Career Services Resources
I am currently looking to update and enhance career services related materials in our student resource center. Can anyone recommend any book titles or other materials that may assist our students?
Try all publishers. Most tend to have a section on employment skills. Also suggest www.jist.com and www.gadball.com, www.careerbookstore.com. Also check your local publications, associations, etc. Lots of ways of building up a library, videos, worksheets, and more. Best wishes, Susan
All the sites mentioned are a good ides, especially Jist. They have a lot of really good books for helping students make the transition from college to the work force.
HI Matt
Good to emphasize that there are companies with all the resources a placement department needs. Especially if you have limited resources and staffing, you need all the assistance you can get. There are so many publications and CDs, DVDs, internet sites and more. And so inexpensive. Students can walk out of your office with an armfull of valuable materials. Thanks, Susan
Do have particular DVD's you could recommend?
Good question, Matt. Suggest you form a committee of students, grads, hiring folks, and give them the JIST catalog. Ask them the same question. Wherever you get common responses - those could be your DVDs or other media for that matter. Then each time you loan a DVD or other media, ask a few simple questions to get feedback about how effective the resource was and what they would have like to have known. You'll know which ones are best for your population. Best wishes, Susan
I have two books I recommend regularly to students for their career search.
1. Fearless Interviewing by Marky Stein.
2. Knock'em Dead: The Ultimate Job Seeker's Guide by Martin Yate.
Hi Diane
Thanks for the resources. Can you tell us more about the books and how you motivate students to read them? Are the books part of the employment skills training you offer? If yes, are there assignments or projects related to the books. Are the books integrated into other courses offered at the school? More information would be helpful to maximize use of the books. Thanks, Susan
I have read many books in preparation for the career development classes. I found the two books I recommended offer practical advice. I tell the students the sources of my facts. When they return from lunch I will have the books on display. I say what I like about each book and what chapters to focus on. I encourage them to check the books out from a library or find a used/new copy. There are exercises in the Fearless Interviewing book that I use in class on identifying their strengths, weakness, and attributes. They are required to write out an answer demonstrating that strength being used. I've taken FAQ from Knock'em Dead and asked them to write a response. Then we discuss their answers.
I have pulled from these two books what I feel is useful to career changers. I've equipped them to talk about general/transferrable skills from their previous jobs that will make them successful in their new career path. And how to talk with confidence about the new technical skills they gained at our school. I spend a lot of class time on how to demonstrate the skill of problem solving and being a teamplayer, and a good communicator: written and oral.
Diane
HI Diane
Sounds like you are making excellent use of the books. And you make it easy for students to use them by highlighting the important parts. Why not make the books required for all students to have as part of the course? We really like the idea of helping career changers use their skills and knowledge to show how their backgrounds are transferable to other careers. It helps remind students that they have amassed a great deal of skills no matter what they have done in the past. And all that is valuable. We think it boosts confidence, too. You're doing a great job. Best wishes, Susan
