EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
When we first began our research, we thought that
University Career Services (UCS) was dealing with a problem of awareness. We wanted to investigate the possibility of
forming a partnership between UCS and the
We found that awareness was not the
problem we expected it to be. Instead,
UCS faces a problem of motivation. Their
previous communication efforts have not been able to target students on a personal
level. Advisors, while aware of UCS
services and willing advocates of registration, do not have the time to
personally register students.
METHODOLOGY
METHODOLOGY
Part 1: Student Surveys
In order
to understand why students across campus might or might not be registered with
UCS, we thought a simple survey would further explain some kind of reasoning
for registering or not registering with UCS.
We understand that there were many sampling errors in selecting our
sample and designing the survey. Each
group member took 20 surveys to be completed by underclassmen (freshmen,
sophomores and juniors). We used non-probability
sampling (whoever was available). A few group members simply went to campus
organizations or classes and asked if students would fill them out. We also
surveyed in Lenoir Dining Hall and the Pit.
One hundred students filled out surveys.
We set a deadline of two weeks to get all of our surveys done. The surveys were conducted from March 3-7 and
March 17-21. A copy of the student
survey is labeled Appendix 1.
Part 2: Advisor Surveys
We
thought a survey would be the best way to figure out if the advising office was
somehow linked with UCS. We conducted a
survey directed at
Part 3: Focus Group
We
thought a focus group of underclassmen would give us more in-depth reasons for
why students were or were not registered with UCS. Students met in Dey Hall 410 on Thursday,
March 6, at
Part 4: In-Depth Interview
A
personal interview, we thought, would help ascertain more opinions and beliefs
students had about UCS. Focus groups can
sometimes intimidate people and true opinions may not come out. Interviews
allowed students to provide honest feedback.
We interviewed three students who were willing to give their time. Two students were interviewed together and
one student was alone. Each interview
lasted about 10 minutes. The interviews
took place in Gardner Hall 104 at
FINDINGS
Part 1:
Student Surveys
The surveys revealed that there were more students who had heard about Career Services than had not. However, of those familiar with the department, only about half had registered. It appeared that the most common impression of UCS was that it was helpful, but not the main source of finding employment. Most students expressed the opinion that UCS was not very helpful in their job and internship searches. Most students that do use the service feel that the resume workshop is one of UCS’s most valuable services.
Of the three publics surveyed, we found that the
public most unaware of the service was the freshmen class. The awareness level of the sophomores
surveyed was extremely high. We found
that all juniors surveyed had at least heard of UCS and the majority was
registered.
Overall, only 12 percent of the students surveyed
were unaware of the service. We also
researched the post-graduation plans of the students surveyed. The three most effective ways that students
were introduced to UCS was through e-mail, the UCS Web page and print ads.
A copy of the survey is included in Appendix 1.
Part
2: Advisor Surveys
We also surveyed General College Advisors. We received responses from 11 advisors (out of 18). All of the advisors seemed to have a fair amount of knowledge about UCS and some of the advisors regularly informed students about UCS during advising appointments.
We also asked
advisors if they would be willing to register students for UCS during their
advising appointments, but found they didn’t have enough time.
A copy of the survey is included in Appendix 2.
Part
3: Focus Groups
The participants in the focus group
shared a vague understanding of UCS does.
They had heard of it, but they had no real understanding of how it could
help them. They were eager to offer
suggestions about how UCS could better communicate with students about the
services they have.
Focus Group Transcript
The moderator is referred to
as M.
Participants are numbered
1-6.
M – What is your impression
of career services and what do you know about it?
1 – My impression is that
it’s really good for the students, I don’t really know too much about it
though. I’ve heard of their emails. They send emails out and stuff. Yesterday, I had journalism orientation and
Jay Eubanks who is the career person for the J-School got up. So, I learned a lot about that and it seems
like he’s really helpful with internships and jobs. He has his own listserv, so I think I’m going
to start going there. He seemed pretty
helpful.
2 – I don’t know too much
about it myself. I think I’ve seen it
advertised in the DTH a couple of times, but I haven’t looked into it. If it’s anything to do with helping students
with their jobs or after school I think it would be a great help.
