By: Bijal Parikh, Program Specialist for Four Year Partnerships, CollegeTracks
Reading Time: 4-5 min.
“It’s not for me.”
As a College Success Coach at CollegeTracks, a college persistence program in Montgomery County, Md. serving low-income and first-generation college students, I hear this a lot when promoting the career centers on the campuses of the institutions my students
attend.
Earlier this year, we surveyed our students and coaches to learn about career center usage. We found that two-thirds of student respondents used the career centers and are either satisfied or highly satisfied with their experience. Great news,
right?
However, a whopping 32% of student respondents never used the career center on campus and had no intention of doing so. While coaches had anecdotal evidence of this, seeing this number in stark contrast to the experience of those who
have used the services at their colleges and universities was eye-popping. Digging deeper, we learned that students report a lack of perceived need or desire, challenges in utilization (time, user-friendliness, overwhelming/don’t know where to start),
or they prefer to seek career services from another source (LinkedIn, school advisor, or coaches).
Yet time and time again, studies report high use and satisfaction with career centers at postsecondary institutions. And that tracks with a 2018 Strada-Gallup report,
in which most students cite jobs and career outcomes as the number one reason for going to college.
So, where is the disconnect?
In response to our survey, I interviewed career services advisors at three postsecondary institutions to learn more. Interestingly, the types of programming provided by these career centers -- career exploration tools like inventories and industry research
tools; job search assistance; events, including networking opportunities; and online workshops and tools for resume and cover letter writing, interview skills, and other learning resources -- run parallel to the type of career activities our students
report that they most want to receive.
So why the disconnect?
While the career centers intend to serve students, success coaches report that staff are not always equipped to support the more profound needs of our student and that there are often distinct issues or prevailing attitudes that may prevent accessibility
and usage of those resources. Our coaches report that postsecondary career centers often lack some of the things that might attract our students, such as:
hours convenient for students who commute and work,
services for undocumented students or asylees, or those with complicated statuses,
culturally competent services or a clear understanding of how to overcome cultural barriers to job/career preparation,
advice on workplace etiquette and professional norms,
linkages to first-hand career-building experiences, especially for students without “professional” experience,
accessible/welcoming attitudes for underrepresented racial minority, first-gen, immigrant scholars,
balancing the time required to devote to career preparation and search with the real need to earn a wage, and
the customized career coaching and wraparound service that CollegeTracks advisors have provided students since high school.
The career services advisors I interviewed indicated there are typically too few career advisors to meet with students, making individualized support impossible. And there are too few advisors focused on first-gen or minority students and therefore rely
on diversity and inclusion offices to fill that gap. Compounding this problem, the advisors related a gap in customized and one-on-one services for minority, immigrant, and first-generation students, and an efficient way to market their services to
this population and encourage their participation. We can conclude that while career centers on campuses are doing a great job of providing the type of services that most scholars need, the disconnect is in the accessibility and relevancy of
these programs to many first-gen, low-income, and immigrant students.
So our students were right – career centers are not built for them.
How can CollegeTracks Fill this Gap?
We are about solutions! How can we, as community-based college persistence organizations, support the utilization of career centers? Through the personal bond coaches have cultivated with students, we can delve into the emotional or cultural barriers
that might prevent them from making strides in their career journeys. CollegeTracks coaches:
can provide students with pre-workshops and support on effectively using on-campus career services. In doing so, we can support higher ed outreach efforts.
work with their students to help them understand how their perceived “non-professional” skills and jobs translate to professional settings.
develop student self-confidence and soft skills in a culturally relevant way. This includes helping students:
overcome imposter syndrome,
understand the value of networking, and
learn basic professional norms such as self-promotion, punctuality, directness in communication, and follow-up etiquette.
offer students supplemental customized services tailored to their needs; and
can partner and consult with career centers on postsecondary campuses to help them reach first-gen, low-income, and minority students, expand access to their services and provide training on cultural competencies.
Once students have a new perspective on their life experiences, they feel confident about participating in an interviewing skills workshop alongside their peers who have already had professional experiences. And this is just one example
of how one-on-one coaching could transform student attitudes about career preparation and career services on campus.
We would love to hear more about what NCAN members nationwide are doing to promote the usage of on-campus career prep services and how they are filling in gaps.
This blog is part of NCAN’s Career Advising for College Students series, funded by the Scheidel Foundation.
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