College Recruiting

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When Will They Be Back?

July 7, 2015 by 0 Comments

Post by Hanna Debruhl, Career Coach at Columbia College

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Summer, my favorite season is here.  I love the beach, creating a new summer playlist, and the freedom summer brings.  However, what I don’t love about summer is not having students on campus.  I live and breathe students during the semesters. As someone who has worked on a college campus only 2 years, I wonder if other newer professionals feel this way as well?   It can be a transition- becoming accustomed to having students meet with you on a daily basis and then seeing none of them after May.   It is almost like a withdrawal not having them there. What am I supposed to do again? There are no resumes to critique or student meetings to attend.

I know it sounds odd; there is so much I can do. I can plan career events for the semester, attend professional development meetings, read a book, and eat my lunch in peace.  It sounds great, but for me the best part of my job is meeting with my students.  Whether I am assisting them with a resume, helping them with a job search, or helping them in exploring their major, I love it all.  I enjoy meeting and getting to know them. They all bring a different perspective and energy.  It is fun watching them grow each year and see where life is taking them. Students give us so much that they don’t realize. My students give purpose and make the job fun.  I want to be the best career coach I can be for them, they expect a lot from us. We are a vital link to a variety of resources.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not always sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies.   Students will sometimes “just forget” about an appointment or cancel at the last minute, or not know what an elevator pitch is.  It’s all worth it though, when I connect with that one student who finally chose a major or received an internship.  That makes all the difference in the world. There are good and bad days as we all experience, but for the most part, I am glad to work every day with students.

If you are currently feeling like I do, here are a few things you can do to combat the “no student blues”.

  • Keep in contact with students via email and social media highlighting availability help throughout summer. Many are surprised by this fact!
  • Continue sharing posts, blogs, or articles to your social media that students can see.
  • Participate in new student orientation or summer camps that your campus provides to introduce yourself and your department. This will help establish a relationship before students arrive on campus.
  • Reach out to recent alums to see how they are and just “check in”, they will appreciate this.
  • Always assist with move in day on campus to meet new students and parents. This helps show campus spirit and lets students know you care.

The months between May and August sometimes seem to drag on, but then just as quickly, we look up and it’s July already. Where did the time go?   Am I ready for students to come back? Is everything planned?  As I anticipate the arrival of students and the excitement that it brings, I hope for a few things.  One, I hope that I never lose this feeling. Two, that my students are just as excited as I am for the new semester.  Three that I always remember the purpose and focus is to help students to succeed.

As the summer comes to an end, what are you doing to prepare for the next school year?

Do you wonder too, when will they be back? Let’s talk about it!

Hanna DeBruhlHanna DeBruhl has been in the career development field for almost 10 years. She is a certified Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) and currently serves as a career coach at Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina.  Hanna prepares students for the workforce through one-on-one coaching, classroom presentations, and on-campus workshops on various career topics.  Previously, Hanna worked as a career specialist on the secondary level, teaching career exploration courses, and connecting with community speakers to educate students on various career fields and job opportunities. Connect with Hanna on Twitter @HannaDeBruhl | LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pub/hanna-debruhl/29/468/3b6 | Personal Blog  http://hannadebruhl125.com/

 

Hot Topics - SoACE Updates

Top Reasons to Renew Your SoACE Membership

June 23, 2015 by 0 Comments

Post by: Amanda L. Walker, Director of Career Services at Austin Peay State University

The Southern Association of Colleges and Employers, Inc. (SoACE) is an organization of human resources, college relations and career service professionals. Our mission is to promote partnerships between career services professionals and employers by providing innovative resources, professional development and networking opportunities to facilitate the career development and employment of students and alumni. SoACE is organized exclusively to create a common understanding between individuals in career services and college relations focused on the career development and employment of the college educated to:

  • Promote and foster relationships among the constituents
  • Serve as the voice of the profession for the southern region of the United States
  • Create and retain leaders in the profession by facilitating the exchange of knowledge and insight
  • Provide professional development and promote high professional standards
  • Identify trends, issues, challenges, and opportunities in the profession.

