Agreed, Placement Services should be offered to the students the day of their orientation. Students should be aware of the help that is offered to them. Helping a student find a part-time job during their schooling will help our retention of students as well.
Placement services should are more effective when offered toward the beginning then toward the end. The sooner you start offering services to the student the better. It you gives you a chance to get to know the students and for them to get to know you. The types of services that can be offered are, resume writing, interview skills and job searching tips. Actucal placement services should not be offered until a student has completed a percentage of the program.
I believe Placement Services should start the day of orientation. Not only will it help our retention but it will also make our new starts feel more comfortable with continuing their education. I encourge students be network even at the beggining of their program.
Hi Aracely, Great point. We also believe that career services should be as active in the student's life as every classroom instructor. In fact, career services should plan several activities that instructors can integrate into their classrooms. Then students keep their eye on the goal - graduating and getting a job. Thanks, Susan
Hi Jere, You make several important points. One that we feel needs work in all schools is getting to know each and every student. What skills does each student need? Some need additional help writing resumes. Others need interview skills or just making the call to set the appointment. All of them need confidence building! We think there should be a list of skills and activities that are required! Thanks, Susan
Hi Aracely, Interesting point about helping studnets get part-time jobs. Sometimes the job helps ease the student's financial concerns. Sometimes a job gets in the way of students being able to complete their school work. The job could be in the student's career choice. That can be good because the student gains experience. Some schools find that students drop out because they feel they have already reached their goal of getting a job. It's an interesting dilemma. Thanks, Susan
Hi Mary
Looks like you just described additional goals for your placement department. First we are wondering why you consider 70% a minimum standard? Perhaps that is what your regulatory agencies want. But why not set a higher standard for your school? Knowing your grads' job retention and success rates would provide great information for your admissions reps and for your employers. You are saying that your grads are highly trained and work ready and have a great history of job retention. We would like to hear that about the staff we hire! Thanks, Susan
Hi Jere!
It has been some time since your excellent comments in the placement course forums, but as a visitor to the course, I just had to repsond to your valuable input.
As you know, it's all about partnerships with students, employers and extern sites. If an extern site does not engage the student in meaningful skilled activity and never hires any graduates, then it has no value as a site. We always too, as you referenced, had specific activities and responsibilities, collaboratively identified with the extern site, as to the duties a student would perform - a protection against "free labor."
As with students, a favorite phrase is "we will work as hard as you do during the job serch process." Students must complete a percentage of the program and must take on a significant percentage of the job search - in actuality though placement assistance is a feature and expectation of our programs, it is also a benefit that is not due to students who are not active in their own job attainment.
Thanks for you comments,
Jay
MaxKnowledge
Yes I agree that placement services are more effective when offered to a student towards the beginning of his/her program. When students are offered these programs early on they are able to work on those skills rather then waiting right before they graduate to practice those skills. For example students are able to practice interviewing for jobs, writing their resumes, networking with people and possibly gain work experience. With practice students will be more confident. So when students are ready to graduate they are more prepared to get into the work force.
We offer Placement Services from day one, which is the student's orientation, on this day the student will meet the Placement Director and the Director will explain all the benefits the student will receive from the placement department,(resume writing,job search, job fairs, speakers, exit and mock interviews).It is much more effective for this process to work in the begining because the student may not realize what the department can offer, and it's always better for the student to be prepared before graduation to have an effective job search plan.
Lena Notarstefano
Hi Lena
Excellent points. Placement has to start early - even during the admissions process. And Placement services have to be consistent and persistent throughout the student's experience at school. Often it takes students a while to figure out that career services is part of their training and is for everyone. Thanks, Susan
HI Emily, Lots of great reasons to start career services early on. It does take time to build skills and gain confidence. And you are right that it can't happen at the last minute. Students need to integrate placement "homework" into their daily lives so it's part of what they do each day. Practice takes time. And little by little confidence levels increase. Thanks, Susan
I agree. It really gives the student an idea of what's to come and gives those students who might need a bit more motivation that push to take thier studies to that next level. Make's all the difference in the world.
I beileve that the sooner the better. This way there is enough time to gradually prepare the student vs. trying to rush at the end of their program.
Yes. Nora. We agree that placement services need to start the first day of class! There are practical reasons since there are so many skills that need to be learned. There are retention reasons - when the student knows there are job opportunities waiting for them it helps to keep them in class. And there are placement reasons - the grad needs the mindset, confidence, and skills to implement a succeessful job search campaign. Thanks, Susan
HI Walter, You make a good point. STudents and grads need a lot of pushing and encouraging when it comes to employment skills and job search awareness. Even though they enroll to be able to get a job, the fact is that students and grads get resistant to the job search process. They need the confidence to go from student to grad to job seeker and worker. Without the confidence (developed from knowledge and practice) you'll find lots of unemployed grads! Thanks, Susan
I feel strongly that placement should be a continuos and ongoing process. From "orientation to graduation". This allows me to develop an understanding of the individual students strengths and areas that need development, thus giving me the opportunity to craft a job search strategy for the individual as opposed to a generic approach.
This is great James and our philosophy as well. Employment and placement skills training needs to be integrated into the curriculum and daily life of the student. The goal of going to school has to be present every day. And there are so many ways to get a student ready - just talking about what it is like on the job is one way. And then formal training in job search strategies. And we also agree that each student needs an individual placement plan. This can only happen with a menu of activities for the student to participate in. Just like having to complete every course satisfactorily, students have to finish career services work too. Thanks, Susan
Placement services start upon the enrollment of the student and carry on throughout their career training.
Exactly Nora. Can you tell us what you do at your school? We feel that the admissions reps have to talk about placement as soon as possible. That's why career services need to keep the reps informed about where grads get jobs and the services provided. Career services needs to plan workshops, seminars, activities, etc. so that the student sees placement placement placement every day. It takes a lot for the student to gain the confidence to take on the job search. It probably takes the entire time they are attending school. Thanks, Susan
