Career Services/Student Employment Annual Report
University of North Dakota
Fiscal Year July 2013-June 2014
Submitted by Ilene Odegard, Director, Career Services/Student Employment
PERFORMANCE OF THE UNIT
During the 2013-2014 fiscal year, Career Services (CS) focused efforts on providing new
and innovative ways of reaching out to students, serving their immediate needs but also
preparing them for a lifetime of career development. Non-traditional programming was
added to increase students’ awareness of Career Services. The Center also promoted the
importance of internships and experiential learning as a way to help students achieve
career success. A CS student survey conducted spring semester showed that 52% of the
310 respondents were aware of Career Services and had been served by them. As a result
of hard work and creativity, Career Services increased the number of student experiences
by 37% from the prior year.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
“Firsts”
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Executed UND’s first Virtual Career Fair for Healthcare Majors, which offered
networking/career opportunities to clinical and practicum students who were not
physically on campus
Incorporated aspects of StrengthsFinder within classroom presentations. Career
Coordinators taught students how to better articulate their strengths during an interview
and build on those strengths
Created new presentations, appealing to specific groups of students: “How to Market
Yourself with a Liberal Arts Degree”, “Personal Marketing: Interview Techniques and
Bringing Out Your Personal Strengths”, “LinkedIn: Start Now!”
Student Employment hosted the first Mini-Job Fair for students seeking part-time
employment off campus. As a result of the event, 66 students received offers that day
alone
Implemented “Walk In Wednesdays”, where staff welcomed and assisted students who
had not scheduled appointments
Created and distributed a needs assessment survey for students. Data driven decisions
were made to better serve all students, particularly online/distance students
Created student learning outcomes for resume writing and a resume rubric to measure
“before and after” improvement and learning
Added a LinkedIn photo booth at the Career/Internship Fairs
Began a Career Services Newsletter, which invited students to upcoming events
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Increased Career Services presence on social media by establishing CS Facebook and
LinkedIn accounts
Strategically developed ongoing professional relationships with faculty, strengthening
their engagement with Career Services. Faculty were sent congratulatory messages
upon receiving promotions, tenure and research awards; CS captured faculty testimonials
for marketing purposes
Invested in a professional resume credentialing course for two staff members which
enhanced their professional development
CS was written into several curriculums: Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, Master of
Social Work and Medical Laboratory Science (online programs) and Personal Marketing
201, University 10, Counseling 101-Career Exploration and Engineering Seminars
“Student Outreach”
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Presented to classrooms regarding the importance of internships, experiential learning
and networking in order to successfully transform their college to career experience
Reconfigured the way Career Coordinators advised students by allowing them to work
specifically within defined disciplines (working closely/ building strong relationships
with faculty/department chairs) and serving as “liaisons” for their assigned college
Incorporated “Meet and Greet the Employer” nights prior to Career/Internship Fairs,
enabling students to informally get to know potential employers
Co-presented with employers during students’ class times on, “How to Prepare for the
Career Fair”, “What Employers are Looking For” and “Professional Dress: Business
Attire or Business Casual?”
Brought knowledge directly to the students, presented to Greek Life in their respective
houses, students in their residence halls and student organizations during the evening
hours
“Campus/Community Collaboration”
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Began streamlining the posting process of employment/internship and co-op
opportunities to faculty chairs for easier distribution to departments and students
Director represented CS by serving on the SEM Retention committee, offering
professional viewpoints and creating goals for CS which will enhance UND student
retention
Staff collaborated with entities on and off campus. Among them: Financial Wellness,
Honor’s classes, Saturday Admissions, American Indian Student Services, Multicultural
Services for Students, International Programs, Trio Programs, Alumni Association and
Foundation, The School of Graduate Studies, the Center for Community Engagement and
the GGF Young Professionals
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Director represented UND by Co-Chairing a GGF Chamber Sub-Committee whose aim
is to solve the workforce shortage in the Grand Cities
Director represented UND on the Northern Valley Career Expo Steering Committee
whose goal is to promote career awareness and educational opportunities to area high
school students as they plan their futures
CS staff served on the Student Affairs Professional Development and Staff Senate
committees
Career Coordinator represented CS by consulting with the Dean of Arts and Science and
planned ways to serve them more effectively. As a result, CS will be included in an
introductory class curriculum in the fall, Career Coordinator will attend A&S divisional
meetings and will collaborate with their advisory board promoting internships and
mentorships
CHALLENGES
 As Career Services expanded with new programming and non-traditional ways of
reaching out to students, staff roles changed and responsibilities were added.
Adjustments needed to be made in order to cover all aspects of new programming, which
at times presented time and scheduling challenges for staff
 Changing the perception of Career Services on campus and moving to a re-design of the
center remains a challenge that CS embraces. Moving away from the appointment model
of service delivery, increasing involvement with non-traditional programming and
becoming actively aligned with faculty, deans and students remains a constant focus and
a goal which is embraced
PRIORITIES (3)
 Provide a collegial and effective campus portal that is streamlined for all departments
along with providing exceptional customer service to all students, members of the
university community and external audiences
 Redefine Career Services further by re-naming the center (emphasizing the holistic
approach to career development) by creating a simply stated vision statement, and
utilizing change to benefit all stakeholders: students, employers, faculty and alumni
 Increase the number of local internships by 10%, working with local employers as they
begin their internship programs and with students as they plan their internship
experiences
With a commitment to student engagement focus, campus and community wide collaboration
and a staff excelling in customer service, Career Services will continue to grow, redesign and
remain a center of excellence and innovation
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