Encouraging students to participate in workplace learning opportunities is an integral part of many career advising programs for college students. This is for a good reason – research indicates that student participation in workplace opportunities, specifically internships, are correlated with positive student outcomes post-graduation. Many organizations work closely with both students and employers in advance to make sure everyone
is set up for success. Below are some tips NCAN members shared in a recent webinar for how and why they invest so much time up front to try to ensure a positive experience for everyone involved.
Preparing Students for Success
Some of the students with whom NCAN members work may not have had the experiences or community connections to prepare them for a workplace learning experience. Here are some of the ways NCAN programs prepare students for their workplace learning experience:
Help students understand the goals of the workplace learning experience so students make good use of their time with employers. The goals students will achieve include:
Understanding the wide variety of jobs and career paths that exist, some of which might never have been on their radar.
Broadening their networks and making connections for future support, internships or jobs.
Defining for themselves what the future holds and what success means e.g., a career ladder job, graduate school, etc.
Some NCAN members have a written career development curriculum that helps prepare students for a workplace experience. The curriculum includes career advising basics such as resume writing, interviewing, and networking.
Empower students to ask questions and exercise leadership skills. Help students see that it’s OK not to know everything at first – this is a learning experience and there are people who want to support them.
Orient students to “commonly accepted” workplace norms and behaviors, some of which might not be familiar or comfortable depending on their cultural background and/or community traditions.
Support social-emotional growth by assigning students to a specific career advisor with whom they can meet consistently and develop a relationship. This advisor then becomes the student’s go-to for both career advising and general/social-emotional
support. Advisors can act as a sounding board to help students navigate uncomfortable work situations.
The NCAN members that invest time preparing and supporting their students for a successful experience, often develop long-term relationships with employers who appreciate the level of readiness with which these students arrive.
Preparing Employers for Success
NCAN members who invest time preparing students, also spend time readying employers to craft an experience that has value to the students and their organizations. Here are some of the strategies member programs use to prepare employers to work with their
students:
Share information about the topics addressed with students during their preparation before working with the employer, as well as the modes through which the preparation takes place e.g., curriculum/topics, workshops, online modules/webinars etc.
Encourage employers to think about how they can create a culture that is safe, warm, welcoming, positive, and supportive of their students. This includes reminding employers that some students may be unfamiliar -- or even uncomfortable -- engaging
in some common workplace behaviors because they do not align with those of their upbringing or community.
Making employers aware of some of the internal conflicts with which students might be grappling, such as impostor syndrome, and how this might impact a student’s career trajectory. Employers can help students manage and resolve these conflicts.
Provide employers with documents that include tips for working with students.
Conduct early and mid-season check-ins with employers to assess performance of students and the status of the program in general.
Offer suggestions to employers about the enrichment/supplemental activities they can offer to students including:
Career panels that showcase the various jobs, departments, experience levels within that company,
Panels during which employees share their own career paths
One-on-one or group mentoring focused on mapping a career path.
When appropriate and relevant, encouraging mentors and supervisors to leverage their own professional networks to help students further their careers.
Employee-led workshops on subjects such as networking and network mapping, creating an effective profile and using LinkedIn, how to create your personal “brand”, and building social capital.
To watch the entire webinar, Laying the Groundwork for Engaging Employers and Professionals in Career Advising, click here. This blog is part of NCAN’s Career Advising for College Students series, funded by the Scheidel Foundation.
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