password. They are then greeted with a homepage that gives a quick view to upcoming career service events and a 10-item tab bar across the top of the screen, two of which are entirely new.
These two new tabs, "Resources" and "Networking" have been added in the hopes of further increasing students' access to employers and understanding of networking abilities.
The "Resources" tab includes three distinct categories, "Career Explorer," "Document Library" and "Resume Builder." Mahoney has high hopes for the "Document Library" as a way of boosting students' networking skills.
"We'll probably put some documents out there that will serve as an example to students, like a sample networking email," Mahoney said.
The "Networking" tab remains in the experimental stages at this point, but Mahoney cautiously stated that it may be usable by the end of the semester. This tab, in concert with the alumni database, will give students access to DePauw alumni interested in being "career mentors."
"We've got a lot of alumni who want to help do things," Mahoney said.
The last change planned for TigerTracks involves the check-in system at the Career Services Bar on the upper level of the Hub and other Career Services events. Students will soon be able to login and request a counseling service through the system.
"They can actually swipe their card," Mahoney said. "They'll be able to either login with their student ID or just swipe their card at any of our events."
Mahoney believes that this electronic sign-up/sign-in service will be up and running by the end of the month.
With an updated interface and database, more networking opportunities and a faster, easier access to counseling services, the new TigerTracks seems to have taken the name "Symplicity" to heart.