Placement Services
Discuss ways to enhance your placement department regardless of how many employees or staff hours you can budget for it.
1) Work on transitioning internships/externships to full time opportunities
2) Work with students on interview skills
3) Develop resume prep workshops for students
4) Hold "practicals" to discuss interviewing for success - dress, demeanor, common questions, etc.
Hi Seth
Great that you are consistently working on this program. The continuity maintains focus and results. Good points about ways to enhance your placement offerings.
Here are some additional thoughts:
Internship/externships: You might want to be sure these experiences are relevant to the workplace and that students write up their experiences in resume format. Practicums like these can be a great substitute for work experience when the student has none. Remember to tell your admissions reps to sell the concept of intern/exterships.
Interview skills: Yes, these are basic skills that must be learned and practiced. You might want to design some fun and also tough interview scenarios so you prep your students to expect and be prepared for anything.
Resume prep workshops: Great idea. Again basic skills that students must have. Opportunity to be creative by figuring out ways students with no work experience can show off their skills and abilities and tell who they are.
Practicals: Sounds good. To get students involved you might ask them to prepare the presentations. Forces them to start using resources to figure some things out for themselves.
Again, great job.
Best wishes
Susan
I plan to enhance my placement department by having our placement officers provide career skills seminars throughout the students entire program. By providing these seminars throughout their program I hope to keep them motivated and focused on their goal, to complete their education and to get a job. Each seminar would focus on one aspect so it doesn't overwhelm them. I'd like to provide information on the types of jobs available in their career field, time management skills, resume/cover letter writing, interviewing skills, how to find jobs, how to network, and the local associations they can join now as students. I want to teach them skills that not only help them get their first job in their field but lifetime skills that they can continue to use if they become displaced, move out of the area or want to change jobs in the future.
Sheree Pace,JD
Director of Education
Our main future objective is to develop relationships with employers in spa, health, and sports fields to offer graduate internships. State law prohibits internships for students because they require direct supervision by our staff. Some of the questions that have come up are:
1. Who should develop these relationships (outside of developing a new department) should it be administration or admissions?
2. How do we motivate graduates to participate seeing as how at least in the beginning these will be unpaid positions?
3. Can we establish criteria that will make sure that the graduate involved is serious and motivated to show up?
HI Debra
Interesting situation. Seems that you can't offer internships because they require direct supervision by your staff. So perhaps that leaves out the concept. If you could develop off campus internships you would probably want the education department involved along with career services. Graduates could be motivated if the internship site provides unique experiences. Criteria are essential. It would be important to establish competencies to be completed and a rating scale. To avoid problems why not establish a full service clinic at your school?
Best wishes
Susan
Thanks for the imput, we already have a very successful, busy clinic in the school for both students and a limited number of graduates, our main idea in working on graduate internships is to cut down on the supervision cost and to expand the opportunities and educate the community on the importance and benfits of massage.
As far as getting education department and career services involved that is pretty much me.
Deby
Hi Deby
Sounds like some research on the benefits of an outside clinic, the pros and cons, and known challenges is in order. In case you need something to add to your list!!
Best wishes
Susan
1. Increase the number of employer visits to the school.
2. Report outstanding placement rates to Admissions quarterly for inclusion in marketing materials.
3. Have Placement Director join local workforce improvement boards with quarterly meeting commitments.
Nate
HI Nate
All great ideas. The more employers visit the school the more both employers and students learn about each others. Placement rates can help to sell school. So the more Admissions knows, the better. And definitely get the Placement Director out into the community. Placement staff can be the best PR people and impact on enrollment as well as jobs.
Best wishes
Susan
In reference to your item 1, many of our students on externships are hired by the externship site upon graduation. Externship sites are a great source of employment for our graduates.
We cover items 2-4 in CMD 102 Career Management and Development II. CMD 102 is a course designed to transition students from college into the workplace. They learn interview skills, resume and cover letter writing, how to research jobs, portfolio preparation, and the "practicals" to which you refer. As part of the class the students go on mock interviews with the college staff.
The instructor for most sections of CMD 102 is our Director of Career Services (i.e., job placement). She can tell them exactly what to expect and what potential employers are looking for.
HI James
Sounds like you have a very comprehensive placement department. Have you done any studies on the types of jobs grads get, their salary ranges, how long they stay on the job, employer satisfaction?
Also, can you tell us how you manage to get enough externship sites so that externs get jobs? Or are the sites so large that there is always need for new hires?
Thanks
Susan
I work for a allied health school, and one way that we find effective in our placement department is to have employers come out to our school to do mock interviewing and give us feedback on if they would hire our student and some feedback on do's and dont's during a interview.
Hi Jackie
These are great ideas. Keeping in touch with employers and also prospective employers yields many many benefits. They can give you feedback about your programs, be sources for job openings, and even send their employees to your school for training.
Great techniques.
Best wishes
Susan
As a provider of vocational EMS education we are required to provide extensive clinical experiences with local fire/rescue departments. These clincal experience typically are with prosective employeers of our graduates. As part of our orientation for clincial experiences we discuss the importance of making a good impression and that the valuable tool for the students future employeement is enthusiastic performance with their potential employeer.
HI Richard
Quite true. Clinicals and externships give students real-work experiences to use on their resume and practice working with real employers. The employers have the opportunity to see the soon to be grad in action. What a great interview tool. Also the clinic site has the opportunity to learn more about your school. A win-win situation all around.
Best wishes
Susan
Ensure that your placement department is comprised of people who are already networked with agencies that hire your graduates. In our own experience, this has been one of the most valuable assets. Using retired paramedics who already know the area fire chiefs and ambulance administrators means that opportunities are provided to our graduates before announcements are made public. We have found that employers who need to hire would rather deal with someone they know versus hiring directly off an eligibility list or from formal interviews.
Hi Chad
Exactly and very well said. Employers can be a major source for job openings. The goal of every school is to develop relationships with employers so the school is seen as "the" source for work-ready employees. This means constantly communicating with employers and getting their ideas and input in a variety of ways.
best wishes
Susan
We have developed parnership with employers who, in effect, act as placement services for our students. We know what is needed in the community; our students fill those needs; the future employers have particular levels of expectations, and they participate (through discussion groups) in helping students to realize where they will go upon graduation. Additionally, we partner with other county-wide agencies which provide placement services; leads to future employment, and other valuable placement information to our graduate.
There might be similar services (agencies)available to other schools throughout the State; or, the schools should consider creating partnership with businesses which can offer employment to their (the schools) graduates.
Really great points, Alessandra
Partnering with others is a way to expand your opportunities and network. It's great to have a variety of resources for placement. Each student has different needs. Sounds like your plan allows for them to pick the best strategy for them. You're right - all schools should look for multiple resources for placement assistance in their communities.
Best wishes
Susan
