Aligning Career Centers with Higher Ed's Next Chapter

Last month, one of my favorite voices in student career success, Christine Y. Cruzvergara, wrote the Forbes article, "Colleges Must Do More For Their Grads To Make Higher Ed Worth The Investment ." It was an impactful yet quick read that should inspire senior leaders in higher education to reimagine ways to demonstrate the value of higher education. Christine did an excellent job at pointing out how colleges and universities can better align the primary reasons many students cite for going to college (i.e., to help them prepare for a promising career) with what colleges should offer, tangible resources and experiences that prepare them (e.g., required internships, career conversations integrated into the classroom, etc.). While these efforts seem like low-hanging fruit and no-brainers to many of us who work to support student career success, I know all too well that universities often pass over these days for fear of making college too "vocational." Knowing this objection continues to exist over the last month, I've been pondering what changes career center leaders can make that influence institutional leadership to yield more in favor of Christine's excellent suggestions. I've come up with three, and I'd love your perspective on them:

1. Become a little less career-forward and a lot more future-forward. Historically, career centers are known as the experts on campus for all things careers. They are the go-to place if someone wants to help their students write better resumes, create cover letters, do a job search, or interview well. This proficiency has pigeonholed our offices into only being career experts. Unfortunately, this expertise can leave us out of many conversations about overall student development. Essentially, we're riding the bench until someone needs a job, and then there is a "put me in coach" moment.

To become a starting player, we've got to shift our expertise to topics that encompass, but are not limited to careers. How do we do that, you ask? Leveraging other frameworks like Life Design or Arthur Brooks' Science of Happiness, creating community through connecting alums to current students to talk about real-life experiences, and helping students do self-reflection and values assessments to understand better who they are and want to be as a person, regardless of their career path. All these efforts can and do eventually lead to career conversations. Still, it may be more approachable to the faculty member who despises bringing a "vocational" career conversation into their classroom when they want to encourage students to embrace theoretical frameworks and concepts that make them critical thinkers. Perhaps if we begin joining the discussion by exploring how we can be partners in developing a well-rounded student instead of helping them get a job (which we will still do), we might have a bit more playing time in the game.

2. Tell a better story. Looking at any career center website, you will likely find a page on first destination outcomes. Usually, our offices use this data to tell the successful story of our students who have secured full-time jobs or landed in graduate or professional school each year. This data is essential and can help prospective students see where they might land should they select a particular institution. While important, I must admit that this story is getting a bit predictable and stale. The numbers often stay relatively consistent except for a COVID year, a recession, or other significant economic situations. Don't get me wrong. Predictability is not a bad thing when we're talking about first-destination outcomes! However, I think there is a path to a better story, precisely one that will catch the attention and interest of institutional senior leadership.

What if we did a better job connecting the dots between what we build for our students and the outcomes they achieve? Is there a world where instead of just reporting on the # of appointments or programs we host each year, we can report on how students engage with us and what outcome they achieved as a result? Can we strive to know that students who attend X events, Y drop-ins, and use A & B provided resources have 2x more job offers, secure a successful destination within six months, and cite being satisfied with their post-college job? These are the riveting stories we need to tell our leadership, which may help us make the case for additional resources, more visibility, and more integration across campus.

3. Show them the money! I believe that with true intentionality, career centers can be excellent partners in helping any institution achieve its philanthropy goals. Many donors share the same desire that prospective students have when selecting a college, wanting to ensure the path to a bright future and career are secure. Development colleagues can help their donors align their philanthropic goals by being well-versed in the programming and resources the career center can provide. Additionally, having well-executed engagement plans for alums and prospective donors allows them to find other ways to give their time and insights when philanthropy is not the right next step in their stewardship journey. To do this, as career center professionals, we must regularly connect with our development colleagues to help frame the conversation around our efforts. With clearly defined philanthropic goals, there may be an opportunity to demonstrate to institutional leadership that we do not just request more budgetary resources but that we proactively collaborate to help secure our own.

In my perfect world, every institution, and especially those of the liberal arts variety, would have a cabinet-level position or some other senior leadership role that guides the institution in thinking about how to holistically and intentionally incorporate career success into the student journey. As career center leaders, we can do this in a way that still pays credence to the goal of higher education and aligns with some of the primary cited reasons students pursue college in the first place: to get a good job. While there are many ways that higher education leadership can achieve this balance that may better communicate the value of a college degree (like Christine suggested), career center leadership may need to make the first move. As influencers in this space, let's explore how we can expand the conversation, tell a better story through data, and proactively align with institutional philanthropic efforts.

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Alayna Hayes, Ed.D., is the Assistant Provost and Senior Director of the Vanderbilt University Career Center. A higher education professional who focuses on building relationships, supporting students, and making connections, Dr. Hayes has served as a speaker, teacher, and facilitator for professional organizations and institutions.