At Orientation we discuss with students what their goals are to get some idea how realistic they are about their goals and to get to know them. We also discuss Career Services and what we do. This is a good opportunity to start connecting with the students and building relationships. It is important to develop relationships early with students to find out what Career Services needs to do to assist them, so they can develop skills to meet their individual challenges to employment before graduation. It also helps us to be aware of students with special circumstances/issues that can be problematic with placement.
HI Tess
Great description of career services. We suggest keeping in touch with students many times prior to graduation. It's great you are part of orientation. But new students forget most of what they hear in the excitement of starting school. We also suggest creating individual placement plans for each student with checklists of activities and projects to complete. Best wishes, Susan
Hi, I guess we are all running into the same situation.
First day of job search workshop I have them sign and fill out our employment verification for when they do obtain employment and it is at that time when I find out the ones that dont want employment or my assistance because they are working out of the industry of study. It also helps when some take courses because they want to enhance their skills - We still count that as a placement at then end of the 90 days but we also track raises and promotions because of the training.
I let them know that although they have signed the Waiver - my door is still open to them just in case" knock on wood" they lose their current employment or decide I need a job.
Suggestion I will keep in touch with them just to see how they are doing or send them Holiday Cards. Sometimes we send other incentive letters....
Because sometimes if they obtained employment on their own they will not want to share the information with you. Incentive letters have been great graduates end up calling back letting us know where they are working ...at that point we have the employment information and they already had completed their 90days.
Continuing to keep in touch has worked in some cases.
I agree with all of you sometimes there are some that you just cant change.
I also keep notes in their file of all form of communication I have had with the graduates.
Its tough many times but the ones you do manage to impact just by saying hello...feels good.
Good luck
Great points, MariaElena. All have solutions that generally require patience and persistence. Keeping in touch by phone is difficult but yields the best results. People will talk a lot more than write the same info. It gives you a chance to probe for more information and establish rapport so you get some good answers. While it is a lot of work the information is so helpful and provides clues about how to get grads to seek a job, discover what they do with their training, or their fears about the job seeking process. It might start in admissions with a focus on getting a job as the end result of training. Good luck, Susan
Unfortunately, I have the same challenge. I have a specific timeline for placement. Yet, I receive calls from the parents of adults graduates from 2 years ago requesting immediate help for their children. However, when you set the appointment, the student is a no show no call. And, if you call or mail them, they do not respond. These people clearly do not want to work! At the end of the day, I do not want to jeopardize the integrity of our relationships with employers by setting up no show appointments. I believe we can only help those people who are at least willing! Thanks, Michele
Good points, Michele. The challenge is to discover what the fears are that get grads to say they don't want to work. There are definitely fears that are debilitating to them. To uncover what they are and address them could change these no shows into highly motivated individuals. But how is certainly the question. Maybe start by asking them. Best wishes, Susan
Students have their own agegndas for pursuing their education and sometimes its just something to do for them. Students who are not interested will usually come around and ask for your help eventually. Providing a lifetime placement service is the best tool to make an impact upon student's life. It takes time for people to make big changes in their lives.
Really good points, Anna. It does take time for people to have a new mind set. And often just going to school is not enough. In terms of goals, it is essential that admissions personnel identify those just going to school for lack of something else to do and those going to school for the purpose of working. The goal of getting a job needs to be threaded through the entire school experience for the student. Thanks, Susan
Richard that is a great way to handle the students that don't want to work, it well give them something to think about. Success is obtainable if you don't stop.
Hi Yolanda, Takes a lot of ongoing creativity to deal with students who don't want to work. Often it is the fear of going out on an interview or the insecurities a student feels about being able to do the work. Working on self esteem is one way to deal with grads who say they don't want to work. Good luck, Susan
We live in an area where some large companies have sent their manufacturing work orders overseas and therefore, have increased our student population with TAA students. The government is paying for this re-training and those students are taking advantage of the opportunity. Some of these students have no intention of ever working again as they are at or near retirement age.
This provides a challenge for our Placement Dept. as the only waiver options are for: death, disability, illness, pregnancy, military service, or continuing education. Our accrediting agency has been ACICS.
We don't have the option of having students sign waivers just because they don't want our services.
It's interesting to see how the other schools deal with this issue. Thank you for your information.
Interesting challenge, Lucille. Sounds like it calls for a multi level approach. One is to inform ACICS and see if you can get committees formed and things changed. Good luck, Susan
This seems to work great at one of our other campuses. The placement director has photos of recently placed grads posted on bulletin boards and really brags it up. She goes into classes and let's them know that so and so just got employed at XYZ. It let's them know that placement really does work and it's not just someone sitting behind a desk looking like they want to help you. We really do. It makes me feel great when I can help someone get started in their new career!!! I'm hoping it makes others who don't THINK they want to work in their field come around and decide they really do or boost their confidence in knowing they can do it!!
Hi Wendy
Looks like you have a great strategy by continually reminding students that grads get jobs and so will they. That really impacts on retention and also enrollment. When the word gets out that your students get jobs, people will choose your school over another. Photos, announcements, applause - whatever it takes to focus on the fact that your staff cares about whether a grad gets employed. Best wishes, Susan
The school I worked for had a "release" form for the students to sign. That helped. The students who didn't sign the form and refused to return calls were a problem. All you can do is document the attempts to help, the leads given, and the subsequent refusal to work. Good luck.
Interesting perspective, James. Sometimes having a student sign a release form makes it too easy for the student to avoid facing the issues that prevent him/her from seeking employment. This could be lack of confidence, shyness, feelings of inadequacies. So we are of the opinion to keep after that student to determine the real barriers. In addition, there is usually a limit to the number of excuses from seeking employment that regulatory boards will accept. This is the reason to establish relationships with students early on so you can understand their weaknesses and help to overcome them. Thanks, Susan
Does anyone have any knowledge of whether or not ACCSCT allows the use of waivers? I am under the impression that they do not allow them and anyone taking the course for personal enrichment is a detriment to retention and placement statistics.
Hi Ulrike
We always recommend that you contact your accrediting body directly with your questions. Even if the situation appears to be the same, each school is unique. So suggest you talk with someone at ACCSCT. Before you do that be sure you read the specific rules and regs that you want clarification on. And take good notes to record the response. Good luck, Susan
I would continue to build them up and relay to them how much better they would feel about themselves and the differenc in the energy level they would have if they had a job to go to like everyone else, just knowing the bills are paid.
Hi Gerardo, We find that students who can't find jobs or even start the job search aren't prepared and lack confidence. That's why we encourage placement activities to start at the same time as classroom training. Learning how to be a successful job seeker takes knowledge and practice. If the grads aren't good we feel the placement department needs to relook at what they are doing. Thanks, Susan
