Taking Over
I recently took a position as a Career Service Coordinator at the company that I have been with for two years. I was hoping to get a chance to sit down with the previous Coordinator but that didn't happen. So needless to say, I am starting form scratch. The problem that I am running into at the moment is that I have unhappy graduates that don't return my phone calls or divulge information on their current work experience. This in turn, leaves me with not so good numbers. We all know what happens if the numbers aren't so good. How often is to often to call graduates? What do I do?
Hi Deana
Interesting situation. The good news is that you can build the career department with a solid foundation and not worry about what the previous coordinator did right or not so right! I'm wondering why grads are unhappy. Seems to say that the school is not delivering education or student services effectively. You have the opportunity to find out so that grads are happy and want to refer students to your school and return themselves for additional training. Perhaps you can construct a different kind of questionnaire or phone script to find out their suggestions for improvement. When you are chatting find out their placement information. And be sure to put plans in place to offer great placement services andreach grads early on to get information. Best wishes, Susan
When I first started the position I called all the graduates who needed to be placed and asked them to set up a time where they would come in to talk with me. When they came in together we reviewed their resume, talked about what they wanted in a job, how far they were willing to travel, etc. It then gave me a good idea as to their personality, drive, ambition, skills, etc. I think it also made them feel that I cared and wanted to get to know them. Building that relationship is the key so that they will stay in touch with you down the road.
Very good, Lani. Building relationships and getting to know grads, and students too, does a lot. You get a better idea of each of their needs in terms of employment skills training. You learn more about each of them and their qualifications so you can facilitate a good match. And, it's great PR for the school. Just think about all the great things students and grads will say about you and the career services offered. Our guess is that it will bring a lot of potential new students to the school. Thanks, Susan
Hi Deana-
I also came into a situation from scratch. The follow up appointments and letters to express interest and concern is a great start. In doing so, you can perhaps share a recent "Testimonial" from a HAPPY and placed grad which might make them feel...it's possible for them too!!I even went so far as to go to the graduates place of work. When I got there, the grad & I talked briefly. He laughed that I would go to such extents to find him. Since then, I have placed him and he is one of our most prized successes. He advanced so quickly he virtually runs the place..and that includes vast wage increases.
Additionally, once I identified a disatisfaction, I attempted to take action to rectify the scenario. I learned that one persons disatisfaction may be another. With that information, I have been attempting to implement activities with students prior to graduation, so this disatisfaction should NOT develop for future grads. Essentially: learn from the problem. Good Luck, Michele
Great ideas, Michele. Really points to the need to constantly evaluate how things are going. Surveys work, interviews, casual "how are things going" are all great ways to get information. Then let others know what you find and make improvements and changes based on your discoveries. Thanks, Susan
I also just came into a "Placement" position at the School I work for. It seems that surveys have been used in the past to obtain graduates' placement info, however, it wasn't well organized and most of it is now outdated by more than a year.
I've put together a new "Placement Survey" that I've sent to all of our alumni via email. It is short and simple and only asks for the information that we really need. I've received about 70 surveys back and have sent it to about 500 emails. Not so good.
My next plan of attack is going to be to send it via physical mail along with a nice letter, letting them know that we really need their information. The other thing I'm doing is giving the surveys to the directors of other departments to give to graduates that they might meet with. That has actually generated quite a few returned surveys as well.
At this point, it's just too daunting of a task to try and call every graduate with out-dated information. I'll keep up with my plan and see what happens. Anyone have any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Josh
Hi Josh,
I am the Director of Career Services Department at a Business College.
Our placement department is only required by our accrediting agency to track students until they are placed for the first time. The students and employers are sent letters after two months of employment. We do offer lifetime placement and students often come in and out of job search with us but we are not required to keep track of them unless they are placed again through us. Are you required to follow them for a certain amount of time? We do seem to have a good success rate of return information. The only returns we receive that cannot give out employee information seem to be our local hospitals and some county offices.
