By Brandi Muñoz, PHR, SHRM-CP, CPRW, NCOPE, CMCS and Gabrielle Thomas, CPRW
Editor’s Note: The following is a brief snapshot of Brandi and Gabrielle’s upcoming presentation at the NRWA 2021 Conference— "Resources for Career Center Professionals.”
We are finally beginning to see hints of the post-pandemic hiring boom everyone had hoped for. But the recruiting process is likely to keep several rituals gained during the past year: virtual interviews, continued emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and (from the job seeker’s perspective) exploitation of their personal network for referrals. Here is what we know:
- Many employers will likely keep virtual recruiting as a cost-effective method for selecting candidates.
- Virtual recruiting and remote work can enable greater opportunities for diversity.
- Referrals are the leading source of superior candidates for 88% of employers.
Career center professionals are expected to help job seekers navigate these hiring trends and position them for success. But resources available to career coaches often vary, which is why we seek to provide universal strategies and affordable resources that empower job seekers to take ownership of their search.
The Role of Career Coaching Professionals: The public is putting more pressure on universities to increase the job placement rate of its graduates. As tuition rates continue to rise, career centers are quickly becoming a necessity. But only as recently as the early 2000s have advising practitioners attempted to intentionally clarify and convey the role of advising as a profession. As it stands, there is no standard set of resources, tools, or platforms available to advisors.
During our conference presentation, we will be leveraging techniques learned from their time working at several top-tier universities to share best practices related to in-house/external job boards, virtual recruiting, student/alumni engagement program ideas, alumni network cultivation, and research-informed advising approaches.
Resources for Job Seekers: Often, we see a greater need than career advisors can accommodate. We believe this is why empowering job seekers to proactively and independently own their job search is so critical. To accomplish this, we will review several strategies that enable job seekers’ application materials (resume, cover letters, LinkedIn) to be seen and pass the applicant tracking system filters. We will also discuss how to equip job seekers with a concise pitch that jumpstarts networking and secures interviews.
DEI Strategy: Finally, we will dig into DEI strategy and what this looks like from a career advising perspective:
- Which industries are “walking the walk” as it relates to DEI?
- What advice can you give to job seekers who don’t believe they bring diversity to a new role?
- How can we support students who have been marginalized or are the victims of racism? How can we cultivate a diverse network for students while they are still on campus?
- What questions should we be asking employers to deduce whether they are truly accountable to increasing diversity and promoting equity and inclusion?
To learn more about the role of career centers in the recruiting process, attend the NRWA 2021 Conference!
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Brandi Muñoz serves on the NRWA Board as the Director of Member Support for College Career Centers and is an advisor for the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Membership, and Public Image Committees. Additionally, Brandi is the Diversity Officer for the Education, Research, and Training section of the Association for Conflict Resolution. She also consults with People Culture Consulting in Houston, TX. Find her online at or LinkedIn.com/in/brandimunozpcc.
Gabrielle Thomas is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and career coach. She currently offers career advising for graduate students and alumni at The Wharton School of Business and Villanova University. She is also a resume writer with People Culture Consulting in Philadelphia, PA. Gabrielle also holds two masters’ degrees from The University of Pennsylvania in Education Policy and Public Administration. Find her online at LinkedIn.com/in/gabriellethomas.
