SoACE Updates

The Technology Knowledge Group (KG) conducted its fourth annual Emerging Technologies survey during the summer of 2020. The annual survey is designed to capture the current state of the field and target areas for future programming. The KG conducted an association-wide survey to identify the types of systems each of us uses as well as some of the common challenges we all face.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, career centers across the country have grappled with a variety of challenges during the rapid transition to online services. The unprecedented times led the SoACE Technology Knowledge Group to access the utility of previous questions and to create new questions based on the needs of the SoACE community. New questions were added to ascertain how career centers communicated with one another, provided services to students, and engaged with employers in virtual environments.

New on the survey this year was the question: “How will you provide Career Services for Fall 2020?” The results are summarized in Figure 1 shows that 52% of career centers are offering services virtually, while 47% are offering both in-person and virtual services. At the time of the survey, no career centers were offering only in-person services.

Figure 1: Career Services Delivery Formats

Another new survey question revealed an interesting pattern among career centers as it relates to using online communication platforms for multiple purposes. According to the results of the survey, Zoom is the leading platform with 42-44% of survey participants indicating its use for internal meetings, information sessions, workshops, and virtual coaching appointments. While platforms may be used for a variety of purposes, qualitative data indicated a lack of enthusiasm about using Zoom for events. Figure 2 summarizes the results of the survey.

Figure 2: Virtual Communication Methods

A total of 121 individuals representing 120 institutions completed the survey. Like previous years, duplicate entries were removed. It is important to note that in 2019, the Emerging Technology survey was incorporated into a general SoACE survey. While more research is needed to determine reasons for the engagement level, we hypothesize that return to a separate survey, as well as the increased necessity of online platforms to continue operations, has generated more interest in the survey, which may be more evident in the survey results of 2021.

Since most career centers opted for all virtual fairs, the career fair survey question from previous surveys shifted its focus to the technology used to conduct virtual surveys. Several career centers chose multiple options. At 56%, Handshake led as the system used to facilitate career services events. At 9% and 11% respectively, Career Eco and Symplicity also gained more popularity. While unlisted, Career Fair Plus, 12 Twenty, and Easy Virtual Fairs were mentioned multiple times by survey participants as other platforms used. Several other platforms were also mentioned at least once. The results are summarized below:

Figure 3: Career Fair Virtual Platforms

At 63% Handshake was also identified as the platform of choice for providing alumni services.

The 2020 Survey indicated additional trends as it relates to technology.

● Graphic Design Platforms– Adobe and Canva rose above other platforms in terms of interest. Particularly, several survey respondents indicated that they use one or both platforms, as well as an interest in learning more about the platforms.
● Virtual Career Fair Platforms – The variety of platforms used indicate an interest among membership in researching and experiencing virtual Career Fair platforms.
● Dedicated Technology & Marketing Staff – We asked whether the participants had dedicated technology staff and dedicated marketing staff. While 33% of survey participants indicated that their centers had dedicated technology staff, 46% had dedicated marketing staff.

We invite all of our SoACE members to attend our virtual pre-conference session on Friday, December 11, 2020, where we will take a deeper look at the information generated by this year’s survey. We look forward to engaging in conversation around other trends and best practices in virtual and hybrid environments.

Ayanna Perkins
Emerging Technologies Coordinator, SoACE Tech KG
Clinical Practicum and Induction Coordinator
The University of Memphis

Ashley Graham Phipps
Assistant Chair, SoACE Tech KG
Associate Director, Employer Relations, Data Analytics
Wake Forest University