Good points, Suzanne. Most students seek career training with one driving question - where are the jobs? And will I get employment? We think that a career services representative should be involved in the admissions process. New students need to know that they will have the skills for the job search process. They don't always realize they need the confidence as well. Confidence building takes time. Thanks, Susan
I agree that placement services are more effective at the beginning of a students' program. Since students are attending school/training so to get a better job or a job period, one of the deciding factors of choosing a school is quality job placement assistance.
Part of students motivation to finish getting their education/training is developing the skills and having the resources to find a job upon graduation--or even before. It is the Placement Department's mission to assist them with developing their own personal job search plan for now and in the if they find themselves back in the job market again later.
We agree. One of the first questions an applicant has is - where are the jobs? or Will I get a job? That's one of many reasons to demonstrate that your school offers great placement services. If you list on your website all the career services activities and requirements that can very well put you ahead of the competition. A great school is not just about its programs. It's about the student services it offers and we think that's where it is possible to show that your's are better than the school down the street. It's important to offer career services for the grads who want jobs. And also for those who plan to work on their own. Thanks, Susan
I agree, however there should be a carefully thought out process on how to convey this information to students, depending of course on the culture. Younger students for example, entering college for the first time are not often thinking about the future and the hard work behind preparing for landing that great job. They are thinking more about the immediate challenges that are in front of them at this time. I say now at an older age that I wish to have had this knowledge and experience when it comes to placement during the early stage of my program, but would I have been fully engaged in it.Engaging young students and making them aware can be challenging but it is possible, therefore I agree.
Good points Ariel. Students enter school with a range of work experience and confidence. What is common is that all students need to keep their eyes on the goal - getting a job. This takes a lot of effort day by day. One way is to have employers talk about a day at work, mock interviews, mentoring, job shadowing and instructors weaving in how skills and knowledge are used on the job. Thanks, Susan
Placement services start before a program should even exist. To create a competitive well-rounded degree program, school officials and program supervisors/deans must know what is expected of the program and graduates. If a program simply offers what they think the students should know or base it only on what they know – the program is now going to be a disservice to the college as well as students.
We will be offering 2 new programs next term – for the last 2 years, the school has been in contact with the community—employers as well as other programs offered in the area—so that we can BEAT the competition and offer what employers want and NEED. These employers are now of our Program Advisory Committee and they not only were influential in building the program, but will be met with every 6 months to determine the effectiveness of the program and changes in the industry.
Every new student should know this information (the tie to employers) since it will help them make their decision about what school to attend, and the evident career opportunities.
We totally agree, Joanie. The right placement department can impact on admissions, retention, and of course placement. And programs need to be developed to meet the needs of the local employers. That means that some courses may need to be customized to each hiring company. Great idea to develop programs WITH key companies in your community. It helps to create the best program and also helps to ensure that your grads will be hired. And you'll have the start of great relationships with the company. You sound like you know what you are doing. So here's an idea. Run your placement department with the same marketing concepts used for admissions. Best wishes, Susan
Placement starts from the very beginig the student enrols with our school. On the orientation sessions Placement department talk to the students about the importance of having a resume, an email address and the way we are going to work with them along their course
Great to hear that placement starts when the student enrolls. We have seen some schools include a visit to career services at the same time the student interviews with the admissions representative. We think that the assignments from career services are as important as any class they take. It's not just about how to write a resume. That takes 5 minutes. It's about getting the student to feel confident and successful and them having lots of practice and feedback in all aspects of the job search process. Thanks, Susan
I agree with starting placement services right away. Here, the career services department meets with all incomming students during their orientation - we introduce ourselves and help the students understand our importance and the importance of us getting to know them better. When it comes time for their externship and employment, we know our sites and employers, and if we know our students we can match them up with the best possible work enviroment for them. Helping us keep both our students and employers happy.
Dana,
I am thrilled to read your approach. Yes, too often career services and placement is something students think about the week before they graduate & I'm not sure we do much better in helping them to think about it. I think it's fantastic that you all are connecting with them during orientation. Great plan.
Ryan
(In for Susan)
Agreed. Career services and thinking about a job has to start at admissions. In fact, we think prospective students should talk to the folks at placement. Not a lot of schools do that. Thanks, Susan
Sounds like you are doing everything. You do a lot of ongoing coaching of students and seem to have a great community outreach program. How are your placement stats? And have you thought about an alumni association? That could be the next step for your school? Thanks, Susan
Agree. The "grooming" starts from the minute they decide to start school. If a Placement office waits until the student is about to graduate they run the risk of it being too overwhelming for the student, not knowing valuable information that might have been helpful earlier on (felonies, gaps in resume, etc.) and losing out on the time in school to get the student part-time jobs or internships within their field of study. The sooner that the student gets used to the idea that they are a professional and that there are certain steps they will need to take to get a return on their degree, the better.
Very well put. And there is more to this scenario. Besides skills, the student lacks self confidence. It takes the entire length of the program to build this self confidence. That requires dozens of "placement oriented projects" for the student to learn employment and job search skills and have the exposure to the workplace by job shadowing, mock interviews, visits to the workplace, and lots more. Imagine if you included all this on your website. You would be alerting potential students that you offer lots of services to help ensure they get interviews and ideally are trained sufficiently to get jobs, Thanks
I definitely agree that placement services should be started early. Including resume preparation, confidence building, conversations about where the student would like to be in the near future. Placing them in field so early would be challenging without the course work or skill set needed for the school, but we are all about doing anything to get them prepared and more comfortable with entering a new field.
I also find it challenging when students who have just started school somewhat expect us to hand them a job since we are placement. This is the time for us to explain what services we can offer and how we can aid them to find a "survival" job while in school.
Good points, Heather. Yes, it's never too early to start placement training. And there are so many ways to do it. One is through required projects. Another is when instructors talk about the job in the classroom. Then there are "field" trips, visits from employers, and lots more. We think that students will realize that they will not be handed a job. Rather they will earn the job information and the ability to successfully interview by seriously completing career services training. Thanks, Susan
I think that placement services should be offered throughout the process. Guest speakers and job fairs at the school would help keep the students interested and see there is light at the end of the tunnel. Those activities would help all the students, no matter where they are in the schooling process. However, managing their expectations is also imperative. A new grad with no experience is not going to make $20 per hour and having people in the industry there to answer those types of questions helps keep the students expectations realistic.
I agree that Placement services are more effective when offered toward the beginning of the program because it's a continuous process. Resume preparation, interviewing skills and job searching techniques don't happen overnight. Preparing the students before the completion of their program is crucial because then there is no delay in their job search once they finish. Also, working with students towards the beginning of their program gives the Placement Department an opportunity to get to know the student, their obstacles and how to overcome them.
Hi Angela, Good point about why employment skills need to be taught early and consistently throughout the student's training. Most important is they are able to start job interviewing upon completion. Imagine having a job before graduation. There is no delay between the last day of class and the job search. That's great. And very good point that the relationship between career services staff and the student has to be consistent. It's important to understand the students problems and deal with them. This impacts on retention too. Very good points. Thanks, Susan
