Wow, Laura. I really enjoyed reading your response. Your Placement Department sounds like our ideal! Not surprising that at the end of the "story" you reveal you are from the Staffing world. That is probably the secret! Use techniques from the recruiting sector in the school career services/placement department. And make them student friendly. Another secret is involving employers and networking and of course focus on the student needs. If you can only address one student need, we would say it is the need to gain confidence and to overcome the fear of the job search. That can be done by consistent, persistent, and comprehensive employment and job skills training. Thanks to you Laura, you will help to prove our thesis that the Placement Department is THE most important department in the school. Keep in touch. Thanks, Susan