3 – I’m the same way. I really don’t know anything about it. I have seen it a couple of times in the
DTH. I think they have different times
when they bring in companies and students interested in jobs and internships
can go find out about them and different internship opportunities. I’ve heard that it’s good with helping you
with resumes and things like that, but other then that I really don’t know
anything about it.
4 – Like everyone else, I
don’t know too much. I’ve checked out
their website and registered on their website so I can look at internships and
what-not. I know they do resume workshops
and internship fairs and they host a lot of stuff on campus, but that’s about
the extent of what I know.
5 – When I was applying to
the
6 – I have a friend who’s a
senior and he said he went there for help about finding a job because he was a
business major other than that I’ve just heard people talk about it.
M – Do you think it would be
helpful if your advisor registered you during an advising session? Would you be more likely to register that
way?
3 – I think that would have
been helpful especially for people that are thinking of going into a job right
after college. Maybe people that are
more thinking towards grad school or it might help for that too getting into
business school or something, but I think it would be good for people looking
for a summer internship.
4 – I think it would also be
good for people who aren’t in the B-School or the J-School to make more of a
concerted effort to be involved in the thinks the university offers and I don’t
think the students in the
5- I agree. The advisors should make a greater effort to
encourage students to apply to that and be a part of it.
M – What other ways do you
think would be good to get the word out about career services?
4 – I think if they did a
better job of putting it in things other than the DTH or sending emails. Maybe they should go around to different
campus groups. If they had more people
go out and get the name out, more people would use them.
3 – I think the reason I
haven’t gotten into it is that I will look in the DTH and see the list of
people who will be at the job fairs and internship fairs, but I’m not planning
on going straight into the work force after school. I plan to go do more schooling. I want to go to law school, so I look to see
if there are any lawyers, but it doesn’t seem like that’s what their geared
towards. It may be better if they put an
ad specifically about things they have to offer, like resume building, cover
letters and things like that. That may
be more helpful. They should just let
people outside the B-School and J-School know about
it.
M – Are you all aware of how
to register?
4 – I did it on line.
3 – Do they have a specific
website?
M – Yes, but it seems like no
one knows about it. What do you plan to do after school and do you currently
think about jobs and internships?
1 – I don’t have specific
plans because I’m a sophomore, but I know I want to go somehow into magazines
if I can. I’m not sure where, but I
wherever that takes me.
2 – I’m thinking about law
school or history grad school. I’m not
thinking about a job. I want to put that
off for as long as possible.
3 – I also want to go to law
school. I have thought about internships
during the year just to get into the field, but that’s about the extent of it.
4- Well, let me just jump on
the bandwagon. I plan to go to law
school too, or miss my interest in public relations and government. I have looked at internships, but because my
school year is so packed I try to find things in the summer. I don’t really use career services at all to
do that. I’ve looked a lot online at
random sites I’ve found.
5 – I’m thinking of right
after going and getting my masters in accounting or working for a few years and
then going.
6 – I’m planning on doing
nursing, so I’ll probably go to work for a year or two and then go back to grad
school.
M – Since most of you are
planning on going to grad school, would you be interested in using career
services as a gateway for internships and other experience?
4 – I definitely think so and
the other thing they might look into changing in the next few years, is to have
the sessions they have for people looking to go straight into the job force,
for people going to graduate school. You
know grad school workshops where they bring people in from different
universities so people have a chance to talk or ask questions. Otherwise that’s a pretty scary process
having to contact the schools or go to interviews without knowing anything
about it.
M – Would you be interested
in interview or resume help when you are just looking for internships
basically?
3 – I think that would be
helpful because I definitely don’t know anything about interviews. Going into a graduate program you will have
to know how to carry yourself. That would
be good if they had workshops like that.
They may already, I don’t know.
M – Do you have anything else
to add or any questions?
4 – Well, I don’t know how
much you know about career services, but do you know how many times a year they
do interview workshops or resume workshops?
M – They do mock interviews
by appointment and also resume review by appointment. They have networking nights and programs
where you can interview on campus for employers.
3 – I’m definitely more
interested.
M – Thank you very much.
