We think of spring as a time of celebration–graduations, parties, and warmer weather–but for many students graduating this year, springtime is also a time of uncertainty, especially when it comes to thinking about post-graduation plans.
To help students through this difficult period, many colleges are working to boost the effectiveness of their career advising programs. In a recent Chronicle article (”Finished College, Now What?“), Kathryn Masterson highlights the initiatives Wake Forest University’s Andy Chan has taken to better prepare Wake Forest students for “the real world.”
Chan, Wake Forest’s vice president for career development, has developed a new program that will expose students early on to career paths that “align with their personal beliefs and interests, so they don’t spend their 20s drifting.”
While most school career service programs focus on helping students with the “how-to’s” of job searching, Wake Forest, under the guidance of Chan, has taken a much broader approach. From the very first day of school, Wake Forest students are encouraged to think about how their interests, passions, and skills may translate into a future career. Wake Forest has made vocational and character development a priority, and is aiming to raise $5 million in the next five years to help fund the initiative.
First-year students will develop a “career action plan” that they will then continue to develop through their college careers. Students will be connected with faculty members, mentors, and internships in order to expose them to possible post-college paths.
Soon, the university counseling center will get an involved, all in an effort to encourage self-discovery. The requisite “how-to’s” will also be covered, in addition to classes or workshops on financial planning, budgeting, and collaborating with different people.
Chan also plans to build a Center for Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship.
Chan, who formerly worked at Stanford GSB’s MBA Career Management Center, was recruited by Wake Forest’s president, Nathan O. Hatch, after Chan presented his career development vision to the Wake Forest administration. Chan was attracted to Hatch’s educational approach of “educating the whole student and giving students a moral framework to help them find ‘good work for a meaningful life,’ balancing individual success with the common good.”
According to Chan’s strategy, it’s important to reach college kids early, so that they have time to develop their career goals, develop their personalities, and, of course, have plenty of time to change their minds along the way.
As is always the case at Wake Forest University, parent involvement will be critical to the new career development plan. One of Chan’s initiatives is “to teach parents to be better mentors and advisers to their children.”
Chan describes the ultimate goal as teaching students “how to build satisfying careers and lives,” not just to get them a job.
Related Accepted.com Resources:
- More Students Head to Mom and Pop For Jobs
- The Make-Your-Own-Job Solution
- Do You Take Advantage of Your School’s Career Center?
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Source: Finished College. Now What? (http://chronicle.com/article/Finished-College-Now-What-/65552/?sid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en)
Related: More Students Head to Mom and Pop For Jobs (http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2010/4/28/more-students-head-to-mom-and-pop-for-jobs.html?utm_campaign=MBAContent&utm_medium=blog&utm_source=blogvisitors&utm_content=CollegeJob)
Related: The Make-Your-Own-Job Solution (http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2009/12/24/the-make-your-own-job-solution.html?utm_campaign=MBAContent&utm_medium=Blog&utm_source=BlogVisitors&utm_content=BlogPost)
Related: Do You Take Advantage of Your School’s Career Center? (http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2010/4/26/do-you-take-advantage-of-your-schools-career-center.html?utm_campaign=BlogContent&utm_medium=Blog&utm_source=BlogVisitors&utm_content=CareerCenter)
Read the full article: Post-Graduation Uncertainty Broached by College Advising Programs