Blogs

April 21, 2020

While we are craving clarity about what will happen this fall and many in the media are speculating, no one really knows what the future holds. In any case, the magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis means holding on to traditional ways is not an option. While many career services units adjust operations every year, we will be challenged like never before to enact sweeping changes as we adapt to new realities. 

What Stays the Same… 

All of the changes we are dealing with now can make thinking about the fall seem overwhelming. However, even with so much in flux, you can find some solid footing by reflecting on things that are NOT changing: your values, your mission, and taking a user-centered approach. You put these things in place to ground your thinking in uncertainty. If there has ever been a time to lean on them, it is now. 

To help balance the daunting feelings you may have, you can also think about any silver linings that have emerged this spring. How can you continue or grow them in the fall? If you have developed new ways to connect with staff, how can you keep those going? How can you continue the quick adoption of technology we have seen? Think about making the most of what you have been learning, and know that fall will bring exciting innovations too. 

A Fall Like No Other 

For the past 10 years or so, fall has been career services’ highest demand season; but, what will demand look like this fall? You can be sure it will not be a continuation of this spring. Students, if they are on campus or not, will have higher expectations for service and employers will have different needs. Taken together, this means for fall and the foreseeable future, you will be piloting, learning, and adjusting. Agility and flexibility will be needed more than ever. 

So, how do you begin to get your head around planning for an uncertain fall? While one size does not fit all and there are no silver bullets, I can share the thoughts and questions I am thinking about to form the approach we will take at UC Irvine’s Division of Career Pathways. 

Guiding Vision(s)

First, let's acknowledge that it is almost certain your budget picture is changing. If it hasn’t happened already, it is likely your campus leadership will ask for plans for different budget reduction scenarios. To the extent possible, rely on your principles. Prioritize your resource allocation decisions by employing a user-centered approach, your mission, and your core values.  

With a new budget picture in mind, think about engaging staff in discussions about: 

1. What are different scenarios for fall (classes return to "normal;" no return date in sight; or something in between; for example)?
2. What would the best possible version of fall look like for each scenario? 
3. Once you’ve thought through your scenarios and desired visions, what information and resources will you need to activate your best versions of fall? 

Guiding Questions

With both vision and budget in mind, you can use the following questions to aid the development of specific strategies and tactics. For additional food for thought, I have included a few examples of related projects we are piloting at UC Irvine. 

• Your Staff
  • Do any responsibilities need to be revisited or shifted?
  • What are new professional development needs and how can they be addressed?
  • How will you use student staff if students are not on campus? 
  • Will remote work be an ongoing practice for your staff?
  • How will you continue to attend to the wellness and connectedness of your staff?
  • How will you measure productivity?

• Your Students
  • Is now the time to add more grad/prof school resources and program and more focused programs for vulnerable populations?
  • Do programs that involve travel take a backseat for a while?
  • How about infusing wellness tips into programs and adding professional development programs alongside job search programs?
  • Can you help your campus promote its online learning opportunities that help students gain career readiness skills? For example, at UCI, we will collaborate with UCI’s Division of Continuing Education to promote Coursera for UCI, which gives free access to online learning and modules to our students and alumni.
  • How can you better leverage tech  and work with your vendor partners to reach  students with webinar fatigue?
    • For example, at UCI we launched Instagram Live Q & A sessions and we will feature Live Chat on our website.

• Your Employers
  
• Do you need to sharpen your focus on employers located closest to where your students’ families live as safety concerns may be factored more heavily into where-to-work decisions? 
• At the same time, how can you smartly broaden employer outreach to give your students more options? What are the emerging industries, jobs, and companies you should be engaging?
• How can you help employers convey their brand and build trust if they cannot meet with students?
  • For example, at UCI we are using our OCI function to schedule informational interviews with employers to give them dedicated, one-on-one time with students.
    
• Your Campus Partners
  • What opportunities are emerging for new partnerships and for enhancing existing ones?
  • How can you better galvanize alumni and parents as opportunity providers and mentors?
  • How can you partner with campus entrepreneur centers to provide education on the future of work (gig work, freelance, side hustles, etc.)?
  • How can you be a go-to resource for faculty and staff?
    • For example, we plan to hold informal online campus adviser roundtable discussions on topics like: “The Job Market for Graduating Students: What We Know Now.”

• Your Revenue
  • If your operation has the ability to carry over funds from year-to-year, have you demonstrated your plan for using any existing funds as well as how you plan to use future savings to sustain your organization?
  • If your budget is dependent on revenue, what is your plan if you cannot hold career fairs?
    • At UCI we are joining other University of California campuses to pilot a consortium based virtual fair this spring to see if we want to offer similar events in the fall.
    • We will also explore new revenue generation ideas, such as professional development and consulting services for recruiters and creating custom resume books.

Uncertainty: A Time to Shine

While planning for the fall may induce anxious feelings, it is imperative to make time and space for it. It is a certainty that campus leaders are evaluating services to support, and you absolutely need to think about ways to consistently and clearly showcase your value. 

You will need to take extra steps to educate campus leaders and partners about not only what you are doing to help students and employers, but also what you are learning from them. Campus partners will be looking to us for guidance. What can you do to reassure them, address the issues that keep them up at night, and be a source of highly localized labor market information?  Here are several “quick take” ideas, and I would love to hear additional thoughts.

• You are in a unique position to take the pulse of the employer community. Share your insider knowledge using multiple channels and platforms, such as email newsletters for faculty and staff, LinkedIn posts, and online roundtables.
• Take a bigger role in infusing career readiness in campus-based internships and classes by helping staff and faculty tap into your technologies and programming.
• Provide majors-to-careers data to help tell the university story to prospective students.
• Provide programs and data to help advance institutional priorities around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  

I hope you find these guiding questions and example practices helpful as you think about plans that are a fit for your situation. I’ll leave you with one last thought: a common piece of advice for planning for uncertainty is “plan for the worst and hope for the best.” However, in the spirit of embracing empathy, agility, and flexibility, let’s reframe that: “Plan for the possibilities and pivot to the best.”