Hello Jennifer:
I would like to know more about the Career Development course that is being tahught at your campus. How many hours a week for how many weeks?Do you have a textbook for it?
I would love it if you could share this info with me. I teach a workshop at my campus on the same theme and I think that my students could benefit from my "expanding" knowledge in the field.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Irina Alexandru
Placement Director
Sanz Scool, Silver Spring, MD
Hi Jennifer and Irina
It would be great to share resources and all create a model Career Development Course. It's important to make them fun and interactive. We have found that JIST publishing has lots of good resources as well as other publishers. Best wishes, Susan
Thank you, Dr. Schulz. I will look into that right away.
Irina
This may seem strange, but in our school's 30 year history we have never had a placement department. Our Student Services Director has always posted part-time jobs available for current students and announced full-time job opportunities, but our graduates have always succeeded in fending for themselves. Of course we are a small school producing a very small number of highly sought after graduates.
Hi Valerie
Very interesting. Can you tell us what programs your school trains for. Your Student Services Director must be doing a good job regardless of exactly what that is. And we would certainly like to know. Since you are in the community for 30 years it may be that over time your school is seen as "the" school to look to for qualified job applicants. You have the opportunity to learn a lot about what grads do, their starting salary, job promotion and enhancement, and more. The stats can be very helpful with marketing.
Best wishes, Susan
As a brand new Career Placement Director, I appreciate everyone's candor and their wiiingness to share what they have learned in the trenches.
Our small vocational college has a placement dept of one...me. This position has been vacant for a period of time and experienced significant turnover before the vacancy. The result is that many students have had no direct contact with the placement office - OK, many don't know that it even exists. I have one advantage in this situation; that of being a former student who also didn't know that the placement office existed.
Initially, I hope to be able to increase the visibility of the office (and myself) by introducing specific purpose and objective statements into the general curriculum related to placement. I also hope to be able to introduce weekly mini-meetings with the Director of Admissions and the Manager of the Clinical Studies program, so that we a) are all on the same page, and b)understand that we are all in this together. I know that there is much to accomplish - so I will try to identify the most immediate issues (compliance and participation) and select some highly visible yet relatively easy elements to achieve some early successes. (I can dream...)
Again, thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Kate T.
Hi Kate
What a great place to be in - setting up a placement department. YOu have the chance to set up a strong foundation and make it work for everyone. Great idea to communicate and collaborate with staff. Admissions should certainly know about where grads are working. That's what prospective students want to know. We suggest that you visit a class each week to give students an idea what what you are offering in the placement department. Knowing that after graduation they will have to get a job or work on their own is important from the start. Helps with retention, too. Good luck, Susan
Our placement department is well rounded and offers a variety of services to both the student and community. My only observation for improvement would be the use of video equipment during the mock interviews scheduled for each student. During my college years, this method was used for my Effective Speech class and it allowed me to witness my mannerisms and speech patterns. This would be a valuable tool for the placement department to help the student understand what a prospective employer would see.
Hi Ron
Great idea about videoing interviews. And then have all classmates critique. Of course there needs to be rules so no one's feelings get hurt. And then the placement personnel can critique as well. You might also want to start with videos or CDs that you can buy showing good and bad interview techniques. Best wishes, Susan
I come accross this same problem. There always seems to be a couple of graduates who behave inappropriately at an interview or while on their externship. It reflects poorly on the school.
Hi Michelle
There are never any real answers but always worth looking for ways to better prepare students for externships and interviews. Poor behaviour could be purposeful or acted out because the individuals are uninformed about proper behavior and what is expected of them. So maybe longer and more comprehensive orientation and training prior to externships and job interviews. Worth a try. Best wishes, Susan
We are starting a Career Services department at my company. I am excited about this new venture, but also worried that some of our courses will not lead to employment. I would like a better way to distinguish between gaining employment in the prospective field and advancing in the current career path. I want students to understand we are here to help them advance in their career goals but we are not an employment agency.
Hi Candice, Your goal is to assist with the placement of any of your graduates. Your regulatory bodies have certain requirements you need to meet. Students enroll for the purpose of being able to seek employment. They need employment skills assistance and ideally some job leads. You are not expected to be an employment agency and cannot guarantee employment. However, you need to provide the assistance and resources. That's why you are in the school business. And your regulatory bodies will remind you of this. Best wishes, Susan
The college opened in 2000 and the Career Services department opened in 2001. The college has over 700 students and we added another Co-Director in 2007. We will be adding a 3rd Director in the Summer of 2008. We are adding programs and as the student body continues to grow, we will need the added support of another Director.
We offer resume writing workshops, mock interviews, Professional Development classes, Career Management classes, a graduate seminar, new student orientation and conduct exit interviews with all upcoming graduates.
Hi Kerrie. Sounds like you have a great career services department. It's important to depend on evaluations to tell you how well you are doing and what changes need to be made. Be sure to ask your students, grads, and employers how you are doing. And more important, be sure you use the info to make changes. Good luck, Susan
I agree, thanks for all the advice.
I am the Director of Career Services in a career college which is very specific to it's field and industry. I have two full time employees and three student workers serving a student population of around 900 at the present time. I have been on board for just about two years. The college is 4 years old and when I started the placement rate was at 23%. I have maintained a placement rate for graduates of %95-96 consistently for over one year now. Placement rates are good. I have been in operations for over twenty years within the same industry that my students are training for and I have found that to be extremely beneficial. Education, however is a new area of business, a different environment and I have been on a learning curve in that respect since I started. While I am deeply entrenched in the community, serve on the boards of several associations within my field, I still find that I need to learn more about education in general and servicing the students better.Can you recommend any career services oriented associations, networks and/or publications that are creative and interesting? I would like to network more with people who are in careers services/student services or placement. I am a member of NAFSA as well as other associations that are industry specific to the field of training.
Hi Theresa, Thanks for sharing all that you did. Sounds like whatever you are doing is working. Also you have a unique perspective of knowing the industry and being new to the career school sector. So you can bring new things to a career services department and not the tried and true. A real advantage. Interesting question re associations. None specific to career services and the career school sector. There are publications such as Career College Central and Workforce Review. And also CCA conferences and probably conferences sponsored by your state association. And lots of MaxKnowledge courses!! Best wishes, Susan
Thanks for the feedback, Dr. Schulz. Do you do any speaking engagements in the South Florida area? That is where I am based. Your background is very interesting and certainly most impressive.
I agree that students need to meet and get to know their placement department whole heartedly!!! I go into the classrooms and talk to the students. Pop my head in the door and let them know I'm here. Tell them, let's work on that resume. I let them know I have potential employers looking for qualified grads, COME SEE ME!! You have to have a good relationship with students and know their skill levels. I don't wait for them to come to me. I want them to know I am working for them.
