"Colleges and universities need to be thinking about each stakeholder in the career-services process. The economic and regulatory factors affecting our industry make it clear that career services must be a priority for everyone involved-, says Justin McMorrow, Chief Customer Officer and co-founder of TopSchool and author of the white paper.



McMorrow continues, "By implementing student self-service capabilities, strengthening ties within the employer community, and tracking opportunities and outcomes, institutions can successfully place more students in jobs in their fields of study."

There are specific things that students, employers, and schools need to do - and information they need to access - in order to make the career-services process work effectively.

Students: Often before graduation, students need to begin marketing themselves to employers through online profiles and resume postings. They also need to be able to search employer profiles and job postings.

Employers: As companies look to build a strong and productive employee base, they need to be able to create company profiles to promote their organizations, post job openings, search databases of qualified candidates, and generate resume books to assess and compare applicants.

Institutions: In order to reach placement goals, colleges need to manage information critical to both students and employers. On the student side, they need to track each student through the job search, as well as the outcomes and placement data. On the employer side, colleges need to communicate with and manage employer postings, as well as the alumni network that exists within any one company.

McMorrow's white paper, "Taking Career Services to the Next Level in Higher Education, Part II," is available in the resources section on the company's website. Additionally, Part I of the series, which discusses the five trends in career services that colleges and universities must address, is also available on the site.