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Journal of College Student Psychotherapy

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The Profession of College Career Services Delivery: What College Counselors Should Know About Career Centers
Michael Schaub
a a

Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA Version of record first published: 21 Jun 2012.

To cite this article: Michael Schaub (2012): The Profession of College Career Services Delivery: What College Counselors Should Know About Career Centers, Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 26:3, 201-215 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2012.685854

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Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 26:201215, 2012 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 8756-8225 print/1540-4730 online DOI: 10.1080/87568225.2012.685854

The Profession of College Career Services Delivery: What College Counselors Should Know About Career Centers
MICHAEL SCHAUB
Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA

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College career centers provide a valuable resource to students faced with choosing a major, learning about different career elds, and securing internships and jobs. Career centers must provide an increasingly sophisticated array of one-on-one and virtual services in order to meet the needs of students and recruiters. Collaborations between the career services ofce and other departments, including the college counseling center, are necessary to address students needs in a holistic manner. The author describes the organizational structure of college career centers and services typically offered, discusses psychological correlates of career development and the integration of personal and career counseling, and provides suggestions for how counseling center and other college professionals can collaborate with their career services ofce. KEYWORDS career counseling, career development, career services delivery, college career centers In the current challenging economic climate, the delivery of career services to college students is more important than ever. Students rely on their career services ofce to help them identify career options, research companies and industries, search for job opportunities, prepare documents such as resumes and cover letters, develop interview skills, and evaluate job offers. Meanwhile, clinicians at counseling centers often work with students who have concerns centered on vocational issues. It is important therefore that clinicians understand how their colleges career services ofce functions
Address correspondence to Michael Schaub, Career Education Center, Leavey Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057-1086, USA. E-mail: jms46@georgetown.edu

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and have good working relationships with that ofce. Clinicians who are knowledgeable about their career services ofce are in the best position to make seamless referrals as needed. Career services ofces meet students vocational development needs in a variety of ways, but most centers provide four core services: career counseling/advising, instructional sessions and workshops, job and internship opportunities, and networking sessions with alumni and other professionals. Career centers may also dedicate resources to students who are considering graduate school, professional school, volunteer opportunities, and entrepreneurial activities. The obvious desired outcome of the provision of these services is to help students nd career-related opportunities after graduation. However, many career services ofces assess their services based on additional student-centered learning outcome goals such as increased vocational identity through engagement in internships; development of job search skills; and enhancement of their collegiate experience by bridging academic, cocurricular, and career involvement in a cohesive and holistic manner. Due to both internal (e.g., decreased career center budgets) and external (e.g., shifting national and local economic climates, changing employer expectations) factors, the ways in which colleges and universities provide career services to accomplish these learning objectives vary. What follows is a discussion of the most common models of career services delivery and programmatic offerings found in career centers at 4-year colleges and universities.

EVOLUTION OF COLLEGE CAREER SERVICES OFFICES

As noted by Casella (1990), college career services in the 1940s and 1950s experienced a surge in growth in a response to needs created by college GI bill recipients. College career centers developed what Casella referred to as a Placement Paradigm to connect the large number of students with jobs after graduation. Dey and Real (2010) observed that this placement paradigm often involved an employment service delivery model, in which students and employers were the primary constituents served (i.e., students acquired jobs and employers acquired workers). The Planning Paradigm followed from the 1960s through the 1980s, in which career centers focused on teaching students job search skills and strategies to help them advance their immediate and long-term career goals. The service delivery model utilized with the college GIs transformed from an employment service to a counseling model. Career center staff counseled students to consider their personality, interests, values, and skills when seeking opportunities. In other words, the focus on placement changed to a focus on education.

