Engagement and Employability: Developing Students into Career-Ready Graduates

By Corey Seemiller, PhD Office of Research and Strategic Initiatives

®

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

What is Engagement? 1

Professional Exploration 2

Professional Preparation 7

Professional Experiences 10

Conclusion 10

Resources 11

References 12

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In this eBook, you will learn about:

• Professional Exploration: How can we create engagement opportunities to help students engage in self-exploration to find a career match?

• Professional Preparation: What engagement experiences can we offer to prepare students for the workplace?

• Professional Experiences: How can we intentionally shape engagement experiences on campus, like campus employment and student organization involvement, into experiences that emulate the professional world?

What is engagement?Engagement is the quality of effort a student puts into “educationally purposeful activities that contribute directly to desired outcomes” (Astin, 1993; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991 from Hu & Kuh, 2002, 555). Engagement is a mutual relationship between the student and the institution. A student must be engaged, but the institution must be engaged back by creating inclusive and affirming environments, student-faculty contact, active and collaborative learning opportunities, and clear expectations (Wolf-Wendel, Ward, & Kinzie, 2009).

We use this definition of engagement throughout our eBook series on engagement to maintain a consistent operational definition.

Check out our other eBooks on engagement!

Percentage of business leaders who "strongly agreed that graduates have the necessary skills and competencies to succeed in the workplace”.(Grasgreen, 2014)

11%

89%

According to a Gallup poll, only 11% of business leaders “strongly agreed that graduates have the necessary skills and competencies to succeed in the workplace” (Grasgreen, 2014). Employers are looking for more than just technically competent employees; they want future leaders who can work well with others and communicate effectively (NACE, 2014). So, how can we better prepare students to be successful in their careers after college? Creating engagement initiatives around professional exploration, professional preparation, and professional experiences can provide students a foundation for career-readiness.

Introduction

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Traits Interests

Values Competencies

Career Fit

Whether it is by matching one’s traits (Parsons, 1909), values (Lewin, 1936), interests (Holland, 1973), or competencies (Bandura, 1977) to a particular career field, students need to understand themselves before they can assess for fit in a future career.

Uncovering Traits

Traits are those characteristics (like charisma, determination, and extraversion) a person is born with, yet can polish throughout life. In 1909, Parsons developed the Trait and Factor Vocational Theory that asserted that people are more successful and satisfied when their traits are compatible with their work environments. In order to assess for compatibility, though, it is critical for a student to figure out what traits one possesses.

Professional Exploration

Students come to college and although some may have an idea as to what they want to do for a career, many do not or are unsure. And, those who come in with one major sometimes change to something else. So, what engagement experiences can we offer in higher education to help students find a career that matches with who they are? This match is critical for both students and employers, as having a match can lead to employee satisfaction and persistence in the field, which ultimately results in less turnover and higher productivity (Lewin, 1936).

Taking ActionSo, what engagement experiences can help students uncover their traits?

Self-assessment instruments are widely used to help someone identify his or her strengths. Some include:

• StrengthsQuest • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator • Big 5 Personality Test • True Colors • DiSC • Keirsey Temperament Sorter

These assessments are sometimes offered standalone with individual interpretation and sometimes are required through participation in a course or program. Helping students learn about their traits can ultimately help them decide a career path that matches with who they are.

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Clarifying Values

Values are beliefs or principles someone holds deeply. Values often shape our behaviors and can serve as an internal compass in decision-making. Lewin (1936) coined the concept of Person-Vocation (P-V) fit as a way to describe the congruence one has with their personal values and the general values within the vocation. Individuals with strong P-V fit are more likely to be satisfied in their jobs, have a higher sense of well-being, and stay longer in their jobs (Hansen & Lee, 2007). Having knowledge of one’s values can be helpful in figuring out if those values match those of one’s future occupational field.

Taking ActionSo, what engagement experiences can help students clarify their values?

Just like with traits, self-assessment and self-reflection can be useful in uncovering values. Students can do a:

Values inventory

• Have them take an assessment that helps them determine their most important values.

Values sort

• Have them write out a different value on a note card (or you can provide them with note cards with values on them). Then, have them sort them into categories (must have now, must have always, would like but do not have to have, must have in a work environment, etc.).

