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Your career center sucks.

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“Is it time to close down college career centers?” That’s what this post on Ask a Manager probes.

WHAT?! Time out, lady! The title alone had me on the defensive, and by the last line I was pissed off and ready to declare war in the comments section. I didn’t, by the way– I have more restraint than that.

The thing that irritates me most, is how much I agree with this article. Yes, I think career centers are more valuable now than ever before. But as a whole? We need to be flipped on our heads. My quick thoughts…

Inspire a “do stuff” mentality. These days a college degree does not buy graduates a job, only an opportunity for employment. So you can find career services folks preaching “passion” and “experience.” These are heavy concepts for an 18-year-old (or myself…not 18) to grasp fully. So try simplifying your approach– get out there and do stuff. 

If it looks interesting, do it. If you like it, do more of that. If you don’t like it, stop doing it. We make things so much more complex than they need to be. Stop talking about your Myers-Briggs type and go freaking do stuff.

For Pete’s sake, burn the templates. Yes, we have an arsenal of tip sheets in our center, but that’s all they are… tips. We  avoid dishing out templates for a very good reason– students will use them. Templates are great if they are used as a guide, but more often than not, they are used as shortcuts. Resumes, cover letters, and even interview responses should never be popped out of a cookie cutter. Besides, templates destroy any semblance of critical thinking.

Develop critical thinkers and storytellers. Employers want to hire problem-solvers. But if you say, “I’m a problem solver!” I am going to flip out. Anyone in the world can say that they posses a certain skill; but you need to have the ability to make connections and show the world what you’re made of. You do this by becoming a great storyteller.

Storytelling can be one of the most powerful vehicles in a person’s career development. It helps us to process experiences and show the value of each. Stories help us feel the importance of what’s being said, generic answers make us less dependent on Ambien. Snore.

Embrace and teach technology. Sometimes students will sit and BS with me. One of their biggest complaints is that their programs, in tech-driven fields, are technologically behind. They aren’t learning how to harness social media as a promotional tool. They don’t have blogs or online portfolios. Career counselors should be on standby to teach students about being good digital citizens and learning how to leverage tech tools for career success. Read the job descriptions– we need to keep up so our students don’t fall behind.

To keep up, you can’t sit still. This isn’t unique to career services, but I’m going to say it anyway. Quit if you are comfortable. We work in a field that is constantly changing, so if you’re not evolving or trying to keep up… it’s time to go. We need to be flipping programs, assessing employment outcomes, and reporting our data. Some career centers (yeah, I’m looking at you) have the same templates lying around that your parents used when they were in college. If you’re not reading, innovating, challenging the status quo… you aren’t doing your job. In fact, you are contributing to high unemployment rates.

What do you think? Should we shut down college career centers, or do you have ideas to help us make some upgrades?


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