Career services leadership and advocacy

Hi ya, Reader- There’s a question that’s quietly turning into a crisis on campus:“What do we lose if we cut career services?” At some institutions, that question has already become a decision. Staff slashed by 50%.Open roles frozen indefinitely.And yet… Students still expect personalized guidance. Families still demand outcomes. Presidents still need to prove ROI. Career services isn’t being cut because it’s unimportant. It’s being cut because it’s invisible in the conversations that count....

The moment he said it, Reader, my stomach dropped. We were on a call—he’d reached out after losing his job. His university had recently merged with another, then lost its federal funding as a PBI. The entire career center was cut. He reached out because I talk about these things—visibility, advocacy, the work of being seen as essential. As he told the story, one line stood out. “The new president met with the whole career center and said, ‘No one really knows what you do here.’” That was it....

Hello there, Reader- For decades, we’ve told students: college pays off. But now, Washington wants proof. Starting in July 2026, every degree and certificate program that receives federal aid will face a new test: Did your graduates earn more than people without your credential? If not, the program risks losing access to federal financial aid. That’s the core of the new Earnings Rule, part of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and it’s about to redefine how higher education is judged. On paper, it’s...

Hi, Reader! A director once told me about a new initiative her office launched. The design was thoughtful. The resources were there. The student impact was clear. But the project stalled. Students weren’t engaging, senior leaders weren’t convinced, and the whole thing remained “a career services project” rather than a campus-wide priority. The missing link? Faculty. If you’ve ever tried to partner with faculty and felt like you were speaking another language, you’re not alone. But here’s the...

Hi, Reader! Picture this: You’ve got ten minutes with the board. You’re armed with slides full of stats, charts, and maybe one too many acronyms. They nod politely… and then ask about the football team. That’s the trap. Too many career presentations stop at the report-out. We ran this program. We held this event. Here’s the number of students who showed up. That’s not what sticks. 🎯 Boards (and cabinets) filter everything through two lenses: risk and opportunity. If you want your message to...

Hey there, Reader- When I introduced the idea of interventions in career services last week, one concern came up: “This all sounds great, but we don’t have the systems to track it.” And honestly? That’s fair. Most career centers weren’t built with intervention in mind. We have tools to post jobs, run career fairs, and collect FDS results—but not to track whether a student has completed the milestones that predict employability. Reframing the problem The good news: you don’t need perfect...

Hello, Reader- How many of your juniors were truly ready for the internship market by September?How many are checked out—or still exploring majors when employers are already recruiting? In today’s environment—tight labor market, AI reshaping entry-level jobs, and state and federal accountability breathing down our necks—leaving career readiness to chance is no longer cutting it. It’s time to step up our game. From the engagement on my LinkedIn post on this topic, I know many of you are with...

🍁 Happy September, Reader! It's that time of year again, when we watch the rankings make our chancellors and presidents sweat. Boards ask about them. Donors cite them. Parents Google them.And let’s be honest—sometimes it feels like an entire cabinet meeting can get derailed by one data point in the rankings by U.S. News. But here’s the opening: alternative rankings are changing the story. Washington Monthly’s “Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax Dollars)”—out just last week—flips the...

Hello, Reader- New academic year, new syllabi, new… wave of students pretending not to make eye contact when they walk past your career center table. Sound familiar? Every year, we launch welcome events, kick off programming, and hope this will finally be the year more students engage earlier. But here’s the truth:Students aren’t waking up thinking about résumés, career fairs, or NACE competencies. They’re thinking…“How do I choose the right major?”“Will I land an internship?”“What do I want...