Go and Do

by Ashley Motley and Dana Nordyke, Kansas State University Career Center

When is the last time you did something with your people that made everyone terrified in a good way? You know the feeling we are talking about….the one of disregarding your maps app and striking out on an adventure. You get that “I’m-scared-in-a-good-way-but-this-could-really-be-so-very-cool” feeling when you are on the brink of an adventure. We know, we have been there recently. It is wild and refreshing and we want to tell you about it….

At the annual SoACE conference in December, we presented about scaling up some of our signature Career Center programming. We have had a lot of interest and inquiries since that time – specifically about our Career Meet-Ups programming. With this in mind, we thought we would bring you some more details.

In short, our Career Center advising team here at Kansas State University had a retreat day in summer of 2017 and decided to toss all of our programming (we kept our large career fairs and a couple of other select center-wide events). We even tossed the brochures/handouts we would typically use for tabling, etc. It was a major shift for our team…after all, we had leaned on that “How to Find a Job” handout for nearly a decade. We knew collectively, as a team, we needed to do something significant in order to make some big changes. In all honesty, we are still figuring out exactly what this means.

One outcome of the decision to blow up (our Executive Director’s words, actually) our center-wide workshops and panels was the addition of events focused on certain industry areas that we recognized were being under-served by our major career fairs. The goal was to make the student an active part of whatever events we created. We knew we wanted to invite students to “do” and “create” at events instead of sit and watch. As a result, we launched a series of Career Meet-Ups. Each meet-up is designed to have a similar visual brand (changing only colors and logos to make it easy on our graphics folks). The events are “mixer style” networking with each employer stationed at a high-top table. Employers attend for free (we have space for up to 25 employers in-house) and are asked to only bring business cards or brochures…no large booth set-ups. Trust us – this has been a big adjustment for some employers. However, we love that it means the focus is on the kind of work the employers does versus some of the distraction created by fancy branding displays. Students bring copies of their resumes and dress in business casual. Some students do not yet have resumes to bring, but we still want them at the event. Freshman, sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students are invited. We provide hors d’oeuvres and coffee or craft soda from a local bistro. Catering choices are even intentional and based on the season. We want students to “feel” the event with all senses and have an experience.

We have been able to “scale up” these events to include five different industry areas: health, social services, media and communications, wildlife and natural resources, and an event focused on local employers in the “Little Apple” hiring full-time. Scaling up has been doable because we are consistent with the format and our expectation of the events. Each meet-up event planner from the Career Center collaborates with specific college departments whose students will be most-served by the meet-up being planned. These colleges identify representatives to serve on the meet-up planning team. These faculty and staff partnerships have been, mostly, very positive. The event is not theirs and it is not ours. We have found that the events are most successful when they are a team-owned, student-focused initiative. Using a connected planning team, we openly share employer contacts using a Trello board specifically for that event. This project management technology has fueled our ability to be completely transparent with our academic partners. It also allows us to divide the work of the team.

What we do

• Employer communication and registration is managed in Handshake
• Marketing (social media events and ads, website updates, posters displayed across campus, quarter sheets for desks, radio announcements, table tents in the dining centers, email announcements to faculty and students, a press release, and large sidewalk signs)
• Provide the space, parking, and catering reservations
• Day-of details (nametags, printed programs, student check-in, and space décor – which includes small florals for each high top table, arranged by us)
• Coach students on the sidelines of the event and help them navigate the networking environment (encouraging gathering around tables and not forming lines…seriously, we break up the lines and it’s a really fun change)

What faculty and staff do

• Promote the event among students and other faculty/staff (we encourage faculty and staff to attend the event alongside their students)
• Contribute to the employer invitation list
• Connect with their colleges via a larger social media push and ask key accounts to pick up and tweet out/post the event
• Recruit student volunteers to do quick class announcements and assist with event set-up and tear down

While the events have had significant interest and solid attendance, we are working through a few challenges.

CHALLENGE #1 – We continue to refine and clarify our marketing. Employers and students alike aren’t really sure what a meet-up is until they have actually been to one. Once they have been, they are hooked. We have had raving evals from both students and employers.  We also have to remind our faculty, staff, and students that THIS IS NOT A CAREER FAIR. Employers may have full-time, part-time, internship, or volunteer opportunities, but we want students to come and talk to the employer about the employer’s personal career journey as well.

CHALLENGE #2 – As new meet-ups are added to the schedule, we’re working on maintaining consistency across our team in terms of branding, format, etc. Part of what keeps these events simplified and scalable is consistency.

CHALLENGE #3 – Assessing student competency and growth through “doing.” We want to be able to show in data what we are observing. This includes students shifting out of their comfort zone and communicating in a professional environment. One of our favorite recent comments from a meet-up this spring was an employer remarking, “Wow, wow, this is exactly what students need!”

This summer, when we all enter that magical time of planning and recovery, we encourage you to challenge the status quo of your programming. Take a long, steady look at the “why” behind what you are doing. Be bold, strike out on an adventure, and bravely face your decade-old marketing head-on. We believe in you!

Please feel free to comment with questions or feedback! We’d love to hear about similar programs you might be implementing.

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Ashley Motley lives with her family in Manhattan, KS. She serves as an Assistant Director and liaison to the College of Arts and Sciences for Kansas State University. She received her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, college student affairs, from the University of South Florida. Currently, she serves as the KG Chair for the SoACE Experiential Education Knowledge Group.  She enjoys messy family dinners with her 4-year-old and husband, hiking the Konza Prairie and the CO mountains, and traveling to see friends in the southeast. 

Dana Nordyke is a Senior Assistant Director and liaison to the College of Human Ecology at the Kansas State University Career Center. She has been with the center since 2009. A KSU grad, Dana received a B.S. in business administration and a M.S. in college student development. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in student affairs. Dana is currently serving as President of the Kansas Association of Colleges and Employers (KACE). She enjoys spending time with family/friends, campfires at the lake, and attending K-State games.