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Hi Lauren,

I can share with you a few things that worked well for my team in the past. First, our staff met with students one-on-one starting, at the very least, 6 months prior to graduation. This was because we had a large population of students that required intensive case management services. During that time, one-on-one mock interviews were a heavy priority. Career services advisors would work with students repeatedly on interviewing making them as real as possible through a standard process we created. The repeated mock interviews not only allowed us to improve students' performance but gave advisors a very strong understanding of who consistently demonstrated professional behavior and who may prove to be more likely to do things like show up late. During that time, for those individuals who relied on bus transportation, we'd have specific discussions of bus routes and proper planning to ensure one would arrive early to a potential interview. Beyond this specific one-on-one interaction, we did provide interview rooms and lunch for employers who agreed to interview at the school. We enticed them first by explaining it would be great to give them a brief tour, meet in person, and that we'd love to offer a dedicated space. Some liked this and of course, others preferred not to interview at the school but it did help reduce no shows. Additionally, prior to an interview, we'd email and call students providing crystal clear directions on where to go and how to get there as well as a checklist for what to bring with them. This also improved no-shows. Staff referred to our processes as "hand-holding" but in reality, it was a continuation of intensive case management that helped students succeed. I look forward to seeing what others have to say.

Robert Starks Jr.

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