Tuesday, July 25 Break-Out Sessions

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

Break-Out Session Tracks:

College

Employer

Both, College and Employer

Break-Out Session Levels:

Level 1: New Professionals (less than 5 years)

Level 2: Mid-Career Professionals (5-10 years)

Level 3: Directors (10+ years)

Level 4: All levels will benefit    

Track: College                                                                        Level: 4   

Presenters: 

• Zach McGrain, Assistant Director College of Health Sciences
  Ohio University Career & Leadership Development Center
• Imants Jaunarajs, Assistant Dean for the Career & Leadership Development Center
  Ohio University
  

In this session, Ohio University will discuss how using a systems thinking approach effectively developed faculty partnerships and increased student engagement in career development. Presenters will briefly highlight systems thinking; discuss how a systems thinking approach was utilized successfully, and provide specific tactical and technical recommendations for participants to implement these best practices at their own institution. The conversation will also feature a birds eye view of how specific organizational structures can impact academic collaboration, while also providing examples of how career services staff can build relationships with academic stakeholders. To showcase one example, in 2012-2013, Ohio University's College of Health Sciences and Professions (CHSP) students took advantage of the Career & Leadership Development Centers services and events 783 times.  This past fall (2016), CHSP students took advantage of those same services and events 2,466 times.  Find out how this new systems thinking approach to academic collaboration tripled student participation in just over two years. 

Employer Recruitment:

Expanding Your Employer Network Across Campus 

                         Track: Both                                                                                Level: 4

Presenters: 

• Eden Haycraft, Assistant Director of Campus Recruiting and Job/Internship Preparation University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Daniel Almanza, Assistant Director of Student Outreach, 
  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

During the 2016 Midwest ACE conference, a panel consisting of career center representatives (from both large and small public universities, a community college, and a private institution) discussed their institutions engagement with recruiters on campus. This session resulted in a great discussion and allowed for an open dialog between both employers and career center professionals in terms of their expectations. Now lets mix it up!  Often times, the conversation between career centers and recruiters includes discussing career fairs, information sessions, tabling options, and on-campus interviewing. This session will include a panel of employers to further open the dialog between career centers and employers beyond the traditional discussions. During this panel, a variety of employers will reveal their innovative recruiting strategies used to seek top talent. Panelist will discuss their needs and wants when recruiting which will help career services members to better understand employers expectations when seeking to fill positions.   This session welcomes an open discussion that allows career services professionals and other recruiters to ask questions regarding their pet peeves and the reasoning behind their recruitment strategies.  This session will encourage participants to understand the obstacles employers face with the intention on creating new and inspired solutions to assist recruiters in finding the correct student talent.   
 

                       Track: Both                                                                              Level: 4 

Click here to access a PDF of the presentation

Presenters:

• Joelle Fundaro, Coordinator at The University Career Center
  University of Michigan
• Ali Mears, Campus Recruiter
  Plante Moran

As the population of students with disabilities in higher education grows, it is imperative that colleges and employers support students with disabilities as they transition into the world of work. Each student brings a unique set of abilities that bring strengths to their workplace, but they may experience challenges and barriers during this transition. This session will cover coaching students on disclosure as well as services and resources for students with disabilities. In addition, we will discuss ways to collaborate with employers to help with successful recruitment and onboarding of this population. Join us to share and learn new ideas that can be modified for your campus so that students with disabilities can find their fit after graduation.

                     Track: College                                                                      Level:  1 & 2                           

Presenters:

• Amy Marcrum, Assistant Director of Lindner Career Services
  University of Cincinnati's Carl H. Lindner College of Business
• Andrew Wellendorf, Assistant Director of Lindner Career Services
  University of Cincinnati's Carl H. Lindner College of Business

The purpose of this session is to discuss the importance of and practical tactics for using social media and marketing to build brand awareness and increase student and employer engagement. Effective marketing and social media use is an important dialogue for career services professionals. Dr. Farouk Dey, Dean of Career Education and Associate Vice President at Stanford, discusses in his article, “Future Trends in College Career Services” (2014), todays career services paradigm as one of “customized connections and communities.” He goes further to propose a critical question for career services professionals to reflect on: The question must be asked “ if we produce great work but no one knows about it, did it really happen? Branding career services is critical and vital to the success of a center and to the user experience. The challenge is that not every office has a dedicated marketing and social media coordinator. For many offices, this role falls into the other duties as assigned category. So how do career services professionals balance their student caseloads, employer relations, and promoting their services and students? The answer is not easy, but this presentation will focus on practical applications that any career services office can utilize based on best practices and Lindner Career Service's experiences.

*Embracing the 21st Century and Beyond:

From a Fixed to Growth Mindset

                    Track: College                                                                       Level: 4

Click here to access a PDF of the presentation 

Presenters:

• Wayne Thibodeau, Director of Career Services
  Oakland University
• Noah C. Pollock, Assistant Director of Assessment
  Oakland University 

Oakland University Career Services would like to share our story as a regional university by engaging audiences in a partially interactive session about embracing challenges, pressures and opportunities that Career Services continue to face in the 21st century. We will provide the audience with specific strategies to overcome challenges and pressures, and to capitalize on opportunities by transitioning from a fixed to a growth mindset. Furthermore, we will unlock secrets to collecting data, developing creative visual aids to display our engagement outcomes, and using dynamic infographics that give life to data and tell our story in a powerful way.

Click here to access a PDF of the presentation

Presenter:

• Rachel Taylor, Assistant Director
  Northwestern University

Click here to access a PDF of the presentation

Presenters:

• Angela Evans, Career Counselor
  University of Illinois Springfield Career Development Center
• Kristin Nisbet-White, Employer Development and Informatics Liaison
  University of Illinois Springfield Career Development Center
• Doug Brackney, Office Manager
  University of Illinois Springfield Career Development Center
  

Come learn how one Career Center took on the challenge of career readiness for their students by offering a Career Conference called Career Bytes Conference. The goal of the Conference was to provide an opportunity for students to gain the required know how in a concentrated, customizable forum in one afternoon. The Conference offered tracks focused on the career readiness competencies outlined by the National Association of Career and Employers. In partnership with employers, alumni, and staff twelve breakout sessions were offered to undergraduate and graduate students.  The Conference closed with a networking reception including an educational component on networking etiquette.