Blogs

We Want Them and They Need Us: An Idea for Getting Students Into the Career Center

By Ladystacie Rimes-Boyd posted 10-19-2017 08:03

  
As we all know, career services is pivotal in so many ways as to how a student will develop career goals and plans as well as the articulation of skills that will help them succeed in the future. But, as we also know, many do not come through our doors and so we do not reach them.

Right now, on my campus at Trinity University, we are beginning the process of welcoming the new first years on campus. For the second year in a row, our office has been given an opportunity to proselytize to the student orientation team and resident assistant team through a resource tour that occurs before student move-in. Mind you, we reach out to students all year through information tables, class visits and presentations, targeted e-mails, workshops, and much more, but this is an opportunity to get in front of student leaders.

In the same way that we talk to students about connecting the dots with employers, I realized that our center has to really make the dots for the student leaders. We have to be more concrete in explaining why first years as well as upper classmen benefit from coming to our office early. We have to be concrete in spelling out how we help those who “know” what they want to do in the future as well as those who do not. And, we have to be clear in showing that we are not a silo, but work in conjunction with so many others on campus. Yes, we have a uniform pitch, but it is in how we adapt that pitch to our audience and relate it to their needs that make it powerful.

I don’t know how many of my fellow career services professionals used their career services office (OCS) while in college but I did not… well, outside of maybe twice when I picked up resume and cover letter guides. Other than that, I did not cast my shadow on their door.

While there is no going back, I want to encourage students in whatever way that I can to grace the doors of our office. Because of changes in the way OCS services students there is so much more of an incentive to visit. Our OCS staff is in a center with experiential learning and that makes our impact that much more dynamic. Our reach has grown.

The truth is that students need us. They don’t always know it or realize it until later in their college careers or after graduation (or for others like me, even later, using my professional school OCS office). I believe part of our job is helping students to understand this so that they will come to us early.

By the way, that resource tour we had, there were a few people from some of the groups that left who said they would be making appointments and coming by for walk-ins! First step of success!! See, if we tell them, they will come!

How has your campus worked to better reach students, especially first years? How has your language around why we are necessary changed or been enhanced?
#experientialeducation

Permalink