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Casella (1990) posited that the 1990s brought a Networking Paradigm, which taught students how to take advantage of networking opportunities with employers. Career center staff coordinated events such as career fairs and alumni receptions and facilitated student and employer participation in these events. Programs were offered at both career centers and off-campus venues, and staff assumed an organizing role to supplement their career education responsibilities. Career centers continued to offer job opportunities and educational sessions consistent with the earlier paradigms. Next, Dey and Real (2010) noted the rise of the Social Networking Paradigm of the 2000s that involves the interaction between traditional networking opportunities and the emergence of social networking. The interaction of the traditional and social networking strategies occurs in a global forum with the aid of advanced technological tools. Dey and Real (2010) observed that career services ofces in the current era have become a one-stop shop, with a comprehensive menu of career services, including counseling and advising, for-credit courses, outreach and programming, career fairs and networking opportunities, online and library resources, and on-campus recruitment opportunities (p. 33). The role of technology in todays delivery of career services is signicant. Career centers utilize online job and internship databases, remote counseling and advising sessions via e-mail and Skype, teleconference capabilities enabling students to interview remotely with employers, digital cameras to record and play back interview practice sessions, online resources that provide access to company and industry information, and web-based exploration tools such as SIGI and DISCOVER. The immense popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, along with online products that provide self-help mock interview practice sessions (via a webcam) and interactive web-based career fairs, have created a virtual career center that is indeed global in nature. In many respects, todays career centers are no longer the sole custodians of job and internship opportunities. Employers are liaising directly with academic departments, alumni ofces, and student organizations to share employment and networking opportunities in an effort to tap the best student talent in the most efcient manner. Students have access to a myriad of job search Web sites, in addition to the sites managed by university career centers, which enable them to search for jobs based on specic career elds and other customized criteria. To be successful in todays multifaceted job search environment, college career centers must assume multiple roles, including relationship manager and event coordinator, to strategically connect students with available opportunities. For this reason, it is critically important for career services professionals to develop and maintain relationships with a variety of on- and off-campus constituents. Furthermore, career services professionals must understand the developmental needs of students in order to help them manage

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the tremendous, and often overwhelming, number of resources targeting them.

STRUCTURE OF CAREER SERVICES OFFICES

The provision of a colleges career services is often classied along a continuum ranging from centralized to decentralized based on the academic programs or occupational sectors of interest served by the career center ofce. An institution that offers one primary career services ofce that serves students from every academic program and for every career eld of interest is said to have a centralized model of career service delivery. Institutions that offer separate career center ofces to serve students from specic academic programs or for certain career elds have a decentralized model. Colleges or universities that utilize a decentralized model often have more than one career services ofce available, with each ofce focusing on specic academic programs or specializing in certain occupational elds. Some schools offer a hybrid model of career services delivery that incorporates aspects of the centralized and decentralized model. The hybrid model may take different forms depending on the needs of the institution. For example, one career center may provide a full complement of services to a primary population (e.g., all undergraduate students), but makes available select services to students from other populations (e.g., graduate students studying the humanities). The National Association of Colleges and Employers 20102011 Career Services Benchmark Survey (NACE, 2011, January) found that 87% of colleges surveyed have primarily centralized ofces. Larger schools are more likely to have decentralized ofces or a hybrid of centralized and decentralized ofces. Career centers may also be charged with providing counseling and advising services to alumni (NACE reported that 64% of career centers offered some services to alumni) and to students enrolled at other institutions through a reciprocity agreement. NACE (2011, January) found that 64% of career services ofces reported to the division of student affairs, and 24% reported to academic affairs. Most career centers typically employ one director, one or more associate and assistant directors, career counselors, and clerical staff. Larger career centers may staff employer relations coordinators, experiential education coordinators, career information specialists, technology managers, and marketing coordinators (NACE, 2011, January). The majority of directors, associate directors, assistant directors, and career counselors hold masters degrees (NACE, 2010, January). Approximately one quarter of career counselors are certied by the National Board for Certied Counselors or another organization (E. W. Koc, personal communication, January 4, 2012). The employment of nationally certied counselors reects the value espoused by some career centers of taking a counseling-centered approach to student career exploration and development.

