The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS), Ottawa, is developing a new service for those seeking to hire PR professionals, or those seeking new jobs.
The service, the CPRS Career File, will be an "electronic placement bureau for Canada, said Arbo Mattila, executive director of CPRS. It will include video and voice clips of candidates, as well as printed resumes. Employers will be able to request information on candidates matching employers' specifications. Files on candidates will be sent to employers on computer disks, rather than by the Internet. This option was chosen to give job candidates the option of choosing whether or not their credentials file will be sent to various employers who request it.
According to David Bell of David Bell Executive Search, Toronto, who is developing the system for CPRS, the system will be ready to accept information from candidates in January. Bell expects the system to be available for use by employers during the second half of next year. Costs for candidates and employers to use the service are still being worked out, he said. (CPRS, 613/232-1222; Bell, 416/410-6060)