DETC Conference April 16, 2012 Maui, Hawaii Kim Dority, Dority & Associates, Inc. Career Smarts for Students Use Career Info to Drive Recruitment, Retention, Placement, and Referrals

Institutional goals: increase… Student learning Student satisfaction Student success

Recruitment Retention Placement Alumni engagement Business goals: increase….

Bottom line: increase… Lifetime value of every student

The good news: You have an extraordinary competitive advantage here Students are clearly career-focused Faculty are often former or current practitioners Curriculum is more often practical, reflects real-world knowledge

To make the most of that competitive advantage… Incorporate career-focused information at each connecting point in your student lifecycle

Recruitment… (Pile on reminders of why they’re interested) Website: career options, alumni profiles, cool jobs follow-up: job/career info embedded in contact message Phone: “speaking points” sheet Select access to student-only career webinars

Retention… (Keep them motivated, confident, focused) Ongoing career-related messages Webinars on career skills topics Connections to alumni mentors Students/alumni-only virtual career center (think: tools)

Job placement… (Give them the tools they need to succeed) Support job/career focus throughout students’ entire program Provide tools to help build job-hunting and professional skills throughout program Develop “ready to launch” support program Emphasize: degree is ticket to the game, not a guarantee of starting position

Alumni outreach… (Develop alumni “bridges” before graduation) Provide value-added career content/counsel as an incentive to stay connected Groom and reward “ambassador” alumni as career mentors Also focus on those who’ve overcome obstacles

Ways to provide career information “Push content” Career-skill webinars and workshops Online career-path information and job-hunting skills tutorials Alumni connections On-call career advice

Keep your career messages… Motivational, aspirational Confidence-building Focused on how-to, why-to Realistic and documentable Goal: a career-building process that they can rely on and use as needed throughout their careers

Your positioning: You’re a trusted partner, as invested in their career success as they are You’re a key component (and sometimes the only component) of their career support network now and in the future

Your demonstrated message: You’ll help them make the most of their student status You’ll provide a safe environment for them to learn career skills By helping them build their career “platform” in school, you’ll enable them to graduate with a degree AND career options

Types of career information your students need Degree-focused career-path options Job-hunting skills Job-landing skills Career development strategies Professional etiquette

Degree-focused career-path options What kinds of jobs can I get with this degree? What cool jobs are alumni doing with this degree? What are this career’s options for part- time/contract/telecommuting/ entrepreneurial/international/etc. work?

Job-hunting skills How do I find job openings? How do I research industries and/or potential employers? How do I write a resume? How do I become visible to employers? How do I network to find a job? What about internships, job-shadowing?

Job-landing skills How do I interview effectively? How do I negotiate confidently? How do I find salary comparisons? How do I evaluate whether a job is right for me? How do I impress my employer from Day One?

Career-development strategies How do I create an elevator speech? How do I identify, focus on, and build my professional strengths? How do I build my professional brand? How do I build a professional network? How do I get started on (and actually use!) LinkedIn?

Professional etiquette How do I avoid blowing up my career on social media? How do I request an informational interview? How do I follow up on a job interview? How and when do I write thank-you notes? Career karma – understanding that what goes around, comes around

How your students can jumpstart their careers in college Ten practical, easy-to-do actions you can encourage your students to take to start building their career opportunities while going through your program….

Action #1 Set their individual career agendas early on in their degree programs

Action #2 Multipurpose their course assignments

Action #3 Create their own learning assignments

Action #4 Explore how many different ways their degrees can be used

Action #5 Figure out what type of work they enjoy

Action #6 Start a career journal/log to record their career ideas, questions, plans, and action items

Action #7 Hit the college library (either on campus or online)

Action #8 If your school has a Career Services person, push students to check in early and often

Action #9 Practice doing scary stuff

Action #10 Use their college years as an opportunity to practice taking a leadership role in their careers – and in their futures

Thank you, and good luck with your career-strategy initiatives! Kim Dority Dority & Associates, Inc. Career Information as a Strategic Asset