*(SoACE Website, 2015)

TOP REASONS TO CONSIDER SOACE:

  1. RESOURCES: Did you know that SoACE offers monthly newsletters? SoACE keeps the membership up to date on policies, events, programming, national trending data, as well as, recognizing outstanding members. In addition, SoACE provides webinars throughout the year to spotlight topics that can help employers and career practitioners learn more on effective recruiting, career advising, and branding. SoACE also partners with our 16 state professional associations of colleges and employers to share specific statewide events, programming, and news. We support our members by sharing and providing information from all employer and career support networks!
  2. SUPPORTS ITS MEMBER’S RESEARCH INITIATIVES: SoACE offers research fellowship awards to members wishing to conduct research in the field (through an application and proposal process). In addition to supporting prospective research projects, SoACE creates an environment that is conducive to presenting and sharing research with its membership at its annual conferences. What other organization would offer to pay for your research and then provide you with a venue to explain it?! This is another example of why SoACE is a great organization. soacekglogo
  3. KNOWLEDGE GROUPS: We all have challenges that we face in our day to day roles in recruitment, management, or career advising. The Knowledge Groups were designed as a way to share current challenges, best practices, and a forum for discussion of national, regional, and university trends related to employment and career education. SoACE has 8 different Knowledge Group areas focusing on different content areas of our profession. Talk about a professional support group…and the best part is it’s included in the membership fee!
  4. OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION: The Southern Association of College and Employers is committed to attaining a pluralistic, diverse membership and providing access to all programs and resources to individuals regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, veteran status, disability or appearance. SoACE encourages the recruitment and professional development of individuals from all groups by continually developing, examining, and instituting policies, practices and procedures. In 2013, began and established an award to annually recognize an individual and a group/organization that has demonstrated a sustained commitment to the pursuit of diversity and inclusion in the community and workplace., We are an organizations that is committed to diversity and inclusion and we not only talk the talk but we walk the walk!
  5. CONTINUING EDUCATION: SoACE offers continuing education for participation in workshops and training sessions during the annual conference. SoACE is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPTM) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events (or programs) that meet NBCC requirements. Sessions (or programs) for which NBCC-approved clock hours will be awarded are identified in the program bulletin (or in the catalogue or Web site). The ACEP is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. SoACE is also is an HRCI approved Continuing Education Provider and may offer HRCI approved clock hours for events or programs that meet HRCI requirements. We are providing incentives for our members to continue their professional growth while being a member! june15.c1
  6. ANNUAL CONFERENCE: SoACE Annual Conference allows members great benefits such as, Network with career services and college recruiting colleagues, get up-to-date information on trends and issues affecting the profession, learn best practices that you can adapt for your program, benchmark with like organizations and institutions, explore new and emerging technologies, share challenges and solutions with your professional community, and learn about new products and services for the field that can help you cut costs and increase your productivity. Imagine the possibilities for professional growth and networking with individuals that you can request resources from to help aid you in your current position!
  7. OTHER SERVICES TO MEMBERS: SoACE offers several other services such as the job postings boards and consulting services. SoACE wants to help share jobs with the entire membership to help you fill your hiring needs. SoACE also wants to provide members with consulting services if requested. For a nominal fee, SoACE will help you establish a team that fits your needs as an employer or college which will allow for benchmarking in you field. Often, it takes an outsiders prospective to document challenges and opportunities for your employer or college. SoACE External Review Services does exactly that, they help benchmark what other colleges and universities are doing in the field as well as what other employers are doing in the field as well. Regardless if you need to fill a position or make the case for why you need additional team members, SoACE has you covered!

For current members, the renewal for your SoACE membership opens in July! And for those that are considering SoACE think of all the benefits you can receive as a member and most importantly the relationships you can build with colleagues in your field.

Join SoACE TODAY!!!

Amanda WalkerAmanda Walker serves as the Director of Career Services at Austin Peay State University. She has ten years of higher education experience, with the last seven in Career Services. Amanda has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Masters of Arts in Higher Education/Student Personnel from The University of Mississippi. She is currently in the dissertation phase pursuing a Doctor of Education  degree in Higher Education at Delta State University. Her expertise areas are employer relations and internships. Most recently she served as co-researcher on the National Study of Unpaid Internships in 2014 conducted by Intern Bridge, Inc. Amanda has presented in both regional and national conferences on Internships.