Thinking About Working #13
Written by Noah Leavitt, Director of the Career and Community Engagement Center
For Best Results, Start Early
Welcome back everyone! As we return from break, our team in the Career and Community Engagement Center (CCEC) is celebrating two great new publications for students to learn more about resources the college has for them to move toward their futures—the overhauled Whitman website as well as a new resource we created for first-year students.
To begin, a little background:
Research shows that the earlier college students start thinking about how their education allows them to access the jobs and careers they want, the more successful they will be in those pursuits.
First, a February 2022 updated report from the well-regarded higher education think tank EAB cites worrisome Gallup data revealing that more than a quarter of college graduates never once visited a career center during their time on campus. And just a little more than a fifth reported using their campus career center resources “often or very often.”
Second, college students who engage with their campus career center get more job offers on average than those who don’t (National Association of Colleges and Employers 2022 Student Survey). In addition, “data show that students who use the career center’s help to find an internship are 2.2 times more likely to get a paid internship than an unpaid internship or no internship at all.”
Third, college students who begin this process during their first year benefit more than those who walk through that door (or visit that website) later. Parents’ Guide to the College Puzzle nicely makes this point in their article, “College Freshmen Should Visit the Career Services Office.“
To summarize: many students don’t visit their college resource for professional learning but those who do, and especially those who do so early, see positive results in achieving their goals. We agree with this blogger’s observation, “Students who are most successful in the transition to the workplace have proactively prepared for the world of work throughout their college career.“
These data and findings tell us that we need to make more information and resources available to students, as early into their college life as we can. Thus, two new resources help Whitman students know how to access these resources and also how to do this early on in their college careers.
Whitman’s new website
The Office of Communications recently announced the launch of a refresh for the college’s website. One of the features we love is the new Majors and Minors pages, which now contain excellent and relevant information about out-of-class experiences and options for those majors during and after college. The “What can I do with a [______] degree is especially helpful and does a great job reinforcing answers that we share with students during advising sessions.
We enjoy the featured alumni on the major pages (which we understand is still being built out), with some impressive alumni in a variety of industries and career paths to highlight and share, and more being added throughout the spring.
We also enjoy the new Student Spotlight feature on the home page which we know will be a place to learn about and celebrate the myriad Whittie accomplishments throughout the year.
Finally, we applaud the new “Career Prep” box on the homepage which opens an array of helpful pages for offices and departments and resources that have been combined for easy access and understanding.
We invite students to spend time with these new web pages to learn more about how expansive their options after graduation can be. And then, my colleagues in the CCEC would be happy to talk about practical steps to take toward those goals.
The new booklet for first-year students
Responsive to findings that correlate more and better professional options for students who start thinking about their goals during their first-year and who utilize their career coaches, this year we have created a unique resource that explains the expertise, services and initiatives the CCEC offers students.
This project was led by our special projects intern, Danica Stosic ’25, who did an exceptional job shepherding this from a vague idea to a beautiful, timely easy-to-utilize document. Many thanks also to the wonderful team of Saadat Momin Zada ’25, Madi Welch ’22, Ryan Barnes and lots of student and staff proofreaders, editors, stylists and designers.
Members of the Class of ’26—please look for these booklets in your rooms as you return to campus! We know you will find them useful. (Students in other classes—we have a few extra so please email me or Madi Welch if you would like a copy!)
To close, it seems appropriate to quote Whitman’s Provost, Dr. Alzada Tipton, in her opening letter to students when she reflects, “one of the most common regrets I hear from students is that they didn’t take advantage of the Career and Community Engagement Center or didn’t take advantage of it early enough, walking through the doors or being in touch only when Commencement is on the horizon…”
With Whitman’s new website and the new booklet for the first-year class, there are now more ways for students to learn about the fantastic resources the college offers to help them keep one eye on the present and one eye on the future as they move through their four years. We know both resources can let students and their families better appreciate how much is available to help them move forward with confidence and choice.
Want to share feedback about either the website or the new booklet? I’d love to hear and welcome your input at leavitns@whitman.edu.
Best wishes as you rejoin the semester and head into springtime!