Career Development Interventions in Higher Education Chapter 12

Career Needs of Students in Higher Education Today’s students are diverse in background, characteristics, developmental levels, and career development needs. Approximately 6 million adults (over the age of 25) attend college each year. Approximately 500,000 international students were enrolled in higher education in 2001.

Career Needs of Students in Higher Education, continued More than 130,000 students with learning disabilities are currently attending college. Women now constitute the majority (57.5%) of students enrolled in higher education. Ethnic minorities made up 22.5% of students in higher education in 1999.

Career Needs of Students in Higher Education, continued Career development needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual students have long been ignored in higher education. This increased heterogeneity suggests that career development interventions in higher education must be comprehensive and systematic.

The Evolution of Career Development Interventions Professor/advocate Job placement Employment agencies Placement offices Diverse services (no single type of counseling center or placement center)

Five Major Approaches for Delivering Career Services Macrocenter Counseling orientation General-level service Career planning and placement Minimal service

Why College Students Seek Career Assistance Learn more about themselves Identify career goals Become more certain of their career plans Explore career options Do educational planning Learn job search skills

Career Development Competencies in Adulthood Self-Knowledge –Skills to maintain a positive self-concept –Skills to maintain effective behaviors –Ability to understand developmental changes and transitions

Career Development Competencies in Adulthood Educational and Occupational Exploration –Skills to enter and participate in education and training –Skills to participate in work and lifelong learning –Skills to locate, evaluate, and interpret career information –Skills to seek, obtain, maintain, and change jobs –Ability to understand how the needs and functions of society influence the nature and structure of work

Career Development Competencies in Adulthood Career Planning –Skills to make decisions –Ability to understand the impact of work on individual and family life –Ability to understand the continuing changes in male-female roles –Skills required to make career transitions

Goals of Career Interventions in Higher Education Help students learn to identify and transfer career interests to a plan of action Help students relate interests and goals to opportunities Help students relate their career plans to life goals and opportunities Help students learn how to evaluate their progress toward career goals through academic preparation

Career Interventions in Higher Education (Crites’ Model) Explore a variety of options. Crystallize a narrow range of specific options. Make a commitment to a choice and specify college major. Implement the choice of major.

Powell and Kirts Model Proposes a systems approach to career services in higher education Starts by providing an overview of services to new students Continues by providing self-assessment Then focuses on exposure as students engage actively in career exploration Finally provides training in job search skills

The Florida State Model A curricular career information service (CCIS) model with five modules, as follows: –Introduction to the service –Orientation to the decision-making process –Self-assessment –Career information –Matching of majors and jobs

Career Services Courses, workshops, and seminars -- structured group experiences on topics such as career decision making, career planning, and job search skills Group counseling activities for students dealing with career indecision, career indecisiveness, and job search anxiety Individual career counseling Placement programs

Components of Comprehensive Career Services (Hale) Structured, university-wide program of career education One-stop center that offers career counseling, career planning, and placement Specially trained and selected academic advisers representing many academic areas Central full-time administrator Commission on academic advising and career services

Goals of Career Interventions in Higher Education (Herr & Kramer) Provide assistance in the selection of a major Provide self-assessment and self-analysis Assist students to understand the world of work Assist students to learn decision-making skills Provide assistance with unique needs of sub- populations Provide assistance with access to jobs

Career Development Goals in Higher Education (Griff) Increase career and self-awareness Develop decision-making skills Acquire knowledge of current and emerging occupational options Develop job search skills Crystallize career goals Participate in academic planning

Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) Guidelines Essential components of career services –Leadership –Organization and management –Human resources –Financial resources –Facilities, technology, and equipment –Acceptance of legal responsibilities

CAS Standards, continued Equal opportunity, access, and affirmative action Campus and community relations Diversity Ethics Assessment and evaluation

Advantages of Centralized Services More likely to have a critical mass of professional staff Efficiencies and economies of scale in use of facilities and support staff Vibrant, challenging environment because of heterogeneity of student population

Disadvantages of Centralized Services May be viewed by students as less personal due to size May be located farther away from places where students spend most of their time

Ten Imperatives for Career Services (Rayman, 1999) 1: Acknowledge lifelong nature of career development and challenge students to take responsibility for their own career destiny 2: Accept and embrace technology as an ally in service delivery 3: Continue to refine and strengthen professional identity 4: Acknowledge and accept that individual career counseling is at the core of our work

Ten Imperatives for Career Services (Rayman, 1999) 5: Forge relationships with other professionals and parents to achieve a “multiplier effect” 6: Redouble efforts to meet needs of an increasingly diverse student body 7: Maintain focus on quality career services while also filling relationship role with corporate America

Ten Imperatives for Career Services (Rayman, 1999) 8: Acknowledge that on-campus recruiting is a thing of the past and develop new approaches 9: Resolve the nature of the university’s role with alumni, eliciting support rather than providing services to them 10: Advocate effectively for resources to maintain and increase services and use existing resources efficiently