Career Match: Important but Ignored

The Boston Globe Magazine recently (3-23-2023) published stories about college graduates’ worries and hopes for life after college. One of the biggest, no surprise, was can they afford life after college? This   seems totally unfair after paying all that tuition and studying all those years. But, this is the reality today for far too many college graduates.

Challenges start right from the beginning. This year more 12th graders applied to 4-year colleges than ever before. Students and their families must deal with additional and unexpected hurdles because of this. For example, a number of colleges are deferring decisions on large numbers of Early Action applications. Colleges are using this situation to their advantage to make sure they get the applicants they really want. While this may be good for them, what does it mean for all those students who are hoping for a decision this past January but were told to wait?

Going, graduating, and transitioning into the world of work is a fearsome gauntlet for students and families. How can students and their families begin to take back a little control? We’d recommend that they take the Career Match between the student and the college more seriously. This is one of our 6 Keys of College Fit.

Career Match is very important but often ignored. We suspect that it is often not considered because data on the availability and efficacy of career counseling and placement services at each college is not included in national databases most often used by students to gather information and make their college lists. Students have to do the leg work to research on their own what career services are like at each of the colleges they are considering.

Here is a fact. Career counseling and placement services at colleges are not equal. They vary greatly between colleges and within the different programs and majors at each college. Some colleges offer paid internships for students in the summer that lead many to their first meaningful career-related job after they graduate. Some colleges even organize on-campus living in flexible ways to help facilitate internships that require students to live far away from campus. Some colleges have dedicated alumni networks that graduates can rely on. Some majors have mentors out in workplaces willing to help. Some colleges have career counseling centers staffed by experienced and qualified career counselors.

Students and families should be asking for answers to what a college’s career services will do for them. No campus visit should be complete without a trip to the career center. Before students realize it, they will need them. When building their list of which colleges to apply to, students should contact the career center at each and find out how these services can be used to the student’s advantage.

Students and their families can exert control in the college decision making process by gathering information on our 6 Keys of College Fit. The Career Match is a critical fit indicator that is often overlooked. Please visit us at www.collegeunmazed.com to help your students and their families learn how to more strategically advocate for themselves.