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 to do after college?”
“Am I even employable?”
If we want to change engagement, we have to change the way we communicate.
Stop convincing. Start connecting.
Josh Spector puts it perfectly:
“Your job is to connect what you offer to what they want, not to convince them to want what you offer.”
It's a subtle shift.
Instead of convincing students to care about our priorities, let’s show them how career services is the fastest route to the things they already care about.
Pain points are your entry point
Here’s the thing, Reader: pain points drive behavior.
If students feel stressed, uncertain, or behind, they’ll look for answers wherever they can get them—Google, TikTok, their roommate, even their mom.
This is why it’s so important to understand what really keeps students up at night:
- “What can I do with this major?”
- “Am I already falling behind my roommate?”
- “How will I pay off loans if I don’t land a good job right away?”
- “What if no one hires me for an internship?”
When you lean into these questions in your messaging, you capture attention and imagination.
Why? Because when students see their own worries reflected back to them, they feel understood.
Instead of another generic flyer about “career readiness,” they see:
- “Worried about falling behind? Here’s how to catch up.”
- “Not sure what to do with your major? Meet three alumni who figured it out.”
That shift—from promoting programs to addressing pain points—creates a moment of recognition. Students think: “That’s me. This might actually help.”
It’s not about inventing excitement. It’s about showing students that your work connects directly to the things they already care about.
4 ways to spark engagement right now
1. Sell the outcome, not the service
Students don’t sign up for “drop-ins.” They sign up because:
- They want the internship at Nike.
- Their roommate seems to have it all figured out, and they’re worried about falling behind.
- They want to know what to say to Uncle Mike at Thanksgiving.
- They want proof their major doesn’t doom them to living in their parents’ basement.
👉 Translate workshops into those outcomes. Instead of promoting “Résumé Review Night,” try:
“The secret that helped one student turn their TikTok editing hobby into a paid internship—want to see how?”
2. Let your excitement do the marketing
Excitement is contagious. (Boredom is, too.)
- Show why you love your work: “We believe every student deserves a job they’re proud of—and we’re nerdy enough to enjoy the résumé part.”
- Highlight student wins: “One of our second years just landed an offer from her dream company—before fall break. At that age, I was still trying to figure out how to microwave mac and cheese without it exploding.”
- Be visibly fired up at events. If you’re slouching behind the table or just talking amongst yourselves, students will keep walking… probably straight to the free pizza next door.
3. Kill the jargon. Speak student.
Our jargon shuts students down. Their language gets them in the door.
- Instead of “competency development,” say “skills employers actually want.”
- Instead of “first-destination survey,” say “where last year’s grads landed jobs (and yes, we’ve got the salary receipts).”
- Instead of “career readiness,” say “graduate with a plan—not just a diploma and a stack of random hoodies.”
👉 Quick test: If you wouldn’t say it to your neighbor, don’t put it on a flyer.
4. Curiosity is the hook
Students engage when they think you know something they don’t.
- “The #1 mistake students make on internship applications (and how to fix it in 10 minutes).”
- “What employers really ask in interviews (hint: it’s not your GPA).”
- “How to land an internship—even if your only work experience is being the class project lead who actually did all the work.”
Final thought
If you want students to engage earlier and more often, don’t spend energy trying to convince them to care about career services.
🎯 Show them how career services connects directly to the things they already care about.
Do it with energy. Do it with clarity. And maybe even with a wink of humor—because career success doesn’t have to feel like eating spinach. (Unless you like spinach. In which case, carry on.)
Free Event
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is reshaping higher education policy—making accountability, ROI, and student outcomes non-negotiable.
Join me, Rod H. Danan, Dr. Steve C. Taylor, and Alex Sevilla, Ed.D. for a live webinar on what OBBBA means for colleges, universities, and career services—and how schools can turn compliance into opportunity.
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Things you might want to read:
P.S. Staff exercise idea: In your next team meeting, identify 10 pain points your students face. Then take one of your current programs, events, or emails and rewrite it through the lens of those pain points. You’ll be amazed at how much more it resonates.
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