Get Your Students Hired
In addition to the already existing barriers some additonal that I find in graduates is the barrier that the graduate uses against him/her for intance the lack of transportation should not be used by graduates a barrier to find employment on the contrary it is a challange but it should not be a problem.
Erin,
Identifying employers who are accessible to the students is a must. A critical part of the employment puzzle is sharing this information with the student and teaching them how to identify such employers for themselves. This will help empower the students. build their confidence and motivate them to be more active in their job search closer to their home or areas where they can travel to.
Sheri Leach
We have similar barriers for our students at my school. This course is most accurate in depicting how the entire institution serves as helping students identify resources to these barriers. We have used target marketing strategies as well and work to identify relationships with employers along the train and bus line route to assist students with transportation concerns. One key I have recognized in this first section of the course is how we can intervene sooner while the student is in school in hopes of overcoming those barriers prior to graduation. It is all part of the preparation process for employment which is our mission.
Joey,
Agreed. Career Services hound be viewed as solution providers. And teach students how to overcome these challenges. Providing the students with skills to find a solution and also to develop contingency and back-up plans will serve them well throughout their lives.
Sheri Leach
Veronica,
I couldn't agree more with your statement. So often transportation is viewed as a problem rather than a challenge. Problems are the things in life we want to do away with and challenges are those things we need to overcome. We must help students understand the difference so they can move forward with their careers.
Thank you.
Joey
Judy,
Sometimes the student is not aware of all the options available to them. Once the career services professional identifies transportation as a barrier, then the conversation can take place and the student can be educated about their options. Often this is a break through for the student, who didn't think they had any options! A successful career services professional gently shows students that they do have choices, choices in types of jobs they can purse, choices in how to present themselves, and a choice to be confident and successful.
Sheri Leach
I agree there are many means of transportantion now a days so this should not be a factor for people to not want to persue a better future for themsleves.
I agree with this statement because there are many barriers the students use and I think this one is the most controversial of all
Hi Katie,
I like the approach you mentioned, that you help "problem solve" for your students. Do you have them partner with you when trying to determine a solution to their barriers? You mentioned some great best practices, now can you give some specifics on how to have your students take ownership and partner with you to help find solutions to their barriers so they can enter the workforce?
Sheri Leach
Many of our students have the same barriers. Part of my job at my school is to help problem solve for our students barriers. We found great success with reaching out into our community for assistance with these barriers. Suncoast workforce is in FL and they provide educational scholarships, bus passes, and child care for students. Local churches also help with these barriers if a student comes from that community. In rare cases, bus companies might be willing to donate a bus pass for someone in financial need. Other times, we suggest students car pool and combine resources. Perhaps have a babysitter watch 2 families children and alternate weekly which family pays the babysitter. Pregnancy centers have also provide free childcare for single parents with young dependent children who are trying to go back to school. It's not an easy task to attend school as a nontraditional student.
Hello B,
My own experience is that having a cross-functional team (Committee) dedicated to identifying and addressing barriers can be helpful. It helped other departments understand career services better and the barriers students have that can hinder their employment. One of the challenges was getting committee members to focus on the implications of barriers post-graduation since there often is a focus on how to help retain the student with little thought to what happens after the student graduates. This mindset changes the intervention strategies and resources dedicated to helping students. A challenge experienced is that often, committees have so many varying opinions on what should be done, to make decisions can be difficult and assigning ownership can also be difficult. What works best is to ensure that there are clear guidelines (protocols) and that this strategy is institutionalized. Beyond identifying and addressing student barriers, the committee could also be charged with making recommendations for the institution on how to prevent issues and/or better serve students if patterns start to be observed so that the overall goal is institutional improvement.
Robert Starks Jr.
Developing internal committees and teams that address students and their barriers can be effective. It is important that committees have members from all levels within in the organization and not just management. Front line staff frequently maintains closer interactions and should be seen as a valuable asset in assisting students in overcoming barriers. Additionally, front line staff needs to be empowered with tools and permission to do this.
What has been your experience with these types of teams?
Hi Michelle,
I'm sorry to hear this is the philosophy of your administration. As you know, there are no magic solutions or quick fixes to systemic problems as you describe. This course discusses a system of integrated, cohesive practices woven into the fabric of an institution. An individual alone can not fix institutional problems. Sometimes, people need to change and new leadership is needed to turn around a school. It sounds like you are doing the best you can with what you have at your disposal.
Robert Starks Jr.
I don't use the term excuse lightly or directly with a student, however I stand by my statement as a description of my situation(s). Our staff highly motivate our students, and we do have surveys that reflect our students' opinions of the program, which are all positive. It still stands that many of our students simply don't process any of the information, or deliver sub-par results--not as a result of the quality of their education, but due to whatever personal 'barriers' they may have.
The video was nice, I will post it for my students to see as well.
Here is a situation that I would like feedback on:
We have a student halfway through his program, he has failed every test, and will eventually pass with the bare minimum after re-takes. He has been offered personal tutoring by his instructors as well as program director, and never shows up He has been offered off-site tutoring which he can schedule himself, and he has not taken advantage of it. As far as career development, he was disengaged in his class, even with direct attention, and his materials (resume/cover letter) are incoherent (as well as his speech), and no where near acceptable to submit to an employer. I have personally offered my help to him to work on it, and he does not respond. Currently he is on non-compliance for grades. His projects are incomplete and no where near up-to-par. The program director has brought this to the attention of the school director(s), and they want us to figure out a way to 'pass' him, so that he can be counted for placement, with no concern for the students' actual learning process/comprehension. This student has also admitted to his program director that he really only wanted to come here to 'meet people and hang out'.