Values rank

• Have them write down a list of their ten most important values. Then, have them rank order them from 1-10.

Personal mission statement

• Have them consider their 2-3 most critical values and develop a personal mission statement around those values.

These activities provide an opportunity for self-reflection and clarification. Although we might think that everyone knows their values because they live them every day, that is not necessarily the case. Sometimes it takes deep reflection to uncover what is most important.

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Conventional

• Likes to work with numbers, records, or machines in a set, orderly way; generally avoids ambiguous, unstructured activities

• Is good at working with written records and numbers in a systematic, orderly way;

• Values success in business; and

• Sees self as orderly, and good at following a set plan.

Realistic

• Likes to work with animals, tools, or machines; generally avoids social activities like teaching, healing, and informing others;

• Has good skills in working with tools, mechanical or electrical drawings, machines, or plants and animals;

• Values practical things you can see, touch, and use like plants and animals, tools, equipment, or machines; and

• Sees self as practical, mechanical, and realistic.

Investigative

• Likes to study and solve math or science problems; generally avoids leading, selling, or persuading people;

• Is good at understanding and solving science and math problems;

• Values science; and

• Sees self as precise, scientific, and intellectual.

Confirming Interests

A student’s traits and values may match with a specific occupation, but if that occupation does not include any interests the student has, he or she may not stay. The Strong Interest Inventory (Strong, 1927) is an assessment that recommends occupational areas and more specifically, occupations to a student based on his or her interests. The occupational areas in the most current Strong Interest Inventory are based on the six Holland Codes: Conventional, Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, and Enterprising (Career Key, 2014). Being able to confirm one’s interests can be incredibly helpful in finding an occupation that is a good match.

Artistic

• Likes to do creative activities like art, drama, crafts, dance, music, or creative writing; generally avoids highly ordered or repetitive activities;

• Has good artistic abilities -- in creative writing, drama, crafts, music, or art;

• Values the creative arts -- like drama, music, art, or the works of creative writers; and

• Sees self as expressive, original, and independent.

Social

• Likes to do things to help people -- like, teaching, nursing, or giving first aid, providing information; generally avoids using machines, tools, or animals to achieve a goal;

• Is good at teaching, counseling, nursing, or giving information;

• Values helping people and solving social problems; and

• Sees self as helpful, friendly, and trustworthy.

Enterprising

• Likes to lead and persuade people, and to sell things and ideas; generally avoids activities that require careful observation and scientific, analytical thinking;

• Is good at leading people and selling things or ideas;

• Values success in politics, leadership, or business; and

• Sees self as energetic, ambitious, and sociable.

Conventional Realistic

Investigative

ArtisticSocial

Enterprising

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Discovering CompetenciesPeople also choose occupations based on their belief of their ability to do the job (Bandura, 1977). If a student already possesses the competencies to do a job, that student may be inclined to enter that occupational field. The opposite may be true in that if a student lacks the fundamental competencies to be successful in a specific occupation, he or she may be reluctant to even enter the field. Before developing necessary competencies, it is important to inventory one’s current competency level to see which competencies may need to be enhanced.

Taking ActionSo, what engagement experiences can help students confirm their interests?

Like traits and values, self-reflection and self-assessment are key tools to use to help students confirm their interests. Students can do:

An interest list

• Have them make a list of their hobbies and what they enjoy doing in their leisure time. Why do they enjoy that hobby?

• Have them write down a description of the environments that they do their hobbies in that would be appealing in a work environment.

Strong Interest Inventory

• Have students take the Strong Interest Inventory.

• Upon completion of the inventory, a report is provided that lists occupations that people with similar interests enjoy doing.

There is often not as much of a focus in what students enjoy compared to what they value or are good at. So, incorporating engagement experiences that help students understand what interests them in life and how that translates into a career is critical for them in the occupational selection process.

Taking ActionSo, what engagement experiences can help students discover their competencies?

Having students take assessments to rate their skills/competencies can help students clarify their strengths and weaknesses. These can include:

• Skills assessments (several found online)

• Student Leadership Competencies Inventory

• Emotionally Intelligent Leadership Inventory

• 360-degree evaluations from peers, supervisors, and mentors

As important as it is to focus on what a student does well, it is also important for a student to understand his/her gaps. Since competencies can be learned, being able to acknowledge that one does not have a competency is not a flaw; it is simply an opportunity to develop a new skill set.

