Finding employment is always great, but it is always better to find the rihgt job for the right student, to be able to keep a good reputation and image of the school. If employers are not happy with the students, job oportunities for other student may decrease as also school credential...
Sheila,
You are on the right track. Be sure to include... I got the job stories, too.
Dr. Larry Banks
The Career Services has implemented many new and exciting activities to increase student retention. Career Services offers special days to entice students into the Career Services offices (i.e. popcorn day, pizza day, etc.). Food id a good motivator. The department meets with program directors. The program directors provide a short overview of the program and discuss placement needs with the staff. Workshops are being organized for students that have not been placed within a month or two to ensure they have current workforce skills. Pictures of placed graduates is a strong motivator. Placements begins with orientation - it is a continual process that we all must participate in to be successful.
Craig,
What if you could engage career services early in the educational program too. And, if they shared success stories... do you think that would help retention?
Dr. Larry Banks
Our placement department works with the students throughout the program on their resumes, job search skills, interviewing technique, and "dress-for-success." There is also a mock interview conducted with the assistance of various members of the staff and an improvement plan is established in order to strengthen the students' abilities.
In an attempt to help the students overcome their anxieties and fears, we are currently working to schedule fashion consultants and job search personnel to identify how the students can put their best foot forward at the interview.
Victoria,
Perfect. Real word is one key to students finishing their program.
Dr. Larry Banks
We encourage our students to volunteer throughout the city. There are many different voluteering activities. We call this Staging. This introduces our students to Chefs city wide and helps to create networking and open doors later on when need employment upon graduation.
In my school many classes are taught by instructors sharing real world situations.
Generally students are assisted with their resumes within a class taken.
The Department of Career Services is strong, weekly job lists are available to all students.
David,
This is pretty typical. Consider gettting them involved early in the educational program to share graduate success stories. This is a key to retention.
Dr. Larry Banks
Our placement department works with the students by helping them update or if needed create a resume. Approximately 8 weeks before graduation they really start to hone those resumes to include everything that was accomplished while they were here in school, and any job experience they might have gotten while attending classes. Then after interviewing the student to find the location they would like to live, they find potential employers and work with the student to send out resumes and get that coveted interview.
Stephen,
Thank you for sharing. Success stories encourage others to stay the course. Great idea.
Dr. Larry Banks
Our Graduate Employment Department sends out information to all students informing them of individuals that have been accepted into graduate programs by specific manufacturers. In addition, the school has a couple of monitors that keep students updated as to what is happening in the school, employment being a part of that. They also conduct Career Fairs semi-annually. Prospective employers set up stations at the campus and the student body is assigned time slots that they attend. They can then meet with employers to find out about their company and ask questions. If they're interested, they can then arrange for a formal interview. The department also sets up a class for resume writing and interviewing techniques. All students are required to have a resume on file prior to graduating. The Graduate Employment area in the administation building is decorated with career and goal oriented posters so that people can remained focus. In the education building, there are several posters throughout the hallways with major companies highlighted as the employment goals for the students. If there would be any improvement needs, one thing I feel could be of benefit is to rotate some of the posters to add a little variety. Sometimes, when you see the same thing for an extended period of time, you tend to overlook it.
we host job fairs at our school. we have major employers come to campus twice a year and set up a booth. They have application sheets, information about their company. They bring hats, pens, promotional items to give the students. We bring each class to the employment fair and give the students a chance to talk to future employers.
One of the great things is that it is not only for students that are getting ready to graduate, but new students as well. This gives them a chance to practice on their interview skills, see what is out there in the way of jobs and how they need to prepair to get these jobs.
Berfore the day of the fair the instructors show power points that gets the students ready for the fair. We talk about what kind of questions are you going to ask the employers. How important is a first impression?
amber,
Excellent. I love your proactive approach to informing students about career opportunites. This is an important link.
Dr. Larry Banks
We go into great detail about what life will be like once they graduate in orientation. We let them know what's to be expected once they find a job, and so on. Our instructors bring their experiences into the classroom daily giving students a good idea of what will come once they've started their career. We currently offer one on one resume writing assistance, as well as resume writing workshops. We highly encourage internships after the first module, so the student can start getting experience and start building their resumes. We send out all internship openings and job openings to students and alumni. We have an alumni site where graduates can search jobs, post resumes, connect with other graduates around the world, etc. We also give them an events calendar that provides info of industry related events to encourage learning outside of class as well as networking opportunities. We also host a Spring Mixer every year where we invite industry professionals as well as current students and graduates.
Joshua,
Exellent. They need to see the link.
Dr. Larry Banks
Our placement department comes in twice during each term to teach diffrent modules of "Career Development". Each module is different and range from interviewing skills to resume writing. It's an effective tool when used properly.
Our placement department is part of the initial interveiw in admissions. It is also in charge of our orientation process. Throughout the students time in school, the career services department stays in touch with the student be going into classes, holding events, and just being available all the time. I believe they could use additional people to better serve all current students and graduates.
Reggie,
Career fairs are important. Get students to see other students being placed early in the program. Also, try to get Career Services to hold advising meetings early. This way, the vision is kept alive.
Dr. Larry Banks
Of the many things our job placement team does, the one thing that I find to be a great hit at the college is when the hold the career fair. This is a cool thing because it allows future graduates to rub shoulders with local employers!
