An Exploration in Missing Collaboration
Advising and career counseling are two distinct and separate entities at Marquette University. Not only are these resources located in separate buildings across campus (advising, while separated by college, has a center in Marquette Hall, while the Career Services Center is in Holthusen Hall), but the centers also differentiate in staffing and resources. Some students have found other mentors on their own as a form of alternative advising. A student questioning his or her major cannot receive advice on a future career path at his or her advising session. After observing a reverse career fair and interviewing a student in the College of Communication, it became evident that their is a disconnect between advising and career services. How can advising and career services work together to assist students in finding majors, career paths and post-graduation plans? To find information on the student perspective, I recorded and coded my interview, took reflective field notes after participating in a reverse career fair and described my own experience at Marquette with advising and career services. This research led me to question the consistency, independence, alternatives and opportunities advising has to offer.
My Motivation
Last year as a freshman, I was seriously considering changing my major and future career choice. I thought advising could help me. I thought Career Services was a resource for older upperclassmen looking for serious job placement, not a freshman struggling to chose a path in college. There was not a doubt in my mind that my advisor could help. In high school I could go to my counselor (and advisor) for anything. She was willing to talk things through and help me explore all of my options. She had given me personal and professional advice, which eventually led me to choosing the right college, scheduling all of my classes and joining numerous honor societies. I knew that advising in college could not be as personal as it was in high school due to the sheer number of students, but I was expecting to talk to someone who cared and wanted me to succeed. Instead I was treated like a number.
I sought help from my freshmen advisor. Coincidentally she was the freshman advisor for the entire college. How could one person possibly address the needs of every freshmen in the College of Communication? Don’t first-year students need stability? The jump from high school to college is challenging, but wouldn’t having a consistent advisor that they can depend on would make the transition easier?
Consistency
I interviewed Grace Johnson, a sophomore in the College of Communication, to gain learn what her experience was like with advising at Marquette. She said she has had three different advisors in her two years at Marquette. “(In) your earlier years I think you should have a consistent advisor,” Johnson said said. She also expressed concern over the topics discussed in her advising sessions. She said they talk about the big picture, but not the logistics, such as what classes to take and how to apply for internships so that they can gain experience.“They’re just do broad when you’re in there really,” she said. “It needs to be more specific.” Johnson also described the differences between advisors. From this interaction, my impression was that there isn’t enough commonality in a typical advising session. Johnson’s perspective showed me there needs to be some sort of consistency in advising because some advisors have very short sessions and don’t ask many questions, and others will spend the time trying to get to know you and it will be an hour.
Too much independence?
Johnson said she had experienced stress from planning her schedule every semester. Johnson explained: “... They give you options, but I would like a little more planning and structure to how I’m doing it. I feel like they’ll give me five different options of what I should be taking, but they’re not really telling me how much of a load each of this is going to be and stuff like that. I feel like they could be more descriptive when I’m in there.” Johnson’s description of this experience raises the question do advisors in the College of Communication leave too much up to the students to figure out? They handed Johnson pamphlets, handouts and the gigantic Undergraduate Bulletin that lists every course, major requirement and credit hour needed to graduate for every program in the university. But what if she reads it wrong? Who is going to stop her from scheduling the wrong class? Who will know if a class won’t be offered next semester?
Alternative Advising
Johnson also said the best advice and help she has received has not come from Marquette advising, but resources that she has sought out herself. She said she has made multiple appointments with Career Services and received great advice on internships, resume help and interviewing preparation, but this was not something advising gave her. She went and found it for herself.
Professor Herbert Lowe, a journalism professor in the College of Communication, typically holds meetings with students and gives them advice. I personally have had Professor Lowe for two different classes, and I continue to see him regularly. I have received great advice from him toward my major and career expectations. He has encouraged me and given me solid advice on how to chose a future career, find an internship and market myself professionally. Lowe is not a advisor for the college. No one mandates that he follows up with past students, but he does anyway. His meetings are more helpful and thought out than any advising session I have ever been to.
Last summer I introduced Grace Johnson to Professor Lowe. She needed career advice and guidance. He has since included her in meetings, given her tips on internships and reviewed her resume with her. When asked if Marquette helps her narrow down her post-graduation plans, Johnson said: “I think you have to search for it. I think, at least in the College of Comm, I have to find those resources so I can explore my options. They tell you about it, but they don’t tell you exactly how to do it. So like with (Lowe), I searched for that, and I went and talked to people about that.”
Career-Based Opportunities
Last month I attended Marquette’s first Reverse Career fair. I would have never known about this great event if my sorority, Pi Beta Phi, had not encouraged me to go. I never heard about this fair through the College of Communication. Johnson helped organize my sorority's involvement in the career fair and is currently helping to plan a career panel on incorporating Greek life experience into the job search. All of these opportunities came to her through Pi Beta Phi, not the College of Communication.
While at the fair, Johnson and I stood with our sorority and met employers. We handed out our resumes and fact sheets about Pi Phi. A senior transition officer is planning on running a career panel for Pi Phi where employers would come speak about what they look for in hiring, so we collected about 30 total business cards and put them in a small bowl. The amount of people at the fair remained at a consistent number. I estimated 150 students were in attendance with about 40 organizations. The number of employers total is hard to estimate because they were constantly moving, but about 25 to 30 stopped to talk to someone in Pi Phi. Of the employers I talked to, two had opportunities in the educational field, what I am interested in going into. Almost every other employee was somehow in the business field. Of the Pi Phis in attendance, four were in the College of Communication, two in Business, and one in Education.
After my participation and reflection on the career fair, I was left with many questions. Do career planning resources need to be made more accessible to students? Why should a student have to search out resume help and career fairs by his or herself? Why are these events not advertised to students through advising?
