HBCU Career Center Staff and Faculty Partnerships
Career Center Staff and Faculty
Why should there be well established career services faculty partnerships on college campuses? Because both groups of professionals are, in most cases, deeply committed to student success. Working together, faculty and HBCU career center staff support successful transitions for undergraduate or graduate students into the workforce.
Here are a few examples of career center staff and faculty partnerships that could work to support students.
Partnership Opportunities
Faculty can invite career center staff to conduct workshops during classes. If faculty have to be absent from campus, instead of cancelling class invite career center staff to meet with the class at the already scheduled class time.
Faculty can encourage students by awarding extra credit assignments to participate in career center activities such as career and internship fairs or career workshops.
Faculty should make their research interests known to career services staff who can facilitate connections with potential industry partners.
Faculty should be open to hosting industry professionals in their classrooms and for discussion panels or speaker events. Employers are usually very impressed by college career centers that have good partnerships with faculty.
Faculty should refer students to career centers for the latest, current and relevant information on how students can professionally transition from college to work successfully.
Faculty and career center staff should both encourage conversations with students about their future goals. Faculty are aware that not all college undergrads want to go to graduate schools and often refer those students directly to career services staff.
Faculty and staff must be able to speak about industry employment trends with students as well. Career services often have access to industry data impacting employment and can definitely be a resource for faculty with industry data.
Faculty can identify alumni and employers who want to come to campus and participate through seminars or career center activities such as On-Campus-Recruiting.
Faculty can definitely work with career centers to develop graduate school resources for students.
Faculty members can serve on advisory boards for career centers.
Career Resources for Faculty and Staff
There are many HBCU Career Centers that provide career development services to faculty and staff at their universities. This is important because it is well known that faculty and staff that are committed to their own personal professional development are better able to assist students reach their goals.
Here are a few faculty career resources that career centers may have access to or collaborate to cost share for organizational membership.