Get Your Students Hired
Hi Javier, How is your plan working in terms of students getting jobs? And how long from the time of graduation do the students get placed? You can see that we believe that placement services should start at the time of enrollment. We have seen placement stats increase when employment skills training starts early. Also retention rates go up. We feel that when students realize that building job search skills is as important as learning course skills and knowledge, they are more prepared for the externship and the interview process. Thanks, Susan
Hi Laura, Externships are certainly very important, and the start of the next phase of the students learning experience. If planned well, the externship provides real-work experiences that can be put on a resume. And if there is proper supervision and encouragement, the extern can gain confidence in him or herself and the skills they learned. With proper evaluation the student is truly ready for the job search. Thanks, Susan
I disagree. I believe it starts from the moment the student goes to externship and/or after his/her graduation.
Placement services start when our student graduated and that every six weeks (Programs: Medical Asst., Medical Records. I also place our other programs with their longer (2years).
Great that students will learn about placement services during orientation. That is a way to ingrain in their minds that placement services are on par with taking courses. You might want to focus on all the services offered to students and grads and perhaps have a sampling like a mock interview, review of a resume before graduation and after, and some fun activities to get the students' attention. We also think that one-on-one is essential. It helps to identify the student's special needs so you can be offering them custom employment skills training and confidence building before graduation. Thanks, Susan
I strongly agree. I am staring a new placement department at a Medical School and the new courses begin the second week of January. I will be doing a presentation to all of the classes druing their first day or orientation day to introduce the placement department. I will be introducing the placement department mission statement, goals and then the services we provide to both the students and graduates.
We will then be offering one on one time with the students and then future seminars, workshops and career fairs on campus.
Yes, Linea. We also think that placement services should start when the student enrolls. And we also think that admissions should carefully explain the career services offered at your school. How does the new student learn about your placement services and what are the services for the new student? How do you work with other departments and also with your faculty to ensure that students know all about the services that are offered to them? Thanks, Susan
Hi Lesli
Great that you contact students re placement services as soon as they enroll. True you can't promise employment, but you can give students tools and confidence so they have a successful job search. We also believe that a school needs to line up a list of job openings and manage the job search process. A school is measured by student success and employemnt. Thanks, Susan
As soon as they enroll in the program. We cant promise students a job, but we provide them with the tools necessary to obtain and sustain a job. I believe that the more we help our student, it opens the doors to more referrals, students satisfaction, new relations, and improves retantion.
Hi Tiffany, Interesting concept. Good point that students need skills to be effective but probably not a good idea to wait until the end of their program to learn them. You are right, that skills build over time and there is a readiness factor to consider. We'll stick with our belief that employment skills take a while to learn and should start at the time of the first day of school. Thanks, Susan
A student should be spending their entire time in the program preparing for the real world. But the emphases should be towards the end of the program, when the student is full in tune with the skills they will learn.
Hi Adam, We also agree that career services and employment skill and confidence building starts very early. And the focus on the job search has to be consistent and persistent throughout the student's experience at school. Usually students who enroll in career schools have limited prior experience. So it is important to keep them focused on their current studies and expectations and keep them motivated to stay in school and graduate. And the sense of urgency is that they seek employment as soon as possible. Thanks for the tips. Susan
Agree.
It is incumbent on us as professionals to help guide students at all levels of their professional development. The development cycle for a successful placement is different for every individual based on a host of factors such as the following:
1. Prior experience
2. Current situation
3. Expectation(s)
4. Motivation
5. Sense of urgency
Given the factors above, it makes sense to begin the process of engagement and the dialog around how to create success as early as possible in the student's timeline, so that they benfit the most from the exposure time being allowed.
HI Carl, Yes. Early contact with the Career Services department gets students to understand that what you offer is just about as important as training (obviously our bias). It takes a while for students to undertstand what you offer and get comfortable seeing you as a resource. This is a good reason to be as visible as possible. Also get successful students and grads to talk about how they benefited from career services. When the message comes from peers it seems to have more of an impact. Thanks, Susan
I completely agree. The first, and obvious, reason is that there is an initial contact that creates familiarity. This creates trust and an understanding of why Career Services departments require what they do. Secondly, an early start towards career services activities enables the student and advisor to effectively prepare resumes, letters, etc. so when the time comes to apply for a career oriented opportunity the student is fully prepared.
Sounds really great, Mindi. Of course we have a bias to starting placement services at the beginning of training and not even wait until mid point. It takes a while for students to register the fact that placement services are as important as their classes. So we like placement to be part of their activities throughout. Can be subtle and simple like researching about the workplace, hearing about what life is like on the job, speaking to people on the job. Sounds like you have a great program. We always like to see placement start earlier in the life of a student. Thanks, Susna
I start placement services right away. I introduce myself to the new students and let them know I will be meeting with them half way through their course to discuss externship and how to create a resume. Halfway through the course I go into the classroom and discuss resume building and externship. On the last day of class I meet with each student to discuss their externship packet and give them the details on the facility they will be going to. the Instructors and myself meet before this point to discuss the student and decide where they should be sent for externship.
Hi Ivonne, Good points. Our point is that the training can start right away. However, the interviews are definitely to be held when the student is much closer to graduation. There are several reasons to offer placement training from the start. One is there is a lot to learn. It takes time to build confidence. Students should have placement on their mind all the time. The reason for going to school is to get a job and students need constant reminders. We totally agree that students need a lot of training before going out for even a mock interview. Thanks, Susan
I disagree with offering placement services to a student toward the beginning of his/her program because they have not completed the coursework or placement activities needed for a successful interview. It has been my experience that head hunters and employers do not wish to waste time interviewing candidates with raw skills. Likewise, students express concerns about not wanting to fail at an interview because they do not meet the training requirements and / or lack the practice and coursework required for a successful interview.
I think it is important for students to learn that finding placement requires advanced footwork and research. It is also important for students to engage in placement activities such as seminars and listening to industry professionals as well as researching companies and working on their resume writing skills before they initiate the placement process. I think it is important for students to interact with faculty and staff at the school and use them as professional role models as part of their training while completing their coursework so that they can develop a professional demeanor. Furthermore, it is just as important to acquire resume writing and interview skills, research databases and job postings, experience mock interviews to give them a sense of security in preparation for career placement. It is my opinion that upon completion of the program and after experiencing placement activities, students will be fully prepared for interviewing and placement.