Part
4: In-Depth Interviews
During the interviews, we discovered
a number of things about students’ perceptions of UCS. Out of the three students we talked to, none
of them knew where the UCS office was located. Two students thought UCS was
still located in Nash Hall and were unaware of the move to Hanes Hall.
The three students interviewed were registered with
UCS but didn’t seem to use their services frequently.
The three students remarked that
e-mail was probably the easiest way to receive information. One student
suggested that e-mails be more targeted and personal.
In-Depth Interviews: Transcript
(All interviews are with registered UCS students)
I. First Interview
Q: What do you know about
University Career Services in terms of what they offer- their services?
A: I know they help you with
your resume and they also have a place where you can go look for jobs and
internships.
Q: Have you taken advantage
of any of those? Have you gotten any internships or jobs or had your resume
critiqued?
A: I went there and got them
to help critique my resume before I turned it into the business school.
Q: Did you get into the
business school?
A: No.
Q: Are you going to reapply?
A: Yes, I’m going to reapply.
Q: You say you registered a
few months ago? How long ago?
A: Well I registered at one
place, because there were two places for Career Services, which I didn’t know
about. I registered about December at the first place and a couple weeks later,
in maybe February.
Q: You registered twice?
A: Yes because they actually
have two places I think. I didn’t find out about the second one until later.
Q: What were those two
places?
A: One’s connected to
Monster- monster.com- and the other one’s just like with jobs and internships.
Q: University Career
Services?
A: Yea.
Q: Do you respond to the
emails you get? When they send you emails, do you go to the services they
offer?
A: I usually do, like I’ve
gotten a couple emails about it. They usually just say when the internship
fairs are.
Q: Have you done that?
A: I’ve done that.
Q: You’ve done it? Have you
done any interviews?
A: Yea, I did an interview
with Phillip Morris and one with DECI.
Q: How did it go?
A: It went ok.
Q: Do you think that email is
the best way to go, in terms of being contacted or can you think of any other
means for them to contact you?
A: Oh, I think that email is
probably the best- it’s probably the easiest.
Q: So you don’t just delete
the emails when you see them?
A: I usually read them and
see if there’s anything that interests me.
Q: So, how do you go about
finding jobs and internships? Do you use University Career Services, do you use
other services or do you look on your own?
A: I’ve been looking on my
own. I haven’t gotten too much response from any from Career Services. Most of
the response I’ve gotten has been from the internship fairs. That’s been about
it this far.
Q: What are your plans after
college?
A: I’m not sure yet. I’m
thinking about doing grad school or getting my masters.
Q: So you don’t think you’re
going to be going right into the workforce?
A: I might for a few years
but most likely if I don’t go [to grad school] right after I’ll go a couple
years after and try and get my masters.
Q: What could University
Career Services do to cater more to your needs? Like, what do you think the
shortcomings are and how do you think they can improve them?
A: I mean it’s kind of
confusing the way it’s set up- it’s hard to find what you need sometimes.
Q: In terms of what?
A: Maybe if they
consolidated. Like I said before, I thought I had my resume at the one place
where they had put it online but apparently there’s
two. And it’s just kind of confusing because there’s a
couple different places. They just need consolidation.
Q: Have you been to the Web
site?
A: Yes.
Q: What’d you think about it?
A: It’s ok. It’s a Web site.
Q: Do you think it’s
confusing at all? Do you think it’s easy to read?
A: I haven’t been there
recently. It has some helpful links. It tells you about companies and stuff.
Q: I’m going to jump back.
Does location determine where you’re going to try to find a career? Like, do
you want to work on the west coast or does it really matter?
A: It doesn’t really matter
now- I’m looking for anything now.
Q: Do you know where the
offices are located [UCS offices]?
A: Yes, it’s located
in…across from the Carolina Inn.
Q: That’s where it used to be.
It’s right over there on the second floor of Hanes now.
A: Oh is that what that is
now?
Q: Well, that’s about all we
have. Do you have any last recommendations?
A: Not really.
Q: Are you going to continue
to use their services?
A: Most likely.
Q: Would you recommend it to
other students?
A: Sure- if you’re looking
for a job, you might as well use it.