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METHODS OF CAREER COUNSELING

One role of career counselors is to help students explore and identify their career interests, values, skills, and the inuence of personality on career choice. Depending on the counselors theoretical orientation and emphasis on holistic career development, career counselors may also explore other factors related to career development, including race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, attachment issues, self-efcacy, and social supports. Usually career counselors address these issues to the extent they affect the students career exploration and job search process. Given that career counseling sessions are often time-limited (perhaps three to ve sessions, although work may extend over a students college career), career counselors must carefully assess the students goals for counseling, clarify expectations, and as appropriate refer the student to other campus resources (e.g., the counseling center) in order to complete work within the time constraints. Career counselors employ a variety of vocational theoretical orientations. Common approaches include trait-factor (e.g., Holland, 1997), developmental (e.g., Super, 1980), social learning (e.g., Krumboltz, 1979), and social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown & Hackett, 1994). Hollands trait-factor theory deserves a special mention because of its profound inuence on vocational research and practice. Holland proposed that work environments can be described across six domains (referred to as RIASEC) based on work tasks and the personalities of people who are satised in these environments: Realistic (activities that involve building/repairing things, operating machines, and manipulating objects), Investigative (analyzing data and studying scientic phenomena), Artistic (creativity and imagination), Social (helping or teaching others), Enterprising (business practices, selling, managing, and persuading), and Conventional (keeping records, performing work that requires attention to detail). Holland also maintained that peoples personalitiestheir dominant traitscan be described along the same six dimensions (e.g., Realistic individuals are often described as conforming, natural, and practical). Holland posited that people seek work environments congruent with their personalities (Realistic individuals seek out Realistic career elds) and are most satised with their jobs when personalityenvironment congruence is obtained. As is the case with all counseling theories, career counseling theories are intended to provide a framework to understand the students career concerns and plan interventions. For example, assume that a student has entered into career counseling for assistance with exploring a career in the creative arts. Lent et al.s (1994) social cognitive career theory provides an empirically based framework for understanding how career-related learning experiences (successfully creating works of art, observing positive role models in the art eld, being encouraged to utilize ones artistic talents) inform

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self-efcacy (condence that one will be successful in art) and outcome expectations (expecting to be satised in a career in art), and subsequently, inuence vocational interest in art, career goals, and career choice. This is an example of how a theory can be a particularly valuable tool for guiding the counselors work with the student. Career counselors have many psychometrically sound assessment tools at their disposal. The Self-Directed Search and the Strong Interest Inventory, both rooted in Hollands (1997) theory of personality and interests, are well established and frequently used by career counselors. These tools measure the clients interests according to the RIASEC model and provide resources to match personalityinterest type with congruent occupations. The Strong Interest Inventory yields vocational interest and occupational congruence information, including scores for each of the RIASEC interest types, basic interest scales that assess the clients interests for 30 broad occupational/work task categories, occupational scales that compare the clients interests to people working in 122 occupations, and personal style scales that describe the clients preferences for different work and educational environments. The Skills Condence Inventory, an adjunct to the Strong Interest Inventory, provides a measure of self-efcacy across the RIASEC interest themes. Research has shown that self-efcacy plays an important role in predicting career options and choices (e.g., Lent et al., 1994). The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is widely used by career counselors to assess personality preferences for important career-related variables such as career elds, work environments, and job search strategies. Developed by Isabel Myers and Katharine Briggs and based on Carl Jungs theory of psychological types, the MBTI describes an individual as using one of 16 possible personality type combinations. Four dichotomies of personality preferences describe how individuals prefer to direct their energy, gather information, make decisions, and deal with the world (Hammer, 2007). According to Hammer, the rst dichotomy, Extraversion and Introversion, reects the preference for focusing on and being energized by the external world and people (Extraversion) versus focusing on thoughts and feelings of ones inner world (Introversion). The second dichotomy addresses ones preference for focusing on facts and data (Sensing) versus focusing on possibilities and the relationships among ideas (Intuition). The third dichotomy reects a preference for reaching decisions using analysis and logic (Thinking) versus using subjective evaluations and maintaining harmony with others (Feeling). The fourth dichotomy reects dealing with the world using an ordered and planned strategy (Judging) versus a spontaneous and exible manner (Perceiving). Career counselors may use a clients type to gain insight into the individuals preferences for engaging in the career process and to describe his or her work-related strengths and obstacles, with the goal of identifying satisfying occupations. For example, Hammer (2007) suggests that clients who

