ALUMNI NEWS
Divine Nine Resume Exchange Expands Through Pandemic By Aaron Wiliams
I f you cannot access the employers of choice due to the pandemic, the Divine Nine (D9) Resume Ex- change may be the vehicle for you! The D9 Resume Exchange is a profes- sional career network and employment website exclusively targeting members of the nine National Pan-Hellenic Coun- cil (NPHC) fraternities and sororities. Founder, CEO and author Torrence Traynham (New York (NY) AL 2012) created this new employment search platform in August 2020. The service contains a database currently holding over 3,500 candidates searching and applying for internship and fulltime opportunities with over 20 employer partners representing small and large organizations from across the U.S. "The D9 Resume Exchange is a simple sourcing tool that organizations can leverage when combatting the er- roneous idea that qualified Black talent doesn't exist," stated Gregg Bishop, Former Commissioner, NYC Small Busi- ness Services. Traynham uses his 10+ years of campus recruitment experience connect- ing candidates to job opportunities with several Fortune 500 companies includ- ing ADP, Morgan Stanley and Marsh & McLennan to spread his message. A member of the New York (NY) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi - Traynham has continuously worked to better his chapter and community, serv- ing as social action chairman for most of his Kappa career. He is an active mem- ber of both the National Association of African Americans in Insurance and the Society of Human Resource Manage- ment (SHRM). He has also earned the Certified Diversity Recruitment and Professional Recruiting Certificates from AIRS continuing professional develop- ment courses.
Origins of the Exchange
Traynham has embodied the spirit of service in the public's inter- est. His passion and desire to assist others seem to navigate seamlessly between his personal and profes- sional life. As a tenured corporate recruiter and Divine Nine advocate, Traynham has dedicated his efforts to ensuring employers understand the value of having a robust and intuitive sourcing tool for employers to leverage as they journey toward a more diversified workforce. He decided to focus his passion on Divine Nine (D9) members to combat the false narrative found in many corporate offices that there is not enough qualified Black talent in the marketplace. In addition, the COV- ID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered how human resources professionals at large and small, for-profit and non-profit companies are sourcing candidates to fill their open positions. D9 Resume Exchange's goal is to assist these compa- nies with targeting qualified candidates while also assisting with attaining their internal diversity goals. Visiting over a hundred schools throughout his recruiting career, Trayn- ham noticed the crowds getting larger each time he was asked to speak. These lectures would always run over time due to the plethora of questions and engage- ment from eager job-seeking students. Wanting to stay connected after each visit, Traynham created The CareerPlug blog, a virtual platform designed to share his thoughts on recruitment trends and strategies in real-time. It is here where you can find insightful conversations, he has with business leaders and talent acquisition professionals. Members are granted full access to the blog and the
D9 Resume Exchange Newsletter.
How it Works
At no cost, candidates interested in internships to senior-level positions can upload their resumes and create a candidate profile for employer partners to search and view. Once a candidate registers and creates a profile, the can- didate receives an email from Traynham with immediate access to review job postings and apply for internship and job opportunities. D9 Resume Exchange employer partners assess candidate resumes to evaluate skill sets, education, and professional background align with the available opportunities. After creat- ing their profile, the only action left for candidates in the D9 Resume Exchange is to respond promptly when a prospec- tive employer contacts them.
Applicant Perspective
Applicants can actively search for and apply to job opportunities presented by our employer partners. The platform
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