The academic year has just begun. Its end is out of mind for so many of it because it seems so many months away. For career counselors to college seniors though, the end is far from out of mind! Graduating students are very anxious about the world that lies ahead of them post-graduation. Many students are naturally unsure about what they want to do when they graduate, and many more are especially anxious about their job prospects. As a career counselor, it is your job to prepare them and help them successfully transition into the job world.
What Challenges Face College Seniors as They Transition to the Work World?
Transitioning to the job world is nerve-racking for any college student – period. Transitioning into the job world during pandemic-induced uncertain times is even more so. The job world, like the rest of us, has had to adapt to a “new normal” characterized by shrinking job opportunities in some areas, new modalities of operation (e.g. working remotely) and a growing realization nationally that men and women of color never had access to the “normal” their white peers did. New graduates face new work environments that none of us have been trained to navigate. They are having to dive, swim, paddle, and float amidst unprecedented volatility. Traditional career counseling and job-hunting techniques have become less effective in these new environments.
As a career counselor, how can you help your seniors right now? How best can you prepare and support your graduating class of 2022 to succeed in moving into this critical stage of their lives amidst all the chaos?
What About a Targeted Professional Mentoring Program?
An industry-based, alumni mentoring could be your answer.
By pairing your seniors with alumni who work in their fields of interest, you are able to give your students the opportunity to learn about the most current developments in their fields in real time - as they happen. This takes the guesswork out despite the reigning vicissitudes that characterize the COVID-era job market! Common-sense, huh?
However, many alumni mentoring programs run amok. Why?
What Holds College Career Centers Back from Successful Mentoring Programs?
Mentoring programs fail for many reasons. Mentoring relationships tend to fizzle out over time as students get too busy to continue. Then good-meaning alumni feel let down by the experience and may not sign up to mentor in the future. Other mentoring programs put the onus on the mentee or mentor to determine the direction of the mentoring experience when in fact, students and alumni generally need guidance in how to direct the mentorship. Or, even with guidance, the relationship feels unnatural and awkward, creating dissatisfaction in the experience as a whole. Finally, creating appropriate matches, communicating with program participants and managing a program over time can drain career professionals’ time and energy. That said, when a program is done right, it holds immeasurable benefits for students and a truly heart-warming and engaging opportunity for alumni.
The Right Program Makes a World of Difference in the Lives of Graduating Seniors
Navigating the COVID job world as a new entrant requires tenacity, adaptability, and the ability to keep one’s finger on the pulse of job market and industry changes. Career counseling programs need to create spaces where jobseekers can develop these attributes.
The right program does exactly that.
As a career counselor, developing a graduate support program that works can feel overwhelming. The good news is programs can learn from each other’s successes and failures. Professional development institutes are there to bring together best practices from higher education programs across the US, so you don’t have to go looking for ideas if you are struggling. Click here to check out a spread of professional development courses designed specifically to support career counselors and other higher education professionals like you during these challenging times.
If you want to learn step-by-step how you could incorporate industry-mentoring into your existing support for your graduating students, you will be pleased to learn that Eduology will be offering a training webinar on the topic in October 2021! The training is based on tried-and-tested success stories from higher education institutions like yours.