Dr. Susan Schulz

Really good strategies, Marcy. Placement Departments need to have new focuses and reach out to the community. If the placement person is sitting at a desk, they are in the wrong place. To serve the employers in your area it is important to know what the employer wants in a job ready worker. That means your entry level grads have to be super prepared. And this is a reason to stay in touch with your alumni. They can fill higher level jobs. And even though you don't get "credit" for placing alumni, you are building a great alumni association and… >>>

Sounds like you are at a perfect time in your school development to put all these community outreach strategies in place. Building a list of employers is key. Then visit them, develop strong relationships, sustain the relationships, and keep employers involved. You might want to poll your staff to see what local organizations they belong to. Maybe they can spread the word about your school to the org memberships. You are sooo right that it's all about getting out of the office and visiting employers, groups, and more. Once I asked a school owner how many people were on his… >>>

This is great, Elizabeth. Are the workshops required and are they spaced throughout the training period? We find that employment skills training is a must all during the time the student is in school. It takes time to build the skills and self confidence. Great that your instructors are involved. Since most work in the field we suggest that instructors be encouraged to talk about life at work and show daily how the skills and knowledge taught in class are applied in the field. Also, are you measuring results in terms of the amount of workshops students attend and their… >>>

Motivating other directors about the value of placement is important. But more important is to educate them about what is being offered from career services and the role of everyone else in the success of grads getting jobs. Placement Departments have to get involved in every other department and show how that department benefits from successful placement. Staff need to know to train students in successful job search and work ethic preparation. Also staff can be asked to spread the word about your school throughout the community and introduce you to hiring decision makers. The success of a grad in… >>>

Hi Avery We also believe that a school can fill its classes with referral and word of mouth. This assumes serveral things. One is that your programs are great and meet the needs of the workplace, that your career services department is great and prepares grads for the job search process, and that you have a strong community outreach program staying in contact with employers, prospective employers, grads, alumni, and more. And you'll need a great and user friendly website. So yes - word of mouth. Takes a lot to get it going and keep it going. But the price… >>>

A press kit is interesting and professional. But more important is making your website a "press kit." The website should have key points about your school so that anyone will understand what you offer and the school credentials. Also the website should be so comprehensive that a person, if they chose to, could find out about your program offerings and other details. Online newsletters are essential, in our opinion. They need to be short and have great usable content. In that way everyone will be looking forward to the next edition! And they will want to forward to their friends.… >>>

Great Great that students are introduced to placement on orientation day. Actually we think placement people should sit in admissions departments and start talking to applicants during the admissions process!! We also believe in the value of PLANS. So we think the individual mission statements and other projects are a requirement. You have said it so well about the value of ongoing and consistent and persistent employment skills training. It takes time to learn the skills and build up the required self confidence to be effective. How are your placement rates given this outstanding effort? Reminder to measure every initative.… >>>