This past spring, Colin Waters '10, a biochemistry major, was in the same anxious position as many college seniors -- trying to enter the "real world" of an economy recovering from a major recession.

"I was very concerned about finding employment ... The science market -- at least at the technician level -- is struggling," said Waters. But Waters, who is deferring graduate school, wasn't stuck worrying for long: He landed a position as a technician in the lab of John Lis, professor of molecular biology and genetics, less than a month after applying.

"At Cornell the time between submitting my resume and being contacted for an interview was a couple of days, whereas at other universities and laboratories it took four or more weeks," said Waters.

"It took about a month or five weeks," said Lis of the time it took from opening a position in his lab, and having Waters start. "This was at least twice as fast as when I did this about eight years ago."

The quick turnaround that facilitated Waters' placement was one of the top priorities of a six-person Human Resources (HR) team at Cornell who joined forces to develop an improved laboratory technician recruitment program. The program, launched June 1, focuses on increasing efficiency and diversity in lab technician recruitment, while sharing new scientific talent across the three participating colleges, facilitating the process for labs looking for help. Countering norms, the team of HR representatives hailed from three colleges: the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), College of Human Ecology (CHE) and College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM).

"Our approach is groundbreaking in that we share talent that we find and collaborate versus compete," said Shan Varma, a leader of the recruitment initiative, from CALS HR. "This effort was really a first of its kind."

Technicians are a critical need at Cornell, says Connie Park, CVM HR and another leader of the tech recruitment team, noting that 26 percent of staff recruitment is for lab technicians. The idea for the collaborative recruitment initiative was conceived more than a year ago, when the CALS, CHE and CVM HR departments started to notice the apparent, and consistent, need for technicians through a system that was too slow in getting qualified applicants from the first interview to the lab. By working together and engaging such key administrative HR stakeholders as the Recruitment and Employment Center, the Office of Workforce Diversity and Inclusion, and the Office of University Counsel, the team developed the new system.

"Traditionally, searches were isolated events -- one search, one hire. It wasn't a regular occurrence that HR would talk across colleges about applicants, jobs or events," said Park.

In the past, labs within CALS, CHE and CVM might post jobs and never see each others' postings. The new system puts the resumes and answers to a set of prescreening questions, which gauge skills, into one pool, making it less likely that talented applicants will fall through the cracks. The HR team conducts a primary interview and arranges a second interview for applicants to meet with a faculty subject matter expert.

"Cornell was one of the few places where I was able to get in touch with an actual person and had the ability to follow up on my resume submission and my application," said Waters. "I also feel that the people I spoke to at Cornell were enthusiastic about the hiring process. My contacts at Cornell were excited about the position and were glad that I applied. This excitement provided additional motivation to further pursue tech positions at Cornell."

Molly Cronin '11 was a student intern with CALS Communications this summer.