Three months into 2022, universities across the country are continuing to reevaluate how they support their students. In particular, is the career services office that has taken front and center stage in light of a changing labor and talent market and increased pressure for career services to support early career and post graduate talent. The annual Jobs Outlook report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers provides some insight for how offices can plan for 2022 and beyond.
More Hiring in 2022
Employers in 2022 are planning to hire 26.6% more new graduates from the Class of 2022 than the Class of 2021 with 60% of employer surveyed with plans to increase hiring. To master this, recruiters will need to work even more closely to build strong connections with early talent through the career services offices as employer experience an increasingly competitive labor market. And as NACE’s President Shawn VanDerziel says, “Organizations that maximize their recruiting efforts in the current market will master virtual recruiting."
Virtual Recruiting Is Here to Stay
What once was only a small fraction of recruiting efforts, virtual recruiting is now here to stay. With increased pressure from companies and universities to support diversity equity and inclusion efforts in the wake of #BlackLivesMatter and the pandemic, NACE’s research finds that “virtual recruiting provides a better job-search experience for historically marginalized populations than in-person recruiting…” With virtual recruiting and career fairs, employers can reach a wider array of students from smaller schools, geographic regions, and connect with a wider, more inclusive pool of candidates.
Soft Skills Are Key
Year and year out, employers continue to ask career services professionals to ensure that candidates successfully enter the workforce with problem-solving skills, analytical/quantitative skills, and the ability to work as part of a team. These requirements of employers are in lockstep with the NACE’s Career Readiness Competency goals. Career services staff will need to help students successfully develop these career ready skills that help translate their internships, experiential learning opportunities, part/full-time jobs, and their life experiences into their resumes and cover letters. Career services professionals will need to continue to tell the story of their students and provide programming and resources to help students enhance their critical thinking, communication, and professionalism.
Symplicity CSM Pathways enables career offices to set up structured career plans within their CSM system for anything from general career planning, to completing a certification or receiving an employability award. Pathways allows institutions to automate these plans, reduce manual work, and easily measure their success. Within each Pathway there are steps and activities that can be tied to standard CSM functionalities, such as events, advising appointments or even ones that take place outside the system i.e. watching a video on YouTube. Career offices can significantly boost student engagement by providing students with an easily accessible career plan and sending automated reminders about upcoming deadlines and activities. CSM can enable universities to ensure that they are keeping track and managing student success that aligns with what recruiters are looking for.
To learn more about Pathways and how CSM can help your institution, watch our video below or schedule a conversation.