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What Next?

Once students have some self-clarification, what engagement experiences can we offer students to help them see if they match with a particular career field?

Informational interviewing: Have students interview someone in their prospective career field to learn more about the work environment, occupational values, job duties, and skills needed. If they are looking at more than one field, have them do more than one interview.

Job shadowing: Have students experience a “day in the life” of someone in their prospective career field by shadowing him or her in the workplace. This is a good time for students to experience the culture and environment for themselves.

Mentoring: Having a mentor in one’s prospective career field can also provide a student with an ongoing relationship with a trusted advisor. Students can ask questions they may not ask in an informational interview and get career advice all along the professional exploration journey.

Researching career fields: Have students search different career fields online by looking at the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Jossey-Bass Student Leadership Competencies Database, professional association websites, and prospective employer websites.

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70% of educators believe students are prepared for work by the time they leave college, however less than than 50% of students believe they are prepared for work (Farrell & Mourshed, 2013).

Although students may know what career field they want to enter, they often do not know what to expect when they arrive on the job. This gives educators ample opportunity to create engagement experiences that prepare students for the world of work.

Three major aspects of professional preparation are helping students:

• Develop the competencies that will prepare them for post-college employment.

• Understand and adhere to professional expectations of their field.

• Articulate the value of their experiences to brand themselves to get the job.

What skills/competencies should students have in order to prepare themselves for post-college employment?

Perception of student preparedness for work upon graduation

70%EDUCATORS

50%STUDENTS

• Leadership • Ability to work in a team • Written communication skills • Problem solving skills • Strong work ethic

The NACE employer survey found that the top five skills employers want in college graduates are (NACE, 2014):

In a study of accredited collegiate academic programs, the five most prevalent leadership competencies required upon graduation are (Seemiller, 2013):

• Verbal communication skills • Ability to evaluate information • Written communication skills • Ability to analyze information • Motivation to generate new ideas

Professional Preparation

What does this mean for educators?

Unless students have mastered these competencies, we need to provide opportunities for students to enhance the competencies connected to career success. How are we helping students solve problems? Write better? Analyze information? Some may say there are competencies on this list (like writing) that should be developed in a student’s academic program and not through an engagement initiative. But, what is so unique about incorporating competency development into engagement initiatives is students do not just learn competencies; they use them. If a student leader cannot write a funding proposal effectively, that student may cost the organization money. If a student organization president cannot analyze a situation effectively, an organizational issue may go undiagnosed leading to low morale and poor retention. Being able to learn and utilize critical leadership competencies can fundamentally help prepare students for the professional world.

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How are we helping students clearly articulate the value of their engagement experiences to brand themselves?

Most students participate in engagement experiences in college through initiatives like club involvement, campus employment, study abroad, an internship, or another involvement experience. Offering opportunities to help students showcase themselves on their resumes, in their cover letters, and in their personal statements can help set students apart from others in getting the job they want. Tools like digital e-portfolios, co-curricular transcripts, LinkedIn profiles, and other resources emphasizing learning and engagement in college are easy-to-use, yet most students are not even aware of them. Even transforming a personal Facebook profile and adding privacy settings is a good professional move. Consider even having students make their own business cards with URLs to their various social media accounts and e-portfolios.

Helping students navigate the many tools available to them to market their engagement experiences can provide a means to differentiate them from others in the job application process.

37% of employers look at peoples’ Facebook profiles to pre-screen for employment

(Huffington Post, 2012).

What should students know about professional expectations before entering their career field?

Students often do not have any idea about professional expectations. Expectations can include workplace culture, professional communication and social media use, and etiquette. Being able to create engagement opportunities to help them learn what they did not know they needed to learn can be vital to a student getting and/or keeping a job. Often, students are coming from an informal culture in college and transitioning to a more formal culture in the workplace. This formality could include dress code, rules, deadlines, attendance, and protocols. Help students discover what is appropriate in the culture they are planning to enter by having them research their field and prospective employers.

