Career services departments are always looking for new ways to engage students. Unfortunately opening your doors during regular business hours is not enough to engage the majority of them. Traditional methods don't work as effectively as they used to. It's important to provide your students with the right tools and easily accessible resources.
Your office should be accessible and visible
If your career services office is far from where students gather, it further demotivates them to stop by. You want your office to be inviting and welcoming to all visitors. Having it in an obscure location can be an extra obstacle for students. Since they often have busy workloads it's unlikely they'll go out of their way for a quick question. If moving your office is not an option, bring the office to your students. Set up a table in the main area of campus or promote events on social media to increase visibility.
Be sure you are appropriately staffed
If employees are required to handle large workloads, it can be difficult to make a difference for students. To avoid these constraints, improve the resources you do have. Evaluate where you can get the best return on investment. Social media is a great tool for increasing awareness with minimal cost and energy. Your efforts should be focused on methods that reach large audiences.
Adapt to students' habits and provide them with the right tools
If you haven't updated your approach in the past few years, you could be operating less effectively to modern students. Use personality in your social media posts instead of dull informational text. Experiment with GIFs, videos, and fun imagery to attract students' attention. Share useful content by writing blog posts, or share links to relevant articles from reliable sources. Utilize the right tools. By providing students with a mobile application, they will have access to university resources at all hours of the day. When engaging students it's very important to meet them where they are.
Provide them with more relevant job opportunities
Work with students and employers to successfully bridge the gap and provide everyone with open communication. When working closely with employers you gain specific information on what they need, which will help you better prepare students. Clearing roadblocks and increasing communication leads students to greater success. Engaging traditionally underserved students starts by delivering high-quality, relevant jobs in their field. If they have a platform where they can search for jobs, they will gain a better understanding of what's required and what they should work on in their career path.
Create easy comprehendible processes
All offices require procedures. Rigid routines decrease efficiency and can reduce engagement. When schools provide their students with an application for managing steps towards graduation, it greatly reduces confusion. They can view their credits earned, upload resumes, and schedule appointments. These processes are clearly defined and help the student get an overall picture of what's required.
At Symplicity, we’re committed to empowering our clients with innovative, easy-to-use solutions that enable them to streamline processes, improve outcomes, and cultivate positive relationships with their students, customers, and communities. We proudly serve 1,300+ institutions in admissions, academic affairs, student services and more. For further assistance on how to engage students, check out CSM by Symplicity. Our Curated Job Feed is a new job feed service exclusively created to drive thousands of new jobs across the U.S. to our undergraduate career center clients. Our proprietary technology and team of human curators will scan through hundreds of thousands of jobs and internships from various sources to provide more relevant opportunities to undergraduate job seekers. Learn more by heading over to our blog and scheduling a conversation.