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identify as ESTJ (Extraverted, Sensing, Thinking, and Judging) on the MBTI may prefer to utilize a clear action plan to achieve tangible goals for the job search, to maintain a network of contacts and discuss career possibilities with others, and to collect and analyze data about different jobs before engaging in a logical decision-making process to analyze career options. Jobs popular with the ESTJ population include managers and supervisors in a variety of elds. Clients who identify as INFP (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving), may have several long-term career goals and be open to new career opportunities throughout the decision-making process, utilize a select number of contacts for networking (or choose not to formally network), read about different career elds as a way to learn about jobs, and use a subjective approach to decision making that takes into account the individuals and signicant others values. Occupations popular with the INFP type include musician, composer, writer, artist, and graphic designer (Hammer, 2007). Because research has shown that personality is related to career interests and other career development variables (Schaub & Tokar, 2005; also see Tokar, Fischer, & Subich, 1998, for a review), results of personality measures may serve as an adjunct to vocational interest surveys. Although often used in vocational research, some career counselors incorporate the ve-factor model of personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness) in their work with clients. Career values (factors that motivate an individual and are important for job satisfaction) can be assessed with pencil-and-paper measures, computer-assisted career guidance software, or with a values card sort. An assessment of skills is usually evaluated using a checklist, computer software, a review of successes in particular academic courses, GPA, and standardized test scores. The inuence of interpersonal relationships (both positive and negative) with family and signicant others on vocational development can be assessed using a career genogram (see Okiishi, 1987). In summary, career counselors use a variety of quantitative and qualitative assessments to explore factors that may have an impact on clients career development.

INTEGRATING PERSONAL AND CAREER COUNSELING

Despite the fact that many colleges provide separate counseling and career services ofces, there is considerable theoretical and empirical support for integrating career and mental health issues in one counseling setting. Betz and Corning (1993) argued that career and personal counseling should not be viewed as different types of counseling due to the (a) holistic emphasis of many counseling theories, (b) considerable body of research that demonstrates links of gender and cross-cultural factors to career variables, and (c) commonalities between career and personal counseling processes and theories (e.g., a focus on the therapeutic relationship). Similarly, Krumboltz (1993) argued that career and personal counseling are

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inextricably intertwined (p. 143) and contends that arbitrarily classifying these cases as either career or personal is detrimental to the client. Consider the following scenarios (some of which are modied from Krumboltz, 1993): a college senior has been searching for a job unsuccessfully since the start of the academic year and is experiencing depression that has negatively affected his relationship with his signicant other; a junior who identies as lesbian wants to explore new career elds because she has observed discrimination in the workplace during her internship; a military veteran has returned from active duty and is enrolled in a graduate program, but he feels out of place as a civilian and is experiencing anxiety related to conducting a job search in the private sector. How would one conceptualize the primary issue? Should the counselor focus on the career or the psychological concern, or should both issues be addressed concurrently? Will xing the mental health issue alleviate the career concern, or vice versa? If the client does not wish to participate in career and mental health counseling simultaneously, what is the prognosis for career counselingor mental health counselinggiven that only one side of the presenting problem is addressed? When working with traditionally-aged college students, Schultheiss (2000) called for a conceptualization of the career counseling process that addresses developmental issues that are salient to this population and often the focus of mental health counseling work. Such developmental issues include identity development (clarication of attitudes, values, beliefs, and goals; developing a sense of autonomy and interdependence), the role of relationships (maintaining healthy attachments with parents, friends, and signicant others; negotiating the developmental tasks of separation and individuation), and college student adjustment (transitioning from home). Clearly, developmental theory could also be useful when working with nontraditionally aged students. Consider a 40-year-old married woman with children who is pursuing her bachelors degree to move from a job with an hourly wage to a salaried position. She may be dealing with developmental tasks such as balancing schoolworkfamily issues, integrating the role of student into her identity, and transitioning her vocational self-identity from an hourly employee to a salaried career professional. Incorporating a developmental perspective can be a useful way to address both the career and noncareer aspects of the client in a single therapeutic setting. As mentioned previously, some college career counselors are certied counselors and are able to establish treatment protocols that address both career and psychological issues. However, not every college career counselor has training as a mental health professional, just as many college mental health counselors lack competency in career counseling. Minimally, career counselors should be trained to recognize mental health issues, understand the possible interactions between vocational and psychological problems, and make referrals to licensed professionals as necessary. Similarly, counseling center therapists should be aware of the career

