New Haven and Yale partner to connect city residents to university jobs

For over 300 years, Yale has called New Haven home, and many residents of New Haven also work at Yale. Currently, 6,000 staff members live in New Haven. Three years ago, Yale created the New Haven Hiring Initiatives to connect New Haven residents with internships, and training opportunities to help them find a job at Yale.  Late last year, Yale made a commitment to hire 1,000 New Haven residents by April 2019.

Brenda Burgos and her husband of 20 years, Guillermo Morales, were recently hired through New Haven Works (above photo), a local non-profit that, in partnership with Yale, other local employers and unions, seeks to match New Haven residents with good jobs. Ms. Burgos, senior administrative assistant for Yale’s Department of Pediatrics said, “Being home when the sun is still shining is the best feeling ever. At my previous job I used to get home close to 9 p.m. every day. Now with this job at Yale, I get home early and spend time with my family, which is a big plus for me.”

Mr. Morales, a materials assistant at the Yale Library Shelving Facility in Hamden said,  “New Haven Works proactively helped me search for jobs, apply, edit my resume, and practice with mock interviews. With their support I landed a full-time job at the university—my dream came true! I am really grateful—New Haven Works staff really care about getting New Haven residents jobs.”

Yale’s New Haven Hiring Initiatives partners closely with New Haven Works, to help applicants make headway in the job application process and hosts a monthly “meet and greet” for residents who could be considered for job placements.

Chris Brown, Yale’s director for New Haven Hiring Initiatives (at left with Hiring Specialist Cassandra Irizarry), said, “We get to meet these candidates, which is great for us. As a recruiter, you have a chance to hear someone’s story and really get that deeper understanding of the person’s background. For the candidates, it is a great chance to speak with recruiters and employers.” Working with the hiring initiative also provides job candidates the opportunity to develop their skills and abilities, and to understand what aspects of their experience to focus on so they can apply for the jobs that are the best fit.

The New Haven Promise scholarship program, another job candidate pipeline, also leads New Haven residents to Yale’s door. Over the past two and a half years, Yale has created an internship program for New Haven Promise scholars to provide valuable on-the-job experience. To date, 127 interns have been employed over the summer to work in different departments across campus.

“As they go through the school year and graduate, they are some of the best people we can recruit for many of the jobs we have here. This program has even provided opportunities to the students’ families. Last year, at the kick-off event for interns, parents were invited to attend. It was a chance to hear the parents’ stories and ask them to sign up with New Haven Works to get them connected,” said Brown. Brown pointed to Mr. Morales as one example of a parent who attended last year’s event and wound up with a job at Yale.