Best Practices in Placement

The Wisconsin EAB Annual Conference November 9, 2006

Jay Hollowell, Facilitator jhollowell.pdr@cox.net

©pending 2006

The Six Institutional Effectiveness Components

• Student Retention Rates

• Student / Graduate Placement Rates

• Level of Graduate Satisfaction

• Level of Employer Satisfaction

• Student Learning Outcomes

• Financial Aid Default Rates

Measurements

• Institutions Own Goals

• Rates From Comparable Institutions

• Maintenance / Improvement

Five Current Trends in Career Services

• No longer the back end of the program• Emphasis on job retention• Stronger focus on reporting

accountability• Inclusion of workforce development• More global in nature, particularly with

on line education

• Career Services Mission and Core Values

• Career Services and Employers• Career Services and the School• Career Services and the

Students/Graduates• Career Services Standards and

Training

Career Services Mission and Core Values

• Develop a career services department mission statement and core values that define the role of placement assistance, graduate and student career counseling, and employer relationships. This serves as a framework to the links among career services, the school and the employment community

Career Services and the Employers

• See the employer as the ultimate customer

• Experience employers in their settings

• Identify employer needs

• Build employer relationships and involvement

• Work the short list

Career Services and the School

• Blend the departmental lines• Present samples of the career services

graduate contract and the externship performance evaluation at the admissions interview

• Begin the career portfolio in the first student success course

• Incorporate into the curriculum the four skill sets crucial to graduate success

The Four Crucial Skill Sets

• Technical Skills

• Critical Skills

• Professional Skills

• Job Search / Career Marketing Skills

Career Services and the Students/Graduates

• Spell out clearly in the career services contract the requirements of, and expectations for, both graduates and the school in a mutual, career marketing partnership

• Encourage students to join professional career-related organizations

• Require informational interviews throughout the program

• Utilize the exit interview for more than documentation

• Teach students to use “balance” as there number one offering to employers

• Strategize with students and graduates current tips for surviving today’s behavioral, pressure interview

The Performance-Based Behavioral Interview

• Technical Skills and Experience• Communication and Articulation• Planning and Organization• Problem-Solving / Rational Thinking• Leadership / Teaming• Reaction to Pressure• Preparation• Behavioral Results

The Four Primary Sets of Questions

1. Technical / Credentials

2. Experience

3. Opinion

4. Behavioral

THE BULL

The Prominent Feature of a Bull

THE POINTERS

KNOW YOUR SKILLS

KNOW YOUR AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT

ENTRANCE (IT’S MORE THAN DRESS)

EXIT (THE AFFIRMATION)

TIMING (SILENCE IS GOLDEN, NOT AWKWARD)

HANDLE THE LACK OF EXPERIENCE OBJECTION

BE CLEAR AND GET TO THE POINT

HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

LEAVE SOMETHING BEHIND

ARM YOURSELF WITH EXAMPLES AND QUESTIONS

•What do you see as the greatest challenge to this

position?

• Where do you see the company headed in the next two to five years? What impact would that have on future growth and advancement for this position?

• What type of work culture would you describe here? How would you describe the management style of the supervisor or manager in the department where I am applying?

• When might I expect a hiring decision to be made?

• From an interview standpoint, how did I do?

• To make sure, in my own mind, that I possess the right qualifications, please summarize the most crucial skills and abilities for a model employee in this position.

Career Services Standards and Training

• Demonstrates knowledge of the job

• Integrates career services tasks

• Respects the diversity of student development

• Develops, assesses and implements planning strategies

• Provides a supportive environment

• Utilizes techniques for assessing student/graduate performance

• Engages students and communities by applying successful strategies for developing employer relationships, creating placement opportunities and building student/graduate accountability for career success

• Demonstrates ethical responsibilities• Takes advantage of professional

development responsibilities

The Clues

• C

• L

• U

• E

• S