Since so many students have large college loans, they have to worry about employers and the jobs that will be available to them when they graduate. Of course, that doesn’t mean that students who aren’t burdened with loans aren’t also worried about getting good jobs. I’ve said this before, but it’s still true. In the end, most college students only want three things:

1. A good college education

2. A pleasant university experience

3. A great job when they graduate

Unfortunately, there are universities that have trouble achieving all three. Some universities are known for their academic excellence. Others offer lots of activities, clubs and parties. Only a few have a reputation for having systems in place to ensure large numbers of students get high-paying jobs with desirable employers who will have opportunities for advancement.

Until university leaders change their minds and place a higher value on student career success, they won’t change their behavior. No one can effectively change their behavior before changing their mind.

Skeptical leaders are always resistant to change. It scares them. Change usually scares all of us until we understand it and believe that change will make things better for us. That is the challenge.

How can university leaders identify and understand the changes that will result in greater career success for students and make things better for themselves? Money, labor and time are topics that are always mentioned. However, the most important factors are “wanting to do things better” and “looking for and identifying things that need to be changed.” Colleges that can’t or won’t do one or both will never improve the career success of their students.

To improve student career success, colleges must:

1. Recognize that students have quite limited knowledge about job search preparation activities and what, how, when, and why they should be done.

2. Accept the fact that college (an institution of learning) is where students spend most of their time and where they expect to receive the information, help, and guidance they will need in their job search.

3. Agree that job search preparation instruction and guidance is largely the responsibility of the university as a whole, not just students and individuals in Career Services.

4. Understand that students must compete against other applicants for the best jobs in their fields of interest. Simply having earned a degree with good grades is often not enough.

5. You believe your college will benefit when more students get desirable jobs with respected employers.

To help students find greater job success, universities should:

6. Help students identify and select a career direction that matches their abilities and interests no later than their sophomore year. When students wait too long to identify a career direction, there may be little or no time left for sharply focused job search preparation activities. Late decisions may also require more time in college and additional college loans.

7. In their freshman or sophomore year of college, have students purchase and read a book that explains the entire employment process, including job search preparation strategies and efforts. Career Services should suggest one.

8. At first, ask students to create a personal budget for independent living after college. That will get them thinking about upcoming expenses and give them an idea about the minimum starting salary they will require. Career Services can provide a sample budget form, so students can fill in the blanks.

Having a realistic budget will encourage students to determine two things: 1) Does the selected career path have desirable entry-level jobs that will meet their budget requirements? and 2) Do those jobs have good growth potential and a career path?

Qualified students should not blindly enter careers and accept job offers that make it difficult for them to live on their own and pay off college loans or offer little salary and career growth potential.

9. Help students select a major and major that will support their career direction and jobs that are of interest to them.

10. Help students prepare a written action plan that includes the activities and experiences they will participate in to become more attractive to their target employers. Universities can start by providing each student with a generic example of a step-by-step plan.

11. Offer job search preparation classes to students. These classes should cover all aspects of job search preparation, review the content of the book that has been selected, help students build and use their job search network, create a resume that focuses on achievement and successes and also help students develop the stories and examples they will use during interviews.

12. Have each student research and identify a group of jobs in their selected field of interest. (Having a clear goal will make the next steps easier for students to accomplish.)

13. Have each student research and identify a list of employers who will have opportunities for students with their own career interests. That way, students can search for opportunities with specific employers that interest them. In almost all cases, students must go after employers and not the other way around.

14. Help students identify the specific things their target employers will need, want, and expect from job candidates. (Students are more attractive to their target employers when their needs, wants, and expectations have been prepared for and addressed.)

15. Help students research, identify, and maintain listings of job boards, search firms, and websites that may be helpful while conducting their job searches. Students with similar career directions can work together as a team and share their results. (Initial lists of students in each major should be available from Career Services.)

16. Train and encourage students as they execute their action plans. Every campus employee can help with this. In fact, everyone in the university community can help with this. However, college alumni should be ideal for this aspect of job search preparation. That means the university has to make a special effort to involve successful alumni in this process.

17. Work to create a growing group of employers that provide part-time jobs, internships, co-op assignments, work-study programs, and summer jobs for students in any and all majors. Work experience and job performance are extremely important to interviewers and the employers who hire them. Students with job-related work experience, highly-skilled job performance, and strong job references will always attract the attention of potential employers.

18. Work to create a growing pool of respected employers who will visit campus to recruit students. The goal should also be to find and invite a wide variety of employers so that some will be interested in students with the least recruited majors. Many universities are not good at finding employers who are interested in students from the least recruited majors. In fact, on every campus there will be students who don’t have a single interview on campus.

19. Develop a long list of employment opportunities for graduating students in each major by requiring everyone associated in any way with your institution (university leaders, faculty, administrators, hourly employees, students, parents, alumni) suppliers, vendors, local employers) and community leaders) to use their networks to identify jobs that pay well and have a substantial benefits package for employees.

20. Help students pay close attention to their job search preparation activities, job performance, and achievement. Students must be prepared to compete for the highest paying jobs with career potential.

Job offers are not won or lost during interviews. They are earned in the second, third, and fourth year of college. As students engage, participate, take action, lead, and work, they will be able to take advantage of opportunities to demonstrate their abilities and add them to their list of impressive accomplishments. The best candidates talk about their performance and offer examples during interviews.

21. As students enter their senior year, they should be given multiple opportunities to participate in mock interviews. They will need to practice presenting their sales pitches, successes, and achievements. When students tell compelling stories about their experiences and performance in college and work, employers will pay attention.

These suggestions will result in a new culture on campus. Students who get good jobs will speak highly of the university and will be more capable and more likely to donate. Also, as high-potential applicants learn of their students’ career successes, they will want to attend your college.

Student career success is beneficial to both students and universities. That’s why universities need to pay more attention to efforts and services that will result in more and better jobs for their students.