How to Ensure Your Career Center is Future Ready
A student walks into a career center and asks for advice on how to land a job as a blockchain engineer. This isn’t the beginning of a joke, but rather represents a new reality that Career Center professionals are facing daily.
As technological advances accelerate around us, new types of jobs are rapidly coming into being. Ten years ago the concept of blockchain sounded like fantasy, yet today it is an industry unto itself.
This isn’t a trend which looks to slow down. In fact, a report published by Dell Technologies and authored by the Institute For the Future (IFTF) predicts that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.
Exploring Unconventional Career Paths
Not only are the types of jobs changing, but career paths are becoming more unconventional too. Take, for example, a YouTube Content Creator. This isn’t a career that you can necessarily prepare students for in the same way that you would advise students for a career in filmmaking through relevant film courses and securing applicable internships.
The reality of Career Centers having access to limited resources makes matters even more complicated.
According to a benchmarking report conducted by NACE, for every 1 career center staff, there are over 1,000 students to serve. As the number of new types of jobs rises, Career Centers will be stretched thinner and struggle to provide relevant and timely guidance to their constituents.
Career Centers are changing and there is a pressing need to adapt and face the challenge head on, or risk not being able to provide relevant and valuable career guidance to students.
So, how do you ensure your Career Center is future ready?
Unleash The Power of Your Digital Career Community
As the demand for novel career guidance grows while resources stay the same, Career Centers are increasingly turning to Digital Career Communities to scale their efforts and widen their expertise.
By accessing a wider network of people with varied experience, Digital Career Communities amplify the value of the Career Center. A digital network accessible on any device enables timely and relevant guidance and opportunities for students in a format that works for them.
UCLA, for instance, is one school that services over 2,000 students across multiple schools, chapters and affinity groups, offering career guidance from a wide and expert Digital Career Community of over 15,000 mentors.
The value of a Digital Career Community lies in the power of diversity, bringing together people with varying experiences including parents, alumni, faculty and recruiters.
This unique network of people who have indicated they are willing to help can be used by students for varying career needs. From CV writing and interview prepping for a job in international law to career guidance on how to make it as a freelancer in the ‘gig economy,’ a diverse community can provide endless value.
As the career landscape evolves, Career Centers need to be able to stay ahead of the game, continuously providing the right type of career guidance to their students.
Download The Case for Digital Career Communities to discover how to make sure your career center is future ready.
