SARASOTA COMPANY'S MOBILE JOB CENTRE GETS DEBUT

Some innovative thinking by a Sarasota accountant five years ago got it's first real use this past week in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, helping victims of Hurricane Katrina find new work.

Raj Doraisamy is now CEO of the Sarasota-based company Interview USA, and the Hattiesburg American reported on his company's Mobile Job Interview Centre being used for the first time at two Hattiesburg locations on Friday. The 28 foot trailer with eight interview stations will make appearances at several Pine Belt area locations until Thursday, after which it will travel throughout the region affected by Katrina and Rita.

The mobile trailer allows applicants to file a resume and record a videotaped interview. There is no charge for the service, and Interview USA is waiving the fee it normally charges employers if they help hurricane victims.

"Employers love it because not only do they get to see a resume but they get to see personality traits and characteristics as well all at once," Doraisamy added. "And job seekers love it because instead of just going in and filling out papers they get a chance to display their true character and attitude so it can be seen by potential employers."

Doraisamy, an accountant, came up with the idea and eventually developed the software of the automated virtual video interviews due to a convenience factor as much as anything else.

"I thought, if I had a business, how great it would be to be able to click on the computer and not only see a person's resume but view how they presented themselves as well," he said. "And if you had the ability to view a number of these at once how it would cut down on all of the time to set up interviews and calling applicants back in not only for the employers but applicants as well."

Tampa Bay's WTSP-10 News did a piece on Doraisamy's new innovation before it left for the Gulf Coast, and on it's way it stopped in Ocala where a feature story was printed in the Star-Banner.