Long-term relationships with graduates
Our school offers a short-term program for which we provide placement services. Often students in this short-term program opt to seek employment without assistance and we have difficulty contacting them for follow-up. Do any other schools deal with this situation? How do you cultivate a long-term relationship with these students?
Although we do not have an offical Placement department, I develop a relationship with our students by class visits. I also have the students complete an information form that includes e-mail addresses. So, with face-to-face, and monthly email distributions, I manage to maintain a 90% placement rate. I constantly receive emails from grads and alumni.
HI Dawn
Sounds like you are doing an amazing job. It's that consistent persistent ongoing contact with students that leads to success. Seems like you are figuring out ways to make things happen with little time and budget. Little by little hopefully you can add processes and resources.
Best wishes
Susan
If the students are interested in seeking their own employment opportunities, you may want to try and bring in guest speakers to show them you are interested in assisting them with developing their knowledge of the field. With my experience, I have found this to be beneficial because they will ask you any questions they may have and the process ultimately builds the professional relationship. By taking an interest in their success, they will be willing to share it with you. Also, we have our students fill out an exit interview complete with email addresses. I find that is the best form of contact.
Great idea to bring in outside speakers. There are any number of people - employers talking about what they are looking for during an interview, grads who can really talk about how to get through the interview process, people in the industry who can talk about all the opportunities in the field, and lots more. Keeps the excitement going. Best wishes Susan
I follow-up with graduates via the phone and email. I leave messages of job leads and to check on their job search status. My continual interest generates replies from most graduates who inform me of their employment or efforts to attain employment.
Great Michele, We like the idea of leaving informative messages to get grads to respond. You can also text message and email. Lots of ways to keep interacting with grads as they go through the frustrations of the job search.
Best wishes, Susan
I'm new at this job but from my understanding, I will be responsible for sending out occasional surveys/alumni letters to get information about our graduates.
Also, one of our biggest "selling points" is what we advertise as Lifetime Job Placement, where any grad can take advantage of our placement services, whether it's 6 months or 20 years down the road.
HI Deborah
Thanks for sharing your job description. Suggest that you send out regular emailings to your graduates. They are a great source for assistance with placement, can talk to students, can enroll in other programs or courses, can refer students, and when employed can introduce you to their employers. We suggest sending them something of value each month. We think it is fabulous that you offer life time employment service. Again, it's a way to keep in touch with grads - repeat business is the best. Good luck, Susan
We find the best way to stay in touch is through email. They might move, but their email frequently stays the same.
That's true Rob. Also cell phones seem to be pretty reliable and steady. And the names and contact info for a few relatives. There will still be grads who fall through the cracks. But with several ways to keep in touch, some will work. Also staying in touch early and consistently helps. Thanks, Susan
At our school, we start dealing with students at orientation. We let them know available resources etc. We also encourage them to stop in often to work on resumes and interviews. We also do class visits to reinforce the message. We let them know that we are there to help, not only now, but even after gaduation and placement.
HI Richard, All great points. Do you have a list of employment skills that a student must complete and by a certain date? We find that making placement activities a requirement yields better results than simply offering students the services.
Great that you mentioned grads. We think that a school with an alumni department with lifetime job placement assistance impacts on every aspect of the school. Grads can return to school for advanced programs and recommend your school to their friends and work colleagues. Best wishes, Susan
We have an annual alumni dinner in conjunction with a large industry conference. Many of our graduates attend and we allow them to invite their bosses, supervisors, etc. This allows us to keep in touch with graduates and reinforces our relationship with employers in our industry.
This is a good start Kim. You might want to think in terms of an Alumni Association - one that is specialized for career schools. In that way you stay in contact with all grads. We think gads can be asked for anything but money. You can ask them to refer students, introduce you to their hiring decisions makers at their company, help at the school with mentoring, tutoring, review your curriculum, enroll in other programs, and lots more. Imagine having an alumni association with thousands of students located throughout TX and the U.S. Reminder to offer grads things like networking, parties, discounts, products, services, and more. All this increases public relations opportunities too. There is nothing like the endorsement of alumni. Thanks, Susan
We are conducting Career Fairs across our campuses next week and we've invited our Alumni (grads who are now prominent in their positions) to represent at an Alumni table to talk with students and others about their job search strategies and how they were successful in securing their job in their chosen field. It's about putting students and alumni together as well!
I am actually now fulfilling the role of the Alumni Director and you are absolutely right, there is so much we can offer our alumni to stay in touch; to network, etc. We offer library resources, career search tools and resources throughout our graduates' careers and additional services/products to assist over the longer term.
kim`,
We sooo agree. Alumni are such a valuable resource. You are using them to talk with students. Great. You can also ask Alumni to review resumes, conduct mock job interviews, mentor, take students to work, and so much more. Alumni love to assist in other departments and can make a difference in retention and enrollment too. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
kim`,
As you can tell, we believe that Alumni can make a major impact on every area of an institution. Alumni can refer students, assist with admissions, coach students, help out in the classroom, talk about why skills learned in school are needed in the workplace, take students to work, and tell you where the jobs are in their companies before they go public. Alumni can make a great difference to a Career Services department - especially if you are under staffed. Thanks, Susan
Dr. Susan Schulz
I have my students cell numbers and they have mine, both graduate and current students. I like to remain in contact with my graduate students to make sure they know that I am here for them even after they graduate. I have been there for them during the times they are looking for jobs and also during personal times, such as moving into a new home or getting married. I think it's great to maintain contact with students. They know that they were more then just a student.
