Advisors come in many forms across campuses, and students often interact with more than one advisor over their collegiate journey. Whether it’s career advising, academic advising, faculty advising, athletic advising, etc., advisors play a key role in helping students prepare for their careers. In their one-on-one conversations with students, advisors can identify each students’ unique needs and provide them with the information and resources they need to succeed.
Several members of the Steppingblocks Partner Success team sat down to discuss the six different types of students that advisors work with and outlined the ways in which Steppingblocks’ Digital Career Counselor tool can be a helpful next step for each student. Click here to download the eBook.
Click here to watch the recording and click here to view the session Powerpoint.
The Explorer or "Square One" Student
The Explorer, or the “Square One” Student: this is the student who is just starting out and exploring what their interests might be. They might have a vague idea of their interests, but need help narrowing things down. Oftentimes this student is a first-year student, and who might not know what major to choose.
For this student, it’s important for advisors to help them start to identify areas of interest and narrow down possible career paths to explore. The Digital Career Counselor tool’s Personality Assessment is a great starting point for this type of student. The 20-question assessment allows students to see majors and job titles that might be a good fit for their personality.
The Map Maker or “I know what I don’t want” Student
The Map Maker, or the “I know what I don’t want” Student: this student often likes their major, but doesn’t like the “typical” job that goes with it, or they are no longer interested in their original major, and are looking to switch.
In this situation, advisors can remind students that knowing what they don’t want is valuable, and encourage them to reflect on what they have liked and think about how that could translate to a career. For this student, many Digital Career Counselor resources would make a great starting point. Students can see job titles that fit their personality after taking the personality assessment, or they can see their school’s alumni outcomes through the Outcomes tool. Students can also use Search 360 to see top job titles, employers, career paths, skills, and salaries from our dataset of over 135 million people.
The Quest Seeker or the “Next Step” Student
The Quest Seeker, or the “Next Step” Student: Oftentimes advisors will meet with students who know what their interests are, and are ready to take on a high-impact experience, such as an internship or research opportunity, and develop their skills.
When working with this student, advisors can help students narrow down the type of internship or experience they want to pursue and provide them with the appropriate resources to get started (such as resume resources, internship boards, etc.). Advisors can direct students to the Outcomes, Search 360, and Job Board features in the Digital Career Counselor platform, and help them explore top employers, skills, and open positions.
The Forager or the “Checking the Box” Student
The Forager, or the “Checking the Box” Student: Many advisors are likely familiar with this type of student, who is coming in to check a box. Whether they need a required internship or class, or a job after graduation, this student likely doesn’t care what the position is, as long as they get one.
Advisors can help these students not only fulfill their urgent need, but also encourage students to use this as an opportunity to gain valuable experience and explore their career interests. To help students do more than check a box, advisors can direct them to the Personality Assessment, Outcomes, Search 360, and Job Board tools in the Digital Career Counselor platform.
The Treasure Hunter or the "Endgame" and "Niche Interest" Student
The Treasure Hunter often sees two types of students: The “Endgame” and “Niche Interest” students. The Endgame student often has a clear and specific career goal in mind, and wants to know what steps they need to take to get there. The Niche Interest student has a career interest that is very specific that often doesn’t align with a specific major or program.
For both of these students, advisors can direct students to the Search 360 tool in the Digital Career Counselor. In Search 360, students can see career paths from real people, and get an idea of the career milestones they may take on their career journey. They can use the skills feature to see the top skills for people in their desired job title, and start making a plan to develop those skills and prepare for their dream career.
Click here to view the session Powerpoint.
How are you supporting students’ career preparation?
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The earlier a student begins thinking about their interests and career goals, the less likely they are to switch majors or need to take (and pay for) extra semesters of schooling. Advisors, faculty, and staff can start helping students with this career exploration by using the Digital Career Counselor tool in one-on-one conversations, or by integrating the tool into their curricula.
Check out the different ways Steppingblocks partner institutions are leveraging the Digital Career Counselor platform to support their students:
University of Maryland Global Campus' curriculum integration
Georgia State's College to Career Initiative
Implementation at the University of Memphis
West Virginia University's Hire a Mountaineer Campaign
Interested in how you could leverage Steppingblocks? Explore now.