Now, multiply that by about 5 (students) per graduating class. I would love some advice on how a graduate such as this one would find job placement in our industry (audio engineering or film production)?
Any feedback would be truly appreciated!
Hi Michelle,
It doesn't sound like you are "hard" on your students. Hearing you discuss your own processes sounds like because you establish strong working alliances your students, you have "earned" the ability to challenge them because they trust you have their best interest at heart. Transportation difficulties is simply one example of the types of reasons student may give as to why they "can't" find a job. I simply wanted to point out that one must dig deeper (as you do) to get to the real barrier. Often, it isn't transportation - it's much deeper such as a self-confidence issue or perhaps lacking the skills to problem solve and come up with a solution. I think word-choice is important which is why I use caution when choosing words like "excuses" because it can be perceived by the student as dismissive of how they feel about their barrier. The strength of the relationship one has with their students influences the type of language one can use with them of course and it sounds like you have established a great amount of trust. When you say you want your students to "grow a thicker skin," I'd agree that a skill career professionals must help their students improve is perseverance....or "grit." You may find this interesting - research from Angela Duckworth actually shows a correlation between achievement and "grit" or perseverance. She suggests perseverance can be taught. If interested, you can see this research here: http:/
Great discussion Michelle! Thank you for sharing.
Robert Starks Jr.
Hi there Robert,
I'm speaking from the perspective of my students specifically, please understand that my intent is not to generalize the topic to every student with this barrier. Lack of transportation is indeed a barrier, I agree, and yes it does depend on the students behavior/dispositions to determine how strong this barrier actually is. However, our school is very small and we are also able to communicate with our students through social media (I'm hoping other schools have this ability as well); this is why I use the term 'excuse' easily: the students who fall in this category, for me, are simply not interested in putting the work in to succeed in their field of study. What I am able to see, outside of our institution, are students who do not try--not all of them, thankfully. In the short time i've been at this school, I encourage my student to push themselves beyond their limit, because in our industry, that's they only way to get the job. When you let any barrier limit you, especially for an extended time, I do believe it is an excuse, and the opportunities missed cost a student more in the long run than they realize. Perhaps I am hard on my students, but I am a firm believer in applying a little "tough love". To me, a valid barrier is something that can't change or is extremely difficult to control (i.e. health issues, family crisis, etc.). They way I see it is, there are people in the world who have overcome so much more and still succeeded, so is your 'barrier' a true one? Or are you using it as a crutch (or excuse) to not push forward with what you really want in life, which in this case is why these students are in school? I do appreciate you playing devil's advocate, and I absolutely agree with your assessment, however I do want my students to be able to grow a thicker skin. Many of them have never been pushed/encouraged enough in their lives, and I want them to know that someone actually does care.
Hi Michelle,
I'm curious, how would one differentiate a "valid" barrier to employment vs. an "excuse." I have observed this language in others' communications and am curious how one would differentiate. Playing devil's advocate,, one could argue that the lack of transportation is not an excuse but is indeed a barrier. One may have a different opinion on how much of a barrier this is but it can be a barrier. Considering the barriers related to productive dispositions and behaviors the course mentions, keep in mind that a student may lack skills related to goal setting, time management, persistence, initiative/self-direction, resourcefulness, task completion, etc. A person who lacks these skills may see "lack of transportation" as a difficult challenge to overcome which may appear to be an "excuse" to someone with very high skills in the areas mentioned. I think it's important to try to avoid value judgments and try to remain focused on the true barrier. In the example of "lack of transportation," could it be that perhaps transportation isn't a barrier; the real barrier may require work with the student to improve the skills that would allow them to see this as an easy problem to fix. This is arguably another example of why soft-skill development as well as professional and employability skills are so critical in our institutions. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this perspective.
Robert Starks Jr.
Hello B,
Excellent point you make. Establishing close relationships and gaining trust is an essential beginning point if we ever wish to have a collaborative partnership with the students/graduates we assist. As any career professional knows, working with students sometimes requires that the career professional challenge the student/graduate and engage in conversations that may not be comfortable for the student - this requires trust first so that the student knows you have their best interest at heart. I noticed you stated "Career teams" need to work together to identify barriers. This can be misconstrued as a responsibility that is not shared among other members of an institution such as faculty or even admissions. How can the institution (opposed to just the career team) create a system by which there are multiple opportunities for potential barriers to be identified so that appropriate interventions can be achieved....and sooner! Do you have any thoughts you can share?
Robert Starks Jr.
I also agree. This, among other excuses I hear, should be determined even before a student is admitted. Our school is career-specific to the entertainment industry, and our students/graduates may come across opportunities at a moments notice. By admitting students who are already starting to give excuses, it affects the Career Development department greatly when it comes time for placement. The graduates become complacent, and settle for 'any old job' in which have to rely on a friend to transport them.
Many of the times, students graduate and simply don't want to work in that industry anymore. Whether they seemed promising or not, the second they cross that stage with their degree, it's in their hands 100%. We can't help people who don't want to be helped; and those are the ones who give the invalid excuses.
All students at some point will have some level of barrier. I believe that it is extremely important to identify the level that the barrier possesses. Career teams need to work together to identify the barriers and also within the team identify which team member is best suited to work successfully with the student. Graduates that have barriers must first be guided to identifying and acknowledging that the barrier exists and that breaking down the barrier and finding alternatives does not have to be approached alone. If a relationship with the career center was established as credible when the individual was a student it will be much easier for the graduate to openly seek assistance.