II. Second Set of Interviews
Q: When was the first time
you heard about career services?
A: I’m not sure if I know
exactly the first time I heard about it but they sent me this brochure about
the different things they had and things in the newspaper, on Mondays when they
list all the things going on.
Q: What about you?
A: I don’t really know, I
just started getting emails from them and I know I applied to programs for the
summer and I kept asking the same person if they’d write me a recommendation
and she said she would give my resume to University Career Services.
Q: Was that an advisor?
A: It was an old professor,
so I guess that’s what got me to get to know the Career Services.
Q: So what do you guys know
about Career Services, like do you know what services they offer?
A: Honestly, it’s my
impression that they help you get a job. I don’t know,like
all the services because I really
don’t use it like I should. I think they help you get a job or internships or
get you resume done.
A: Yea, I’ve just used some
of them just to look for a job plus just help with a resume and I know they
have like workshops where you can come and learn about skills or like networking.
Q: Speaking of the workshops,
do you guys utilize any other services, do you get emails about them, do you go to the workshops or resume builders or anything?
A: Sometimes I do.
A: I try. I plan to but
sometimes it doesn’t work out.
Q: When did you guys
register?
A: I registered last year.
A: I don’t know. I just
started getting emails. I don’t know when I registered. I think it was actually
like freshmen year.
Q: So, you don’t really use
the services that much?
A: I don’t.
Q: How do you guys go about
finding jobs and internships? Do you use University Career Services? Do you do
it on your own? How do you go about finding stuff?
A: This summer I’m not really
looking for one because I have other stuff planned but last summer I did use it
[UCS] to look for one. I didn’t find one, but I also didn’t start until
February. But like my current part time
job I didn’t use anything to find it, I just found it
on my own.
Q: What are you doing after
college?
A: Grad school
A: I’m going to work for a
year, then go to law school.
Q: I’m going to jump back and
ask you, when you got the emails from University Career Services and things
like that do you think there’s a better way they can reach you or is email ok?
Do you read emails?
A: I know I read the emails.
I don’t know any other way they could. If they called, that would be a long
voice message. So I enjoy the emails and I think they are very informative.
Q: What advice would you give
UCS to make them cater to your needs more? What are the reasons why you don’t use
their services more and how are they not responsive to your needs?
A: I don’t know why I don’t
use it that much. I guess it’s because I’m lazy. I think the idea of it, I
don’t really know, like you would probably know better, what advice to give,
but the idea of it is nice and helpful for students but the reason I don’t use
it is probably because I just don’t take the time to use it. So it’s not
something that’s wrong on their part.
Q: Do you think there’s
anything they could do to make you want to use their services?
A: I think there’s a
particular type of person who would probably use it and those are people who
are driven and ambitious, who want to like do things, outside of just going to
classes and stuff. So I mean, it would be nice if you
could reach everyone but I don’t think ideally everyone will use it. It’s only going to be those people who do want jobs.
Q: What about you? What do
you think?
A: Well I know I haven’t been
able to use it as much this year, just because I’ve been so busy and I think
that’s part of why people don’t use it. They don’t have the time to go look
through Career Services or research a career or something and I don’t know that
there’s much they [UCS] can do to change that. I think that’s just being a
student and having a lot of things to do. I wish that they maybe were more
personal.
Q: Does location factor into
your after-school plans? Like you said you want to work for a few years after
college. Do you want to be in a certain region, like on the west coast or maybe
stay in the south?
A: I’ll probably stay in the
south or go to the
Q: What about you?
A: I think I’d like to go to
graduate school up north and come back to the south to work.
Q: Did your advisors
recommend Career Services to you guys at all? Do you even talk with your
advisors a lot?
A: I talked to mine my
freshman year because we had to, but I don’t really talk to him now.
Q: So it’s more of a
requirement?
A: Yea.
A: I talk to my advisors
because I’m in the English department and so we have to talk to them to get our
PIN numbers to register for classes. So I think I stay in contact with my
advisor, but he never recommended Career Services.
Q: Do you guys know where
Career Services is located?
A: I know where it used to
be.
Q: Where did it used to be?
A: In Nash Hall.
