Page 10 - Student Affairs Annual Report

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CAREER SERVICES
Ready For Career
As early as a student’s first days on campus, Career Services encourages students to take advantage of all Clayton State has to offer as they discover their unique skills and interest.
Career Services works intentionally and collaboratively with students to transform their personal attributes into meaningful opportunities to ensure success at Clayton State and beyond.
Campus Collaborations
Continued collaborations across campus have proven to be a very effective gateway to engaging
with students early and often. Partnering with Academic Affairs resulted in Career Services staff hosting a Resume and LinkedIn presentation to over 400 freshmen students. In 2017, Career Services reviewed over 300 of those student’s resumes.
An initiative with the Center for Advising and Retention launched in February 2017 provided advisors an electronic means
of directly referring students to Career Services. This referral system has proven to be extremely effective in getting students connected to a major and/or career choice they feel best fits them.
Having students identify major and career choices early provides students with the confidence
in their career decision and will aide in getting them to graduate sooner.
Embedded Career Management Competency into the curricula
Dr. Deborah Deckner Davis, the new department chair in the Psychology department, decided to make a very meaningful impact on the career success of students by linking career activities and competencies with specific learning outcomes from selected courses.
Dr. Davis approached Career Services for ideas to make sure her students are marketable and viable with the skills employers and graduate schools seek when they graduate.
Students participated in activities such as building quality resumes, creating LinkedIn profiles, attending career fairs and networking events, participating in face-to-face practice interviews with an employer or alumni;
and attending one long-form workshop that focused on career preparation, professionalism in the workplace, and life after
Clayton State.
Within the first year, the department had 35 percent of graduating students complete all these activities. Dr. Davis’ goal is to have 100 percent completion of all activities for all graduates in future.
Employer Outreach and Development
Engaging with employers who recruit students for internships and jobs is always a major focus Career Services. For the 2016- 2017 academic year, the Career Services team set goals toward increasing the number of new employers who recruit students and alumni for employment.
The Staff had a goal of adding 25 new employers who recruit our students for internships, part-time, and full-time jobs. They surpassed that goal with a total of 49 new employers who came to campus to recruit students and alumni and/or posted job opportunities. Employers have said they are still extremely pleased with their overall recruiting experience, with Career Services currently maintaining an average customer service rating of 3.98 out of 4.0.