My Motivation
Last year as a freshman, I was seriously considering changing my major and future career choice. I thought advising could help me. I thought Career Services was a resource for older upperclassmen looking for serious job placement, not a freshman struggling to chose a path in college. There was not a doubt in my mind that my advisor could help. In high school I could go to my counselor (and advisor) for anything. She was willing to talk things through and help me explore all of my options. She had given me personal and professional advice, which eventually led me to choosing the right college, scheduling all of my classes and joining numerous honor societies. I knew that advising in college could not be as personal as it was in high school due to the sheer number of students, but I was expecting to talk to someone who cared and wanted me to succeed. Instead I was treated like a number.
I sought help from my freshmen advisor. Coincidentally she was the freshman advisor for the entire college. How could one person possibly address the needs of every freshmen in the College of Communication? Don’t first-year students need stability? The jump from high school to college is challenging, but wouldn’t having a consistent advisor that they can depend on would make the transition easier?
Consistency
I interviewed Grace Johnson, a sophomore in the College of Communication, to gain learn what her experience was like with advising at Marquette. She said she has had three different advisors in her two years at Marquette. “(In) your earlier years I think you should have a consistent advisor,” Johnson said said. She also expressed concern over the topics discussed in her advising sessions. She said they talk about the big picture, but not the logistics, such as what classes to take and how to apply for internships so that they can gain experience.“They’re just do broad when you’re in there really,” she said. “It needs to be more specific.” Johnson also described the differences between advisors. From this interaction, my impression was that there isn’t enough commonality in a typical advising session. Johnson’s perspective showed me there needs to be some sort of consistency in advising because some advisors have very short sessions and don’t ask many questions, and others will spend the time trying to get to know you and it will be an hour.
Too much independence?
Johnson said she had experienced stress from planning her schedule every semester. Johnson explained: “... They give you options, but I would like a little more planning and structure to how I’m doing it. I feel like they’ll give me five different options of what I should be taking, but they’re not really telling me how much of a load each of this is going to be and stuff like that. I feel like they could be more descriptive when I’m in there.” Johnson’s description of this experience raises the question do advisors in the College of Communication leave too much up to the students to figure out? They handed Johnson pamphlets, handouts and the gigantic Undergraduate Bulletin that lists every course, major requirement and credit hour needed to graduate for every program in the university. But what if she reads it wrong? Who is going to stop her from scheduling the wrong class? Who will know if a class won’t be offered next semester?
Alternative Advising
Johnson also said the best advice and help she has received has not come from Marquette advising, but resources that she has sought out herself. She said she has made multiple appointments with Career Services and received great advice on internships, resume help and interviewing preparation, but this was not something advising gave her. She went and found it for herself.
Professor Herbert Lowe, a journalism professor in the College of Communication, typically holds meetings with students and gives them advice. I personally have had Professor Lowe for two different classes, and I continue to see him regularly. I have received great advice from him toward my major and career expectations. He has encouraged me and given me solid advice on how to chose a future career, find an internship and market myself professionally. Lowe is not a advisor for the college. No one mandates that he follows up with past students, but he does anyway. His meetings are more helpful and thought out than any advising session I have ever been to.
Last summer I introduced Grace Johnson to Professor Lowe. She needed career advice and guidance. He has since included her in meetings, given her tips on internships and reviewed her resume with her. When asked if Marquette helps her narrow down her post-graduation plans, Johnson said: “I think you have to search for it. I think, at least in the College of Comm, I have to find those resources so I can explore my options. They tell you about it, but they don’t tell you exactly how to do it. So like with (Lowe), I searched for that, and I went and talked to people about that.”
Career-Based Opportunities
Last month I attended Marquette’s first Reverse Career fair. I would have never known about this great event if my sorority, Pi Beta Phi, had not encouraged me to go. I never heard about this fair through the College of Communication. Johnson helped organize my sorority's involvement in the career fair and is currently helping to plan a career panel on incorporating Greek life experience into the job search. All of these opportunities came to her through Pi Beta Phi, not the College of Communication.
While at the fair, Johnson and I stood with our sorority and met employers. We handed out our resumes and fact sheets about Pi Phi. A senior transition officer is planning on running a career panel for Pi Phi where employers would come speak about what they look for in hiring, so we collected about 30 total business cards and put them in a small bowl. The amount of people at the fair remained at a consistent number. I estimated 150 students were in attendance with about 40 organizations. The number of employers total is hard to estimate because they were constantly moving, but about 25 to 30 stopped to talk to someone in Pi Phi. Of the employers I talked to, two had opportunities in the educational field, what I am interested in going into. Almost every other employee was somehow in the business field. Of the Pi Phis in attendance, four were in the College of Communication, two in Business, and one in Education.
After my participation and reflection on the career fair, I was left with many questions. Do career planning resources need to be made more accessible to students? Why should a student have to search out resume help and career fairs by his or herself? Why are these events not advertised to students through advising?
Conclusion
These experience taught me that the resources for career opportunities and advising strategies at Marquette are not lacking. Since the fair I have been invited to interview for two different internships, and made a connection for a future service opportunity. How can these resources and opportunities integrate so that students have better access to them? Do the faculty at Marquette and those that run advising and career services feel that there is a disconnect? Now that I have begun to establish the student experience in advising and career services, I will focus my research on faculty experience with advising and how Marquette’s advising system is structured and run.
These experience taught me that the resources for career opportunities and advising strategies at Marquette are not lacking. Since the fair I have been invited to interview for two different internships, and made a connection for a future service opportunity. How can these resources and opportunities integrate so that students have better access to them? Do the faculty at Marquette and those that run advising and career services feel that there is a disconnect? Now that I have begun to establish the student experience in advising and career services, I will focus my research on faculty experience with advising and how Marquette’s advising system is structured and run.