Communication and social media use are areas that a student might also have to prepare for a transition to the professional world. Students may be used to more informal language (verbally and in writing) and access to getting information from others 24/7. We need to help students understand that texting their boss, calling after hours, or “friending” a customer or client on Facebook might be frowned upon. And, sending an email using text language can be off-putting and unprofessional. Consider helping students learn the ins and outs of communication and social media use before they get out in the world of work.

As for professional etiquette, consider holding an etiquette dinner to help students understand the rules for eating and socializing in a professional setting. You could also have a networking reception to give students an opportunity to practice their handshakes and communication skills. Although this is not an exhaustive list of professional expectations, it is critical to make sure that we, as educators, consider integrating these ideas into our engagement experiences.

Help students avoid etiquette mishaps like:

Asking for extensions to finish projects

Texting during a meeting

Being too informal with the boss

Joe StudentBachelor of Arts in Marketing

May 2016

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555-555-5555

facebook.com/joestudent

@joestudent

joestudent@orgsyncuniversity.edu

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What Next?

All of these topics lend themselves to educating students about professional expectations through different types of engagement experiences

Workshops/Classes: Covering these topics in freestanding workshops, a workshop series, or even a professional development class can be great ways to ensure that students gain this information. The benefit of having a continuous workshop series or course is that students can engage with the content covered through reflection, exercises, and experiential activities. This cumulative approach ensures deeper and more sustainable learning.

Online Videos: With online video resources like YouTube, iTunes, and TedX, it is easier than ever to point students in the direction of a video that highlights professional preparation. Consider providing a list of videos that already exist online that cover a variety of topics on preparing for the world of work. And, with the ability to easily record videos nowadays, consider making videos and posting them on the departmental or program website. No matter who films the video, students enjoy being able to watch them on their own time.

Self-Guided Activities: There are also great resources in the form of activities, self-assessments, and even readings that provide information on professional preparation. Providing these resources to students allows them to select the information they want to learn about and engage on their own.

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Professional Experiences

One of the best ways to prepare students for future careers is by having them engage in an experience that has characteristics of a professional environment. These engagement experiences can include internships, campus employment opportunities, service learning, undergraduate research, and student involvement. All of these experiences can help develop leadership skills, connect students with networks of peers and mentors, and emulate a real-world context.

What these engagement experiences also offer is a form of experiential learning in which students engage in an experience, reflect on it, learn from it, and engage again with newfound learning (Kolb, 1984). But, this learning does not just happen magically. Educators must help construct an intentional process that helps students make meaning of their engagement experience in a professional context.

What Next?

Here are some helpful strategies to intentionally design engagement experiences to help prepare a student for the world of work.

Orientation: Having an orientation for students for an engagement experience (student leader training/employee training, for example) should not just be a training of expectations like expected work hours, dress code, etc. It should be an orientation to the culture of what the student will be experiencing in the engagement experience as well as an opportunity, if possible, to create networks with others.

Competency Pre-Assessment: Conduct a pre-assessment of student’s competency level. What are the student’s proficiencies and growth areas? This can help set the expectations of the experience as well as give you insight as to how to construct a learning experience based on each student’s needs.

Goals: In conjunction with the pre-assessment, have the student create goals and a professional development plan that outlines additional training and experiences to enhance career-readiness.

Mentoring: Provide the student a mentor. This can be a professional mentor, a peer mentor, or even the person who advises or supervises the student.

Reflection: Build in reflection to the experience. Have students journal or reflect on weekly prompts that help them make meaning of their experience to apply in the future.

Ongoing Feedback: Create space for ongoing feedback with students to help them reach their goals.

ConclusionEngagement is more than just an event, activity, or program. Engagement is about creating an intentional learning experience for students. And, with students only with us for a few years to prepare for what could be several decades of work, we have to make the most of our time with them to create meaningful engagement experiences so students can get and be successful in the career of their dreams.

