The case for college is falling flat.

Recently Scott Olster, a Senior Editor at LinkedIn, wrote this in his article, "The case for college is falling flat. And how we got here."

The promise that a college degree could open financial and professional doors has fallen flat for many Americans in recent years. Two recently published books -- from?The Atlantic's?Adam Harris?and?The Wall Street Journal's?Josh Mitchell?-- help us understand how we got here, offering deep dives into the higher education system's legacy of racial discrimination and the flawed student loan system in the U.S

I do not think the problem is higher education. I think the problem is that consumers expect higher education to help them land a job after they graduate. And higher education believes its role is to offer up education on how to find a job. There's a big difference between "tips on resumes" and actually supporting someone on the job search.

I know. I've done both.

From 30+ years, before becoming the founder of JobMorph, I helped 42k+ college students find jobs, placing between 85%-90% of each graduating class ranging from 200 to over 4,500 graduates annually.

Offering "tips on resumes" has these ratios

1 career services advisor for every 1,175 students

It should be noted, that according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers the ratio of 1:1175 is is actually an improvement in staffing ratios as a response to the global pandemic that resulted in upwards of 25% of the class of 2020 and 2021 being underemployed or unemployed combined with growing awareness of the importance of on-campus DEI initiatives to achieve diversity and equity in partner organizations.

With these types of ratios, you simply cannot offer customized, comprehensive, and individualized support. At best, it's job seeking content delivered in-person in real-time to small groups of 25 students gathered together with recruiters, hiring managers, and other experts in the process of securing interviews, getting job offers, and negotiating that offer. But more likely it is a collection of disjointed async materials that included readings, videos, and perhaps an assessment or two to help identify skills. Very often the materials offer conflicting information on the resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile, and as with any learning, without guided instruction most are unable to achieve mastery of the materials, particularly mastering of networking skills. And those have been proven in numerous studies to be highly impactful to getting the best opportunities at the best companies.

It's unlikely that higher education will change its approach and begin to offer customized, comprehensive, and individualized support to its alumni. Nor, do I believe, should it. The purpose of a college or university is to educate; and the focus must continue to be to provide the best possible resources to achieve that purpose. Funds should not be diverted from faculty, libraries, labs, and equipment toward customized, comprehensive, and individualized support.

It is not higher education that needs to change. Our colleges and universities have the right idea; it's about being fantastic at teaching and providing the most conducive learning environments possible.

Nor do we need more government interference to sort this out. Regulations enacted by this generation but funded by the next generation and the next, and the next, haven't worked in the past and will likely fail again.

It is the consumer that needs to change.

1. The consumer needs to acknowledge that a competitive job market (and let's not kid ourselves, the best jobs at the best organizations are, and will always be, highly competitive) mandates customized, comprehensive, and individualized support in a job search. It's not a wish. It's a must have. It's not a let-me-try-and-see-if-I-can-without-it endeavor. Instead, it's an expert-help-is-a-must endeavor. Like becoming an engineer. Or a lawyer. Or a professional athlete.
2. The consumer needs to acknowledge that like investment in education, or certification, or professional development, investment in customized, comprehensive, and individualized support for a job search can pay enormous dividends. This is why education, certification, or professional development are called, "investments" while lattes, cars, and restaurant meals are not. It's wise to avoid spending that yields no returns ever; it's not wise to avoid spending on investments that could yield amazing returns. Our program, for instance, yields on average 68x return in the first year. In other words, the average annual salary of $108k per client in the first year after the program is 68x the fee paid.

Every day we're meeting consumers who have made those two realizations and very quickly they modify their approach to their job search, and begin to see successes in finding great opportunities, getting interviews, performing well in the process, and getting the offers for roles they want. It's not magic of course. It takes hard work from our team and the job seeker; it is a truly collaborative process, to foster skill development and mastery of highly nuanced activities such as professional networking. But it can be done with customized, comprehensive, and individualized support in a job search.

And it's being done every day.