New site offers free job search
JEFFERSON COUNTY, N.Y. -- "Being in a nonprofit, like a church, you get a lot of people looking for work, and they're unemployed. They're looking for help, and they say 'Where can I find a job,'" said Pastor Michael Biolsi, Website Manager.
Pastor Michael Biolsi came up with the idea for a free job hunting website because he was frustrated with having to pay for subscriptions to traditional websites.
When you're looking for a job, it's money you'd prefer not to spend.
Coughlin Printing and North Country Fellowship Church have teamed up to address this concern by creating www.upstate-works.com, a totally free job hunting website.
"Lewis County has the highest unemployment rate outside of the city, and Jefferson County is not too far behind. I think that we need to make efforts to try to help people that are unemployed and those that are seeking to upgrade jobs and give them the best options out there," said Scott Mathys, Lewis County Opportunities CEO.
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Upstate works isn't just to help individuals find jobs. It's also helping local businesses post their employment options.
"It seems like everybody wants money just to hire somebody, and that frustrates us. We've paid $100s just to list an add to hire somebody, and during a time of recession that can be hard to come by," said Biolsi.
"We may pay $50 or $100 per posting to get something in the newspaper, and it's just extra costs," said Mathys.
Besides being free, upstate works has another unique aspect. It uses social networking sites such as twitter and facebook to alert followers when new jobs are posted.
"It's a better way to communicate and a more digital way to communicate. Information flows a lot quicker through these types of sites versus the more traditional ways of sharing jobs," said Pastor Leonard Flack, who works on the website.
The website is up and there are already a few job listings.
They say the most important thing right now is getting more businesses to post their openings. Right now they need more businesses from all over New York to post jobs.
For more information, visit www.upstate-works.com