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Resources

StrengthsQuest www.strengthsquest.com

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator www.myersbriggs.org, www.cpp.com

Big 5 Personality Test various versions online

True Colors www.truecolorspersonalitytest.com

DiSC www.thediscpersonalitytest.com

Keirsey Temperament Sorter www.keirsey.com

Strong Interest Inventory www.cpp.com

Student Leadership Competencies Inventory www.studentleadershipcompetencies.com

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership Inventory www.wiley.com

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References

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Career Key. (2014). Holland’s six personality types. Retrieved from http://www.careerkey.org/choose-a-career/holland-personality-types.html#.VM-NyVXF_An

Farrell, D. & Mourshed, M. (2013). Education to employment: Designing a system that works. Retrieved from http://www.mckinsey.com/features/education_to_employment

Grasgreen, A. (2014). Ready or not? Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/02/26/provosts-business-leaders-disagree-graduates-career-readiness

Hansen, J.C. & Lee, W.V. (2007). Person-vocation fit. In S.G. Rogelberg (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Industrial and Organizational Psychology(621-623). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Holland, J.L. (1973). Making vocational choices: A theory of careers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Huffington Post. (2012). 37 percent of employers use Facebook to pre-screen applicants, new study says. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/employers-use-facebook-to-pre-screen-applicants_n_1441289.html

Hu, S. & Kuh, G.D. (2002). Being (dis)engaged in educationally purposeful activities: The influences of student and institutional characteristics. Research in Higher Education, 43(5), 555-575.

Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Lewin, C. (1936). Principles of topological psychology. New York: McGraw.

National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2014). The candidate skills/qualities employers want. Retrieved from http://www.naceweb.org/surveys/index.aspx

Parsons, F. (1909). Choosing a vocation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Seemiller, C. (2013). The student leadership competencies guidebook: Designing intentional leadership learning and development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Wolf-Wendel, L., Ward, K., & Kinzie, J. (2009). A tangled web of terms: The overlap and unique contribution of involvement, engagement, and integration to understanding college student success. Journal of College Student Development, 50(4), 407-428.

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Learn Forward Engagement Series

Throughout the 2014 academic year, we will provide webinars focused on research and practical application, ebooks on strategies and best practices, and interactive blog posts engagement in higher education to give you knowledge and tools to enhance the valuable work you do. Below are the topics that will be covered:

September | Engagement and Student Success • Strategies for Engaging First Year Students • Events and Calendars as Engagement Tools • Fostering Student Success Through Meaningful Engagement Opportunities • Bridging the Gap: Integrating OrgSync to Enhance Student Engagement

October | Engagement as an Intentional Process • Not Just Another Campus Program: Intentional Student Engagement • Reaching the Other 80%: Helping All Students Find Their Fit • Give ‘em the Goods! Making OrgSync Worthwhile • Using Attendance Tracking to Support Engagement Initiatives

November | Engagement and Employability • Engaging Students through Professional Exploration, Preparation, and Experience • Minding the Gap: Increasing the Employability of International Students • Engagement to Employability: Helping Students Build the Skills Employers Crave • Showcasing Engagement with the ePortfolio

January | Creating Meaningful Online Engagement Opportunities • Updating Your Community’s Relationship Status • Intentional Online Interactions - The Importance of Purposeful Engagement

with the Virtual Student • Your Digital H.U.B. • Engagement on the Go: Engagement Using Mobile Devices

February | Engagement as Service Learning • Building the Foundation for Civic Engagement • Digital Tools for Academic Service-Learning • Creating a Campus Culture of Service: Linking Campus to Community • Five Essential Vertebrae of Your Community Engagement Backbone • Using the Service Management System to Expand Experiential Learning on Campus

March | Making Meaning of Engagement Experiences through Reflection • Making Meaning of Engagement Experiences through Reflection • Using Strengths to Build Engagement • Creative Reflection Strategies: Using the Capstone to Capture Engagement • Creating Meaningful Co-Curricular Transcripts for Students

April | Utilizing Rubrics to Assess Student Learning • Utilizing Rubrics to Assess Student Learning • Evaluating Leadership Development with the Student Leadership Competencies • Integrating a Service Learning Evaluation System for Students and Community Partners • OrgSync Tools to Collect, Analyze, and Report on Data

For more information about the Learn Forward Engagement Series visit:www.orgsync.com/learnforward

Find Us OnlineWebsite: www.orgsync.comBlog: blog.orgsync.comTwitter: twitter.com/orgsyncFacebook: facebook.com/orgsync Contact Usemail: research@orgsync.comphone: +1 (866) ORG-SYNCphone: +1 (972) 907-0900

Part of the Learn Forward Engagement Series