Placement professionals could use training before taking on the job.
I've found that most of my colleagues in Career Services come from areas unrelated to placement, i.e. Recruiting or Outplacement firms. Wouldn't it make sense that Career Service professionals have some training before they assume their role of recruiting employers to submit jobs and helping students master the art of job search?
In todays workforce, employers are looking for people that have some work experience but they want to train a person to the way they want that person to work and conduct business within their organization.
I will agree with you that it is benefical to have experience in your particular job. However, when I took on a placement position, I had zero experience. I had been in the education environment for about two years prior but admissions and placement are completely different. If the school has the proper training in place then zero experience is ok.
Faith - You brought up a lot of good points. Looks like you took it upon yourself to learn as much as you could about placement and had a base of experience in a career school. That's great. Not everyone is as aggressive as you to learn their job. Perhaps you had a good mentor or coach? It is very possible that people who have been in staffing can segue into career services at a career school. But training is really important to maximize a person's talents and serve the students. Best wishes, Susan
You point out some interesting situations about curriculum and keeping up with the demands of the workplace. It is very important to stay in touch with employers. Ask them what they like about your grads. Ask them about what knowledge or skills they wish your grads had. Then make a decision to make some changes in your curriculum so your grads are work ready. The only training that will be required will be about the human resources particulars. Good luck, Susan
We believe that training for all staff needs to be ongoing starting with orientation and continuing with the job skills and enhancing knowledge and customer service. And of great importance is when hiring - create a very specific job description. Thanks
I agree that experience can definetely be a plus. I don't think it is a must for this position as personality and dedication to follow through is more a priority. Training should be provided from the school and the applicant for this position should know the minimum of what is offered so that their own brainstorming can begin. I do feel that educating the new placement coordinator is very important so that they know who vital their postion can be. Once this is made clear, I feel that with an extrovert type of personality much can be accomplished with proper coaching and no experience.
Interesting comments Jolyn. Does the placement director need experience? Or training? Or both? What kind of experience. There is the knowledge of the job objectives and the career school sector. The director needs to have placement and community outreach experience and certainly personality is vital. What is also needed is an Operations Manual for the Placement Department. What will be offered to students, grads, and staff? How often? What kind of inter departmental communication is required? How will services and staff be evaluated? Lots to consider when seeking the ideal placement director. Thanks, Susan