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tasks facing their clients and understand the interplay between career and psychological factors.

METHODS OF CAREER AND INDUSTRY ADVISING

Students demands for career assistance and employers expectations for reaching out to specic student populations has called on career services to incorporate more industry and/or academic program-based advising. After students choose a particular career eld, they may need to engage with a professional for advice on how to nd jobs and internships in that occupational sector, connect with professionals through informational interviews, apply to and interview with a company, and evaluate offers. At larger institutions offering a range of academic programs, it is unreasonable to expect career counselors at a centralized career center to possess the industry-based knowledge that will meet the needs of all students. For this reason, career centers may offer industry specialists or employment advisors to help students prepare for a job search in a specic industry. In addition to offering one-on-one career advising, industry specialists coordinate employer visits and information sessions, strive to increase a companys involvement with the career services ofce, explore new industry-based job posting boards and association Web sites, and connect students with alumni. Industry-based employment advising can provide a critical link between career exploration and the world of work. NACE (2011, January) reported that 22% of the Class of 2009 planned to attend graduate school after graduation. Although most career center resources are focused on connecting students with employment opportunities, the need to provide graduate and professional school advising is signicant. Graduate school advising services vary depending on the career centers centralized/decentralized model, stafng resources, and the extent to which academic departments offer graduate school advising. Career counselors often provide general guidance to help students discern whether graduate or professional school is in line with their career goals and to offer guidance about the application process, such as where to search for graduate school information, how to sign up for admissions tests, and how to ask professors for letters of recommendations. Some career centers offer prelaw advising services, whereas students interested in medical school may be directed to premed advising programs housed in academic departments.

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INTERNSHIP/JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND RECRUITING EFFORTS

Engaging in internships while in college enables students to learn about career elds and develop skills necessary to compete successfully for jobs after graduation. In fact, 74% of employers surveyed stated that they prefer

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to hire candidates with relevant work experience (NACE, 2011, November, p. 26). NACE (2011, January) reported that 69% of students were placed in an internship while in college, usually with the assistance of career centers. Career center staff work diligently to develop relationships with employers to ensure that internship and job posting sites feature opportunities that span a range of industries and locations. Staff also refer students to various public job boards to supplement the listings provided by the career center; most career centers provide direct links to them on their Web sites. In conjunction with academic departments, career centers may offer students the opportunity to complete internships for academic credit. Of schools that offer credit for internships, 76% included their career services ofce in creating and helping students locate the academic internship (NACE, 2011, January). NACE (2011, January) reported that 72% of career centers surveyed offered on-campus interview services with employers, with 23% of seniors participating. On-campus interviewing is an effective and convenient way for students to apply to jobs and interview with recruiters. Employers appreciate the opportunity to meet and evaluate many talented students in a single campus visit. Despite the advantages of on-campus interviewing, career services staff must occasionally remind students not to focus exclusively on this process without considering other valuable opportunities offered by the center. Career services ofces provide many more job and internship opportunities via their online job postings compared to the number of employers who visit campus. Education about job search strategies is paramount for students to take advantage of career services resources. Thus, it is advisable for students to engage proactively in a three-pronged approach to nding employment: regularly reviewing job posting sites and applying to jobs that are a good t, identifying companies that are of interest and inquiring directly about job opportunities, and utilizing alumni and other contacts to develop a professional network. Career fairs and employer networking events are valuable programs that connect students with employers (and school alumni) who provide information about occupations, companies, and existing job opportunities. Career fair formats include general fairs open to companies representing all occupational elds and to students from all academic majors, and specialized or niche fairs that target particular industry groups (e.g., healthcare) or student majors (e.g., science majors). Even though employers may not be hiring at the time of the fair, career fairs provide the opportunity to obtain information about the employer and develop strong professional networks. Employer networking events may involve small group coffee chats or larger alumni gatherings. Some career centers have employed a speed networking format in which a student speaks with an employer at a table for 5 to 10 minutes before moving on to a new employer at another table. Career centers often collaborate with the alumni career services ofce to seek alumni volunteers for these events.