Good luck in finding the information you need.
Lucille
I have found that students get the idea that if they find the jobs themselves, they are more reluctant to share the information with us.
I simply ask them if they got the job because of the skills and training they learned while at our school and then congratulate them on their success. That usually softens them up to giving us the needed information.
Good luck to you.
Lucille
Thanks for the responses!
Our accrediting agency requires that we report the first (or any, I think) job that the student obtains in the field (or related or out of field). We also have to report the percentage of students who get jobs in the field. Right now, our database (which has the capacity to track all of this info quite well) is just so out of order and has not been kept up with well enough. Sometimes I feel like it would be easier to start over with the Placement section of the database, but thats just was too much at this point. So I'm trying to fill in the holes right now.
Thanks!
Josh
One of the problems for me, is that in terms of "relationships" with the students and graduates, I don't have much of one yet.
Since I've only been here since January (and I'm directing another department on top of Placement as well) I haven't had sufficient time to meet EVERY student yet, let alone the thousands of graduates that I should be keeping in touch with.
Right now, I am in constant contact with everyone, generally by email - sending out current job listings and volunteer opportunities, business-building skills and tips, etc. I'm also trying to get into the "Professional Development" classes and just introduce myself to all of the current students to let them all know what services I can offer. Hopefully in the future keeping track of employment history for each graduate will be easier since each student will know me personally.
Sounds like you are doing everything right so far! It is a daunting task to come in new and unfamiliar with procedures but think of it as an opportunity to mold a new model for your school. You will be a hero! Be patient and be kind to yourself; it will all come into place.
Hi Lucille, Great advice. It's a challenge when taking over a department. What works and should be kept and what needs a total overhaul? Takes time to go through the process. Our belief is get as much info as possible, measure, measure, measure, and put changes in place once and be sure they are "right." And then be ready to make changes again. Susan
Hi Josh, Yes - you have quite a job! Sounds like you are doing most things effectively. What you might want to do is look for help on the clerical mundane work you are probably getting caught up in. Figure out what's a priority - it's probably relationship building with everyone including employers. How much of your time should be spent on that? When you can create a list of tasks that need to be done, prioritize them, and then figure out how to get assistance, you'll probably be able to move along a bit faster. And with less stress. Good luck, Susan
Hi Josh
Sounds like one of the first tasks is to look carefully at the placement reporting requirements of ALL your regulatory boards. Get a clear definition of what is meant by "placed." Then work towards creating systems to support collection of this data. Once you are clear about the information that is required and desired, start to lobby to get your student management software to work for you. Good luck, Susan
Interesting challenge, Lucille. You might want to chat informally with grads to find out their concerns. Are they worried that other grads might get their job? Or that if other grads are placed they might not perform well? If you can get the information you might be able to address the perceived problems. And learn a lot. The fact is, it's really important to communicate with every employer - build relationships. And to keep track of the student's success. Best wishes, Susan
Hi Lucille, All great points. It is important to be clear about placement regulatory requirements. We believe it's important to gather much more information than is required. Additional information can help you analyze other results about your training, job placement success, salary ranges, job retention, and more. Verified placement stats can be helpful for your admissions department too. Best wishes, Susan
Yes, Josh. Surveys are really crucial - the right surveys that gather information needed and that will prove useful. And most unfortunately people don't like to complete surveys. So you have to be creative in motivating them. I'm willing to complete a survey if I'm told it will only take 2 minutes and it will be beneficial. I might even complete a survey for a little incentive and recently I completed a longer survey so I would qualify to be in a drawing to get 100,000 frequent flyer points. There is always something to motivate everyone!! Good luck, Susan
I am offering an incentive. If you return the survey to me, I send you a coupon to use at our school's store (which contains lots of products for people to use once they are employed).
Thanks,
Josh
Sounds great. Let us know how that increases results. Thanks
