Hello Reader,
Last week, I presented at uConnect’s Career Everywhere Conference with a couple of power-house consultants from Carnegie and Credo.
Joretta Nelson, Jonathan Wehner, and I talked about how career services connects to some of the biggest priorities on campus—enrollment, retention, mental health, and overall student success.
Then Joretta dropped this gem:
“You adapt to the needs of students all the time.
Why aren’t you adapting to the needs of the president?”
And I nearly launched myself out of my chair like a game show contestant who wants to buzz in first.
Because yes.
How many times have you thought:
“My office is doing all this great work for students and connecting them with employers. Why doesn’t campus leadership see our impact?”
Your questions might sound more like:
- “Why weren’t we included in…?”
- “When will they get it?”
- “Don’t they think this is important?”
- “Why don’t they ever show up?”
These are all variations on a theme. (The theme being: “Hello? Don't you know we exist??”)
Here’s what I shared with the Career Everywhere audience:
Your president does think about career.
But that doesn’t mean they’re thinking about you.
Cue the collective sigh.
The misunderstanding
Leadership isn’t against you. They just aren't making the connection. And here’s why:
- It didn’t exist for them. Career services may have been a clipboard and a filing cabinet—if anything at all.
- They didn’t need it. Most leaders came up through academia, guided by faculty mentors. Career office? What career office?
- Old assumptions linger. Résumé help, job fairs, “placement.” That’s the entire mental model for many.
- We didn’t help. Career services has long branded itself as a student service. (Student Affairs, we love you—but sometimes we want a seat at that table too.)
Also: your president is juggling funding models, accreditation, board politics, possibly a rogue dean or two, and probably some brewing PR nightmare. If you’re not making your work crystal clear and strategically relevant, you’re not even on the radar.
The consequences
When leadership doesn’t see your value:
- Strategic plans mention career outcomes… but not you.
- You’re asked to lead major initiatives… but without authority or budget.
- Your communications get filtered like spam. ("Sorry, you can’t email students directly.” Cool cool cool.)
- You’re expected to prove ROI… with no access to ROI-level data.
If any of this feels a little too real, you're not alone.
(And know this because I was in your shoes!)
What you can do (your coaching moment)
Time for a hard look in the mirror. And yes—you look great, so this will only hurt a little.
Ask yourself:
Are you visible?
Are you showing up in rooms where decisions are made—or just hoping someone notices from the hallway?
Are you speaking their language?
Do your decks focus on student appointments—or how your work supports enrollment, mental health, and long-term outcomes?
Are you helping them help you?
Your VP, provost, or president should be able to brag about your office in under 60 seconds. Have you handed them the script?
If you need a place to start…
Start with your writing.
(Seriously—don’t make them guess what you do.)
Last edition was all about how to influence leadership through the way you write. Think: less “we hosted a great fair” and more “we retained 14% more students because of this initiative.” If you missed it, catch up here.
🎯 Writing is one of the fastest ways to boost your visibility—and help others tell your story for you.
Final thought—
This isn’t about begging for attention.
It’s about owning your value and translating it into language leadership understands.
They’re not sitting around wondering how to help you grow your office. (Wouldn’t that be nice?)
But when you meet them where they are—strategically, not just logistically—you stop being invisible.
And start being indispensable.
Things you might want to read:
Happy August, friends!
P.S. If you’re tired of doing great work that goes unnoticed, you’re not the problem. The system isn’t set up to make your impact obvious. But you can reframe it. I help career services leaders do this every day—and the results? Wildly worth it. Let’s talk.
P.P.S. Do you find these emails valuable? Let's spread the love. Invite a colleague to join our community here!