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RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COUNSELING CENTER

Students may experience psychological distress as they struggle with issues related to career decision making. In fact, research has demonstrated relationships between career decision making and depression (Rottinghaus, Jenkins, & Jantzer, 2009); dysfunctional career thoughts, career indecision and depression (Saunders, Peterson, Sampson, & Reardon, 2000); negative career thinking and increased career/life stress (Bullock-Yowell, Peterson, Reardon, Leierer, & Reed, 2011); career indecision and anxiety (Newman, Fuqua, & Seaworth, 1989); and career decision-making style and neuroticism (Chartrand, Rose, Elliott, Marmarosh, & Caldwell, 1993). College students seeking internships and jobs may also experience stress and anxiety due to external economic and market conditions that make it difcult to nd employment. Job opportunities in certain occupational sectors may shrink during an economic downturn, resulting in erce competitionoccasionally among classmatesfor few available positions. Students may feel pressure to begin their job search early, to attend career fairs and networking events, and to apply to a wide range of companies. Media reports of layoffs and threats of rescinded offers weigh heavily on some students. Although most students manage the stress of the job search without negative consequences, some experience signicant anxiety that affects their academic performance, relationships, and health. In assessing students needs and planning helpful interventions, both career center and counseling center staff should be aware of the psychosocial correlates associated with the career decisionmaking process and the potential psychological impact of searching for jobs in uncertain economic conditions. Career counselors working in college career centers who have been trained to diagnose and treat psychological conditions may choose to work with clients on mental health issues to the extent that the conditions are relevant to the career decision-making process. For example, it may be appropriate for the career counselor to teach the student anxiety-reduction techniques such as relaxation, purposeful breathing, and visualization to cope with anxiety associated with the interview process. Likewise, cognitive distortions about a students work-related abilities that arise while engaged in the job search process can be addressed through cognitive therapy and rational emotive behavioral therapy. Strained relationships with family members that limit the students willingness to consider career options (e.g., students who experience pressure from parents to nd a job close to home) can be ameliorated through interpersonal therapy and cognitive techniques. Career center counselors and counseling center therapists occasionally work with students who are concurrently seeking services from both ofces. One survey of students who sought services at their college counseling center, which provides both mental health and career counseling, found that

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14% of students were treated for both career and mental health issues during the same counseling experience (Pace & Quinn, 2000). When dealing with cases involving both kinds of issues, career counselors often walk a ne line between career versus psychological counseling. Career counselors, like therapists in clinical settings, are expected to practice within the limits of their competence. The National Association of Career Development, a division of the American Counseling Association, asserts in its 2007 Code of Ethics that career professionals practice only within the boundaries of their competence, based on their education, training, supervised experience, state and national professional credentials, and appropriate professional experience (NCDA, 2007, May). College career counselors should be aware of the limits of their training, and of the clinical support and supervision that their work setting provides, when establishing treatment goals and implementing therapeutic techniques for students. Students presenting psychological disorders that are serious in nature or not directly relevant to the career decision-making process should be referred to the college counseling center. Similarly, mental health counselors who are not well versed in theories of career counseling or experienced in interpreting vocational assessments should refer students to the college career center. It should be noted that CPP, Inc., the publisher of the Strong Interest Inventory and the MBTI, maintains eligibility requirements based on educational background or certication training to administer and interpret these instruments. In some cases, it is appropriate for career center and counseling center professionals working with the same student to consult with each other. When a consultation is indicated, the student should of course complete a release of information consent form so that observations can be shared. Given the overlap between career difculties and mental health concerns, career counselors and counseling center therapists are encouraged to form working relationships to expedite making referrals. It is recommended that career center and counseling center staff schedule a meet-and-greet session before the start of the academic year so that new staff members can introduce themselves and review the career and counseling resources available to students.

