Annie Archbold, PhD
Lead, Web Communication Specialist
Centers for Disease Control

Position Statement

SIG-CHI 2005

The transitions in the business and government workplace over the last four years have seen agrowing need for qualified students entering the workplace. This is especially true for thosestudents coming out of human factors programs. In an effort to ensure that the flow of student
graduates (particularly those with an MS) into the marketplace, CHI-Atlanta recently designated auniversity liaison for the city’s university programs.
The need for this university liaison is due to the increasing sophistication of the workplace. Thishas often meant that current graduates are finding it difficult to find a place in the growing
demands of the job market. A fundamental problem is that former graduates are finding thatcurrent graduates often lack the skills and understanding of the current workplace. For many
professionals in CHI-Atlanta, too many jobs go begging. Why:

Applicants cannot “speak” the language common to the business world
Job seekers lack in-depth understanding of the User Centered Design Process
Graduates do not know about the diversity of job opportunities and deliverables
associated with each position

For those out in the field trying to employ junior members of their team:

It is hard to advance when junior positions are not being filled
Applicants now graduating from the same program are not being offered positions
Recent graduates are turning to CHI-Atlanta members for guidance in shaping theirresumes and/or learning the skills needed to fill positions

The change has come with the growth and shift in job requirements that require a thoroughknowledge of user centered design as well as a background in usability.
As the recent Program Chair (6 years) for CHI-Atlanta, I was hearing too many comments fromcolleagues that “we cannot find qualified graduates to hire.” So, in my capacity as the university
liaison for CHI-Atlanta, I am working with our organization to help bridge this gap. We areplanning to share with our local universities our experiences, provide input on the needs of themarketplace, and help provide insight into the job requirements for current and emerging
positions.
This cross-cutting effort begins with the recognition that usability engineers in the workplace are
not going away nor are core usability testing positions. Newly emerging positions, however,require an understanding of usability principles, but they also need practical experience with User
Center Design, work with multi-disciplinary teams, an understanding of consultative services,environments, and core deliverables.
Why the change? Positions have and will continue to morph into themes such as User
Experience Engineers, User Interface Architects, and so forth as the complexity of projects
increase. Many technology projects are built overseas, but designed in the United States. Inaddition, the initial use of the term Information Architect has shifted as Library Science programs
are graduating students concerned with the structure of information in complex contentmanagement and knowledge management systems. Thus, the competitive landscape has grown
and the marketplace is requiring more and more skills of its job seekers.
In early February, CHI-Atlanta will host a program for graduate students at Georgia Tech in theHuman Computer Interaction and Information Design and Technology programs. This workshop
will be led by former graduates who work across industries and who often have unfilled thepositions. The focus of the program is to highlight what students will need to know for themarketplace including types of job postings, the work processes and associated deliverables, therole User Centered Design, and the way to talk about their university training for the marketplace.

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Annie Archbold, PhD
Lead, Web Communication Specialist
Centers for Disease Control

Position Statement

SIG-CHI 2005

It is through this effort of CHI-A and graduates of local university programs that we hope to helpstudents fill the positions in the Atlanta marketplace. During the workshop, I hope to bring ourinsights from the Atlanta experience into the overall discussion.

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