College students have a lot to think about, let’s be honest. It’s not just a case of trying to memorize the best route to class, cramming revision in, or making sure you’re up to date with the reading list. You also have to make sure that you socialize, make friends, join societies, and have fun! This can all be a bit overwhelming, especially when you consider that you need to be thinking about the future as well.
When you leave college, you need to have some idea of what you are going to go into as a career. There are so many different options available that will help you to determine what career path you would like to take. In fact, many colleges have career services available – the problem is, students aren’t using them enough. We’re going to look at why that is, and what can be done to change it.
Convoluted services
Many of the career services offered in colleges and universities do seem to be abnormally convoluted and complex these days. There are a lot of different elements to these services, and it’s not always clear what the most important ones are. You have to be aware of the fact that it’s not always obvious which resources you should be using, and some students find it difficult to know what the right ones are. Perhaps if the on-campus career services were made less complicated, we might see more students taking the time to use them.
People would rather speak to friends
Another reason why fewer college students are taking advantage of the career services on offer is because they would sooner speak to friends or family. Many students will first talk to people they know about prospective job opportunities. Familiarity is safe, and they will have somebody they trust who they can speak to. In many ways, this is actually a better approach, because it’s networking and building opportunities for the future right away. Of course, this applies more readily to those well connected to the professional workforce.
There needs to be better communication
Many job opportunities are spread via word of mouth, and this is more accessible to students when they interact with others. For instance, a student is less likely to build a relationship with staff advisors than they are with those they already communicate with on campus. So, it could be time for career offices to start expanding and enlisting the help of others on campus. People go to their trusted network for information, and this is something careers centers could be doing more to focus on.
These are just a few of the reasons that could go some way toward explaining why students are not using the services available to them. There is a wealth of information and opportunity to be found in college career centers, but the information is not always utilized properly. A lot of that is due to the fact that students aren’t aware of the volume of resources available, as well as poor communication, and the familiarity of speaking to family. Colleges need to get better at helping students gravitate toward these services, that way they will be better prepared for the working world.