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RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER CAMPUS AND EXTERNAL PARTNERS

Establishing productive relationships with campus partners is a critical task for career centers. Career center staff rely on partnering with academic deans, faculty, and staff to market programs and services to students, cosponsor programs, and hold listening sessions to learn about student needs. Including academic- and career-focused student groups (e.g., student academic councils, student business associations) in strategic partnerships is

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also a wise investment of time. Students represent the primary constituent group and sometimes can be the most vocal critics of career center services. Encouraging students to take ownership of their career services center by creating a student career advisory council and cosponsoring programs with the center are important ways to forge good relationships with students. Other natural collaborative relationships are with disability support services, academic learning services, the LGBTQ center, the womens center, athletics, residence life, and student programs. Career centers often receive requests to facilitate career development programs for these ofces, calling for a thoughtful programming strategy to manage the number of requests and match requests with existing career services offerings. Liaison relationships with the alumni association, university assessment and planning, and parents associations may also be productive. Career services ofces partner with vendors who supply technological resources such as the centers online job/internship posting site and online databases that provide company proles, industry guides, virtual interview preparation, resume and cover letter creation templates, and student/employer contact management systems. They also communicate regularly with sales representatives who pitch new career development resources. Given the number of potential relationships with campus and external partners, career centers may elect to assign staff members to specic liaison assignments based on their areas of expertise or interest.

FUTURE OF CAREER SERVICES

Career services, like many other aspects of higher education, are becoming increasingly global and virtual in nature. Although career centers proudly report the number of employers who participate in on-campus interviews and live career fairs, career professionals must be able to serve students, employers, and often alumni who are not able to physically visit campus. The development of more sophisticated career services technology helps to facilitate this global reach. Noting that most career services ofces are housed in the division of student affairs, where the focus on student development is paramount, career services professionals must be mindful to balance the need for high tech with high touchvirtual services with one-to-one connections. As students increasingly use texting to communicate with friends, family, academic professionals, and employers, career centers must not lose sight of the challenge to help students develop communication and interpersonal skills that will be needed while on the job. Career center staff must weigh the advantages of providing virtual services against the need to help students develop critical social skills. Career services professionals are nding that employers who conduct just in time recruiting (searching for immediate hires as compared to

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anticipating hiring needs months in advance) have a different set of expectations of the career services ofce. These employers do not want to be channeled into a traditional career center job posting model, in which a job is posted to the entire student body with the hope that qualied student candidates will apply. Instead, to streamline the search for talent, employers increasingly ask for lists of top students in a particular major, access to online resume banks of students and alumni, and contact information for student group leaders. This trend will call on career services professionals to utilize existing liaison relationships with campus partners and develop targeted recruiting mechanisms so that job and internship opportunities can be sent directly to students likely to be qualied. Collaborative relationships with academic departments and career-oriented student groups will provide ideal pathways between the employer and the student candidate. A clear challenge with this approach, however, is to ensure that students representing different academic majors, vocational interests, and extracurricular afliations have access to a range of employment opportunities. Schools that espouse a liberal arts approach to education contend that students who are trained to think analytically, problem solve creatively, and communicate effectively with a diverse population can be successful in most industries, regardless of academic major. All career services professionals can share stories of students who competed successfully for jobs that were considered outside of their major. A balance must be struck between satisfying employers needs for expedient hires and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to apply for jobs across a variety of elds.

REFERENCES
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