How to Scale Career Services as a Team of One (feat. Nick Edwards)

Nick Edwards, Guided Career Advisor at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, shares how he has scaled career services for Hardin-Simmons’ 1,100 students as a team of one. Nick’s strategy relies heavily on the use of technology—in particular, uConnect’s virtual career center platform—to offer more resources to students and make them available whenever (and wherever) students need them. “My approach is all about finding tools that will help me work with students smarter, not harder, and that will ultimately help serve the unique needs of all the different students we have,” Nick says.Nick also prioritizes faculty partnerships to embed career resources and conversations into syllabi, curriculum, and more. As Nick says, faculty are “on the front lines” and know students’ aspirations, capabilities, and goals better than anyone. Nick also networks and coordinates with career services professionals at other institutions in Abilene. As a team of one (and being relatively new to career services), he likes to be proactive about professional development and staying on top of trends and new ideas in higher education career services. Nick and the other teams also occasionally collaborate on regional career fairs that benefit all of their students. In this episode, Nick shares:How he uses technology to scale his reach and impactHow he decides what tech to invest in (given his limited time and resources)How he partners with faculty, staff, and employersHow he balances all of his competing priorities and decides where to spend his time as a team of oneHow he staves off the overwhelm and sets boundaries And moreResources from the episode:Nick’s LinkedIn profileNick’s email: [email protected] Hardin-Simmons’ virtual career center Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community