Evan Kropp Offers Advice on How Colleges Can Help Students Prepare for a Changing Job Market
Evan Kropp, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) executive director of Distance Education, is quoted in “5 Ways to Better Prepare Students for a Changing Job Market” published in University Business on July 15.
Recent college graduates are entering one of the tightest job markets since the COVID-19 pandemic. Kropp offers advice to colleges and universities on how to find new ways to help students stand out to potential employers.
According to Kropp, massive disruptions caused by emerging technology have chilled the market.
“We are in a period of change, not just in higher education, but in work in general,” said Kropp. “Leaders in higher education are experiencing a fundamental shift in how we’re going to educate people and how we approach examining our learning outcomes.”
He offers several suggestions for embedding workforce readiness into course curriculums including nudging students further into using career services, building employer advisory boards, keying in on workplace credentials to display workforce readiness, helping prepare students’ online presence and promoting entrepreneurialism.
“Today’s modern advice is to build a personal brand to define and sell yourself. It’s not good enough to say, ‘I can do all of these things,’” Kropp says. “New graduates need to be more thoughtful and targeted in how they present themselves according to the types of jobs they go after.”
Kropp says the rise of social media has also created a new market of self-made influencers capable of sustaining business models purely through advertisement revenue and sponsorships. This emergence should be taken seriously by colleges and universities that want to help students prepare for a different kind of workforce.
“We’re limiting ourselves to what employers want, but let’s not forget that not everybody’s going to work for an employer. It’s so much easier than ever for people to create a business.”
Category: College News, Student News
Tagged: Distance Education Evan Kropp
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