Q: Do you know?
A: No.
Q: It’s actually across the
way in Hanes Hall. They just renovated and it’s really nice. You guys should
check it out. That’s really the only questions I had for you guys. Do you have
any more final thoughts about Career Services or recommendations about how they
can make their services better?
A: I wonder if they could
send stuff in the mail. I don’t know how much it would cost though with like
paper and stuff.
A: Like, if they could see
sort of what direction you’re going, like if you’re going towards business then
not get the English stuff, because you’re not going that way. Like gear it
towards where you’re heading. Like if you’re going to law school then you
probably wouldn’t get the stuff for science, because that’s not where you’re
going.
Q: Have you guys gotten any
newsletters from them?
A: They go to my parents.
Q: Ok that’s about it. Thanks
guys.
CONCLUDING INTERPRETATIONS
CONCLUDING
INTERPRETATIONS
Part 1: Student Surveys
We found that there was a positive relationship between classification and awareness of UCS. There was also a positive relationship between classification and those registered. Regardless of the high awareness of UCS, most students feel that the service is not helpful in their actual job search.
Though the students surveyed were
chosen at random, we did not survey the same number of students for each class,
which may have slightly affected the data.
Our hypothesis that awareness was
UCS’s main problem was incorrect. A big influence
that we found is that most students are not going directly into the workforce.
Recommendations about UCS’s methods for enticing students to register are
needed.
Part 2: Advisor Surveys
We learned that we will need to work with advisors
to give them resources to inform their students about UCS, even if they aren’t
willing to actually register the students. Our campaign will center on
encouraging advisors to better inform students. Further research would include
finding out what information advisors currently receive from UCS. Given another opportunity, we might have
chosen to re-word our survey questions in order to increase clarity and produce
greater response. We realize that the relationship between UCS and advisors is
an important one because it is a significant way to reach underclassmen.
Part 3: Focus Groups
The focus group revealed that awareness is not a problem. All of the students who participated had
heard of or been exposed to UCS through some outlet. However they were not being motivated to take
an active role in the services that are offered. In fact, while most of the participants knew
some of the services that were available, they had not fully realized how they
might help them personally.
They expressed an interest in publicity from UCS that
detailed some of the services and the process necessary to use them. They also suggested that future communication
might be more specialized so that students could more easily see the
information that applied to their field of interest. They were especially
interested in the ways that career services could help them in graduate school.
Further research may include additional focus
groups, especially with students that are registered users of UCS. Further research could help us understand why
some got involved and some did not. It is
clear now that the problem is not a lack of publicity, but a lack of motivation.
Part 4: In-Depth Interviews
By talking to students in this setting, a number of
problems with UCS surfaced. UCS needs to address the fact that many students
are unaware of their relocation to Hanes Hall, even registered students. This
implies that students who are registered often do not necessarily utilize UCS’
services. Further research might include
a communication audit of all UCS publications in order to better understand
problems relating to their relocation.
These interviews showed that the
problem is, again, more centered on motivation than awareness. UCS should
perhaps be more specialized in how they release information to students in
order to further motivate an active response.
Additional interviews would have enhanced our understanding of student perceptions of UCS. It might be helpful to interview students who are active participants in UCS. This would give us a clearer understanding of how to better motivate students.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX ONE
STUDENT SURVEY
Year in school: ________________ Gender: _______
Have
you heard of University Career Services?
If so, where?
Are
you registered with UCS?
If
YES:
Why
did you register?
What
is your impression of UCS?
What
services do you use?
If
NO:
Is
there a reason you have not registered?
Do
you think UCS has services to offer you?
What
would make you want to register with UCS?
ALL:
Do
you currently have plans after graduation?
APPENDIX TWO
Survey for General College
Advisors
This
survey is part of a project for JOMC 134: Public Relations Campaigns. We would really appreciate your input and are
grateful to you for taking the time to answer our questions.
1) Are you aware of University
Career Services (UCS)?
2) Do you know what specific services
they offer?
3) Do you currently receive any
communication from UCS?
4) Do you advise students to
register with or use UCS services?
5) If no, why?
6) Would you be willing to
endorse UCS and help students register?