Accessibility trumps experience

The AMS no-experience-necessary hiring policy is a valuable initiative to ensure accessible employment for students.

Under the policy, previous experience isn’t taken into account when AMS services hire staff.

The purpose of campus services is twofold: to provide services and opportunities to students. Through this policy, the AMS has taken strides to simultaneously fulfill both aspects.

Many students enter university with little to no work experience and are trapped in a vicious need-experience-to-get-experience cycle. The AMS hiring policy allows individuals with untapped potential and talent — who might otherwise be overlooked due to inexperience — to learn valuable skills and to gain the background needed to apply to other jobs in the future.

By judging students based on their skills rather than their resume, the policy makes work opportunities more accessible to students.

As part of the policy, AMS services are only allowed to rehire 25 per cent of employees from the previous year, though staff can be rehired at the same service in a different position.

The high turnover ensures that a large number of students are able to gain experience and helps to break down the perception that the AMS is an exclusive clique.

Some criticism of the 25 per cent cap has centred on its effect on the quality of service, as the majority of staff each year are new and inexperienced. Students need to move past this potential dip in service and be willing to accept a little bit of inefficiency as fellow students learn the ropes.

The quality drop at the beginning of the year should be remedied through thorough, hands-on training regimens.

That said, a standard 25 per cent rehiring limit is low, since not all campus services are the same. Some, such as the AMS IT Office, require staff to have specialized and technical skills from the get go, while others, like Walkhome, need skills that can be learnt on the job.

For the former type of service, a higher annual rehiring cap would be valuable. A higher limit would alleviate strain on managers and rehired staff, while ensuring that new employees are given the necessary training and support to adjust swiftly.

Journal Editorial Board

Tags

AMS, hiring, Policy, Services

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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