[Note: This posting is by Sheila Curran, president of Curran Career Consulting. The coauthor of Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads: Finding a Path to Your Perfect Career,
she has 30 years of experience directing human resources and career
functions. Sheila was executive director of Duke
University’s Career Center, and previously held a similar position
at Brown University. Sheila will be delivering a CASE Online Speaker Series program in March, 2009 on The Changing Dynamics of Alumni Career Services.]
In six months, thousands of anxious and impecunious young men and women will join the ranks of alumni. These newcomers to the alumni population are college students, class of 2009, and they’re heading into the worst economy of the past fifty years. Small wonder, then, that these students will be facing unemployment in droves — with particular problems facing international students or those majoring in traditional liberal arts subjects like philosophy.
In good times, we didn’t have to worry much that our students — or alumni — might be lacking the strategies, skills and materials to do an effective job search. If they lost their job, they could easily find another. We can no longer afford to be so cavalier if we want to mitigate the bleak employment outlook. For those of us who care deeply about the career success of students and grads, this is no time for a “head in the sand” approach to preparation for a vastly different work world.
Colleges and universities need to do three things:
- Recognize the desirability of a comprehensive approach to career preparation that starts at matriculation and ends a decade later. Every survey I’ve seen indicates that graduates will have had about 4 jobs and will have changed careers at least once during that period. The Alumni Association and the Career Center must work hand in hand to identify how students and alumni can get the help they need (even years after graduation) to negotiate the changing career landscape. If neither office can provide sufficient assistance or career advising, they should arrange for trusted professionals outside the academy to provide these services.
- Capitalize on the desire of alumni to be involved with students. This is a win-win for everyone. Students gain enormously when alumni share insights about their careers, identify helpful connections and — most important in this economy — illuminate where opportunities lie. The most compelling alumni stories may come from those who graduated in other recessions like 2001-2003 or in the early 1990’s.
- Add a section on alumni careers to both the Alumni Association’s and Career Center’s websites. There’s a lot of good information out there, and there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Quint Careers [site will open a pop-up window] is a great source for students and alumni. Lindsey Pollak writes a useful career blog, incorporating advice from a variety of experts and writers. Finally, anyone can link to my website. I’m constantly adding career questions for students and alumni.
It is often said that difficult times bring people together. Like families, colleges and universities must embrace the notion of a career community that helps students and alumni when they need it, and asks for their assistance as they are able. Our institutions will be stronger for such a collegial approach.
Photo: Recruiter and student at the U. of Illinois — Springfield. By Jeremy Wilburn via Creative Commons license.