Most colleges haven’t gotten the message.  Students want and need good jobs when they graduate.  However, to accomplish that goal, they need a lot of information and guidance along the way.  Both students and their parents want colleges to step up and take a firm hold of that responsibility.

As long as students and parents remain relatively silent and docile on this issue, colleges will continue to only pay lip service to this critical need.  These colleges will tell their students that they are doing what they can with the limited resources that are available.  And yet, large amounts of money and manpower are not needed.  Only a new way of thinking and a reallocation of resources would be necessary.  That’s where you come in.

Students and parents can make their needs known by forwarding the following questions to The Chair of the Board of Trustees, The College or University President and the Vice President of Student Affairs.
 

1. There are things that I can be doing during each semester of college, between semesters and during the summers that will help me land a good job.  What are they?
2. What yearly informational classes and training sessions are currently offered to students who want to become fully prepared to land good jobs when they graduate?
3. As a ___________ major with good grades, what 10+ job titles am I most likely to be offered when I graduate?
4. As a ___________ major with good grades, and knowing the job titles I am most likely to be offered, what salary offers can I realistically expect?
5. As a ___________ major with good grades, how many employers visited our campus to recruit students with my major last year?
6. As a ___________ major with good grades, how many students with my major received job offers from the employers that visited our campus last year?
7. As a ___________ major with good grades, what is the likelihood that I will land a job that pays $50,000 or more, so I can live on my own and pay back my college loans?
8. As a ___________ major with good grades, what internships and part-time jobs are available through the college to help me gain some solid work experience in my field?
9. To help me impress potential employers seeking students with my major, what campus clubs or activities should I consider joining, participating in or leading?
10. Besides the book titled A Successful Senior Year Job Search Begins In The Freshman Year, what books and articles should I read during my first two years of college?
11. How do I find out what the best employers in my field will expect me to accomplish before they will consider me for an interview?
12. How can I differentiate myself from other qualified students in my field?
13. How many alumni who graduated with my major can you put me in touch with?
14. What is the college currently doing to ensure that more students land good jobs when they graduate?
15. What new forms of employment assistance are being offered to students this year or will be offered next year?

Answers to these questions can be posted on the college’s web site with the specifics for each major available in the Career Services Office.  Only when enough students and parents express their needs and concerns will more colleges begin to investigate and adopt approaches that will help more students find success in the job market.