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Nutter's pitch for jobs brings 1,000 resumes

As of early Monday, more than 1,000 job seekers had forwarded resumes to Philadelphia Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, responding to a pitch he made last week encouraging young professionals and private-sector employees to join his administration in January. As mayor, he will have hiring power over several hundred civil-service-exempt positions.

As of early Monday, more than 1,000 job seekers had forwarded resumes to Philadelphia Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, responding to a pitch he made last week encouraging young professionals and private-sector employees to join his administration in January.

As mayor, he will have hiring power over several hundred civil-service-exempt positions.

His goal is to "accumulate a significant talent pool" from which to pick, he said yesterday, repeating his appeal during a midmorning Drexel University speech.

Public service is "a high calling. This is our time. . . . This is a new Philadelphia," he said at an awards ceremony highlighting National Distance Learning Week.

He made his initial appeal last Wednesday, the morning after his election victory and, he said yesterday, after just one hour's sleep.

Nutter acknowledged that applicants living outside Philadelphia may not realize that a job would mean having to move to the city. (The City Charter requires civil-service-exempt employees to live in Philadelphia within six months of their hiring.)

But Nutter also said he did not perceive the employee residency rule to be an obstacle in finding the caliber of staff he wanted.

His campaign staff - no transition team has yet been announced - will review the resumes and sort them according to areas of expertise. Selected candidates would be interviewed for positions.

Resumes can be submitted through Nutter's Web site,

» READ MORE: www.Nutter2007.com

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Another task before his staff is evaluating existing city employees in non-civil-service jobs. He is likely to hire some holdovers from the Street administration.

During his speech, Nutter spoke about the need for businesses to encourage employees to pursue education, saying 80,000 workers in the city had started college but never finished.

"How is it that in Philadelphia, what I call an education mecca . . . that only 18 percent of our residents have a four-year bachelor's degree? How is that possible?" he asked, adding that online learning is an important educational component.

In an interview afterward, Nutter said he had lunch with Gov. Rendell on Monday at a local restaurant he declined to name.

He said they had touched on Nutter's three priorities - crime, education and jobs - and discussed the Philadelphia Parking Authority and a push by US Airways to gain more control over its gates at Philadelphia International Airport.

"I expect we'll continue to meet on a regular basis," Nutter said.