We've found that we struggle with student professionalism since we have a lot of younger students and this lack of professionalism can really impact networking, interviewing etc. We recently started adding our expectations, talks about professionalism, during our orientation period so its not an afterthought during the last few months of the program. This skill is just as important as the technical skills when looking for jobs.
I've also brought in the instructors to call students out on their professionalism in the classroom and email etiquette. We often get emails that look like text messages so now I tell them I would be happy to assist them but need them to send me a more professional email with subject, greeting, body and closing. It's making a difference so far!
Scott,
Your program sounds great and very thorough. We assume that this is a required course? When grads come back from the interview and give you feedback do you continue to work with them? What happens if they don't get the job? Do you both look back and review the interview and consider where improvements can be made? We find that a required course is a must. But it needs to be followed up in lots of ways including more workshops and feedback. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
I am working with the instructors in the PDC 200 class (Career Development class). As A final grade for this class they will go through the complete Interview process with Career Services. They are graded on professionally dressed, Resume, Cover Letter, interviewing skills, thank you letter and how well the handle feed back.
Note: I had alot of students come back after interviewing for companies and said the greatly appreciated the skills taught by career service because they where prepared and knew how to answer them correctly.
Stephanie,
This is great. Suggest that your admissions staff is equally trained in the opportunities through Workforce. They may meet with prospective students who could qualify for tuition assistance. Sounds you have the attention of your local Workforce offices because of your excellent placement records. That is certainly what Workforce wants to see. Thanks for your valuable contributions.
Dr. Susan Schulz
Stephanie,
Sounds like you keep excellent records. And that's a must in order to do all that you are accomplishing. Very impressive. The End of Year job fair is a great marketing strategy. And obviously it works if you have 84 employers attending and your program is active 4 times a year. Sounds like you have an active Community Outreach initiative, too. This is essential to stay in touch with your employers and establish quality communication. thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
When speaking to my into classes I make them aware of the Workforce Exchange and the locations(state organization that assist with job placement), web site job search engines, application assistance, a power point (What Employers Want), trends and wages.
I provide job fairs every quarter. The last job fair of the year is made to be an "End of the Year" job fair. This lets employers know that if they don't come to the last job jair of the year they may miss out on the best candidates. We have the discussion that our highest level of graduates are leaving at the end of the year and should be given special attention to employment. I recently had a career fair that envolved 84 employers. I was able to manage the number by inviting each employer who had hired a student going back to 2005, following up with an email and then a phone call. The initial invitation was a mailer.
kelly,
Interesting idea. There are so many definitions and forumlas for job fairs. They can be at the campus, off, held by certain companies or community organizations, and more. We think all job fairs have to be relevant, interesting, engage the student and grads, and involve as many as possible. Also they have to be promoted before, during, and after the event. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
I think job fairs should come and present every three months for the students.
Yes. Great idea. We feel that students also need to take inventory of their personal aptitudes and capabilities. Most lack confidence needed for the job search process. It takes time to gain or re-gain it through personal introspection and an inventory. Thanks, Susan
Thats a fantastic idea, We will have to create something similiar that is an absolute truth that students overlook factors of their skill set and also exclude technologies the feel may be outdated and no longer relative today. Even though we involve recruiters into our process from day one of class we often discover skills along the course of training we suggest the student add to their resumes but the skills inventory checklist sounds like a fantastic aid to the process.
Interesting situation and unfortunately very common. Not enough time to work on employment skills development and confidence building. Often placement results is improved when students MUST take career services workshops or courses and complete assignments. Many school owners have discovered that employment skills training can be as important as the practical training. So keep good records of results as they relate to time spent training students in how to get a job. thanks, Susan
Bringing job placement into the classroom in my particular college where the curriculum is excellerated (sp) can be difficult. We are not given much time with the students as every hour is taken by the instructors. However working with the instructors on resume writing, cover letters and references does help in preparing the students. We require that they have their first draft of their resume ready on the second Monday of class. From there we correct and ask questions until it is appropriate!
This is great. Especially since the instructor is often the constant in the life of a student. You might also want to cultivate your alumni. Successful and happy grads are happy to visit classrooms, talk about the world of work, mentor students, let students job shadow and more. MaxKnowledge offers a course in how to set up an alumni association. thanks, Susan
Our instructors are professionals in their field with years of experience. They give first hand accounts of what it is like working in the industry and what is expected of the graduates when they begin working. Career placement representatives visit the classrooms and observe the interactions betweens the students and the instructors. In our field it is very easy to compare the classroom to a real life work experience. It aids the student in becoming a little more mature and professional.
Sounds very comprehensive. Hopefully all these projects are conducted throughout the time the student is going to school. And are requirements. What kinds of surveys and evaluations are you doing to see the results in terms of placement and quality of job the grad is getting? Thanks, Susan
As part of the program at our school, students go through a week-long career development course. In this course, they learn about resume and cover letter techniques, interviewing skills, and job search techniques. In addition to this course, they meet with me individually to review and critique their resume and cover letter and discuss any employers that are hiring in the industry. They also take surveys at the beginning and end of the course, which outline their interests, strengths, weaknesses, goals, etc.
That's a good start Mona. But in our opinion students need 10 to 20 tasks to complete to learning employment and job search skills. Even an entire course devoted to learning how to be effective and successful when searching for a job. We think the school should be very very active in offering career services. Not just when the student graduates. Thanks, Susan
I have them research the top three companies they would like to work for and create a LinkIn account showcasing their skills and professional profile.
I think one great project would be to find a listing of local doctor offices and have the student research the company they got. Each person wwill need to research that company to find key facts they found during their research. We have them do this so they can begin to learn the ways of coming up with questions to ask their potential employer during an interview.
A project of listing all their accomplishments on a page so they can see how many things they have acheived. This will help them start getting their resume prepared by doing some self-discovery on some major items they have been a part of so far.
Another activity that the instructors could have the students prepare a 5 year plan. This will help the student focus their attention to their future goals. This will help give them perspective on how far they have come and if they are on track for their own future success. This can also be a way for them to incorporate some goals they have already acheived in their resume.
Those are some activities and projects that the instructors can give as homework and it will directly be incorporated with the placement services needs as well.
