How Students should prepare during COVID-19 

                                                                                    ---- Antonine Moss

Nobody has prepared. Hence, much confusion , nervousness and worry. It's natural . But you should be clear-headed. Read what Antonine says:

They are some ways to beat the present situation. They are : Creativity, Care, Community, and Calm! Let's understand them one by one. 

1) Boost your “Creativity” – You have to focus hard on developing creative programs, content, campaigns, and outreach efforts to engage and develop your students. Think about it. This generation is totally different from your generation. And on top of that, we are in the middle of a global crisis. This means you must change your mindset about career development. Some of the traditional career development tools are still great, but others have become outdated. To help with your creativity you must begin to think outside the box and begin to experiment and take some risks. You may be afraid to try a new idea, but if it’s a low cost idea you should take the risk to see if it will become successful. My number one piece of advice on career development creativity is for you to take as many low cost risks as you can!  Also, you should strongly consider turning to industry experts to request more ideas that will boost your creativity.

2) Show students that you “Care” – This step is a really big one; and honestly, I think it’s the most important one. From delivering interactive keynote speeches and career coaching sessions with students on college campuses, too many of them have indicated to me that their career adviser treats them like they are “just another number.” You have probably personally been in this position before when you received poor customer service and were treated as if you were “just another number.”

Research indicates when you demonstrate to customers that you genuinely care about their needs, they are more satisfied and feel more invested with the services they are receiving. For example, if you schedule a 30-minute virtual career advising session with a student and the session time expires, offer to extend the time with them. You can achieve this in a couple of different ways. You can simply continue your session on the spot or if that’s not possible, you can offer the student more time the following day. I know your time is valuable and you often have to stay on schedule, but it’s important that you fully meet your students’ needs. There are many other ways that you can connect with students and demonstrate that you care so feel free to explore other options too.

3) Lean on your “Community” Partners – You’ve heard this before, “partnerships are everything”. But now it’s different. It’s no longer a cliche. Now it’s necessary for the vitality of your department’s success. One amazing partner and resource that I would like to highlight is Best Colleges. This organization has created a Career Planning and College Internship Resources page that’s FULL of outstanding resources. Guess what? To make things easy for you, you don’t even have to search for this resource. Here it is for you: Best Colleges College and Career Resources!

4) Stay “Calm” and Take “Care” of Yourself – Above all things, you must stay calm and take the right measures to ensure that you are okay, personally. This is an unprecedented time in America and I know that you may have mounting levels of stress professionally and at home. Do your absolute best to make time for yourself so you can recharge and reduce your stress levels. Now is the time to enjoy beautiful walks, nature, and other things/hobbies that you miss doing!

Since the career services industry is an interactive field, feel free to comment and offer your remarks about this blog. I also highly encourage you to share best practices that are working for you or your colleagues!

Let’s beat COVID-19 together!