Career Everywhere

What does it actually take to make career services a campus-wide strategic priority—not just in name, but in budget, staff, and institutional structure?In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Barbara Zerillo, Senior Director of the Career Development Center at Post University, to talk about how she turned career readiness into one of the institution's five official strategic pillars.When Barbara arrived at Post about a year and a half ago, the career center was a team of three serving a large and diverse student population—including a significant online learner community. Within less than a year, she had secured approval to hire 10 new staff members, build out a comprehensive technology stack, and restructure career services as a formal institutional pillar with its own project manager, dedicated time with the president, and multiple strategic initiatives underneath it.Barbara walks through the full journey: how she benchmarked Post against peer institutions in New England, what she included in her "Why" document for the president, how she made the case that career is not just important but that not investing is a risk, and what it looked like when the institution said yes.She also covers the practical realities of scaling a team quickly, the role project management principles played throughout, and her honest advice for career leaders who want to do something similar.Key topics covered:Stop saying "career development is important" and reframe around institutional riskBring leadership into the research process through site visits, not just reportsMine both external benchmarking data and internal persistence data to tell the full storyKnow what keeps your president up at night and align your case to those prioritiesWhy staggering your hires matters more than you thinkResources from the episode:Barbara's LinkedIn profilePost University Career Hub (powered by uConnect)uConnect—the virtual career center platform Post University uses, referenced by Barbara as a key part of their tech stack. Three other career centers mentioned in this episode (Bentley University, Suffolk University, and Boston University) also use uConnect.Career Everywhere Community—free network for higher ed career services professionals; mentioned by Meredith during the episodeRecent episode with Josh Domitrovich of PennWest—Barbara cited Josh's persistence data research as an influence on her own internal data strategy. Other episodes featuring Josh are here and here.Episode with Joe Catrino of Dartmouth—another example of presidential buy-in for career services, referenced by Meredith Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

What does it take to build a career development program for students you may never meet in person—students scattered across time zones, juggling jobs and families, logging in at 3 a.m.?In this episode of the Career Everywhere Podcast, Amy Ballard of Eastern University talks about how she built an online career development program from scratch for a population that's as diverse as it is distributed.Eastern University, located just outside Philadelphia, serves close to 10,000 students—and roughly two-thirds of them are online. Amy joined as a new hire in early 2025 with a background in adult education rather than career services, and was immediately tasked with creating something that didn't yet exist: a centralized, meaningful career experience for online learners of all ages, across all programs.Drawing on adult learning theory and Priya Parker's philosophy on the art of gathering, Amy shares how she moved away from generic programming and toward targeted, high-impact content built around specific student populations. She scaled from occasional drop-ins to 90+ events in a single year—webinars, networking nights, alumni panels, employer presentations, and more—reaching thousands of students who might otherwise never have connected with career services.She also shares what didn't work (an alumni event with 40 RSVPs and zero attendees), why those flops were just as instructive as the wins, and the practical principles any career services team can apply—regardless of staff size or institutional type.Key topics include:— Why targeted, program-specific events outperform general programming every time— How to partner with academic departments to reach students who are already gathering— Turning one-on-one appointment FAQs into scalable webinar content— Using platforms like Gatherly to make online networking feel less like another Zoom— Why belonging—not just information—is the real goal of online career programmingResources from the episode:Amy’s LinkedIn profileEastern University Virtual Career Center (powered by uConnect)Gatherly: The gamified virtual networking platform Amy uses to host interactive events where students navigate a map and join themed conversation booths.The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker: A book on creating meaningful gatherings rather than simply fulfilling a function. Amy highly recommends it for career development professionals working in online spaces.Malcolm Knowles – Adult Learning Theory (Andragogy): The foundational framework Amy used to understand online learners' motivations and needs.Career Everywhere Community: where Amy first presented this session liveAmy’s slide deck: from Amy’s original presentation in the Career Everywhere CommunityNew episodes every other Tuesday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and visit gouconnect.com/career-everywhere/podcast for full show notes, transcripts, and more.  Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

The internship landscape is shifting—and if you've been feeling the pressure in your career center, you're not alone. In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Todd Schuster, Senior Director and Head of Network Development at Forage, to take an honest look at the state of experiential learning in higher education.Todd brings a rare dual perspective: he spent the first half of his career working directly with students as an academic advisor and hall director, and the second half in edtech, now working with hundreds of employer partners through Forage's virtual job simulation platform.Together, they unpack why internships are becoming increasingly competitive, what employers are really looking for in early-career candidates right now, and how career centers can help students build a meaningful portfolio of experience even when a traditional internship isn't in the cards.KEY TAKEAWAYS— The internship gap is real, but demand is the bigger driver. More institutions are requiring experiential learning across all disciplines, more students are competing for a limited number of spots, and AI is replacing some of the entry-level tasks that internships traditionally covered.— Experiential learning is bigger than internships. On-campus jobs, student org leadership, research projects with faculty, co-ops, capstone projects, and virtual job simulations all count—and career centers play a critical role in helping students translate those experiences into language employers understand.— Employers are prioritizing soft skills more than ever. Critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and the ability to work through conflict in an in-person setting are now at the top of hiring managers' wish lists.— Start career exploration in year one, not year three. Students who explore early are better positioned to pursue the right internship when the time comes—and virtual job simulations are a low-stakes way to test-drive careers and companies before committing.— Forage simulations are free and employer-informed. With over 300 simulations built in partnership with companies like Citibank, Red Bull, BCG, and Bloomberg, students who complete a simulation are more likely to land a role with a participating employer.— Virtual simulations work best alongside in-person experience. Todd was candid: the best-case scenario is pairing virtual exploration with on-campus roles, internships, research, or leadership experiences that develop in-person soft skills.ABOUT TODD SCHUSTERTodd Schuster is the Senior Director and Head of Network Development at Forage, a platform that partners with leading employers to create free virtual job simulations for college students. Before joining Forage, Todd worked as an academic advisor and hall director at the University of Denver and the University of Northern Colorado, and later led operations in the coding and cybersecurity boot camp space. Connect with Todd on LinkedIn.RESOURCES MENTIONEDForageuConnectCareer Everywhere Community (free for higher ed career services professionals) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

What career services team wouldn't benefit from reaching more students—without adding more hours to the workday? In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Nikki Pebbles, Learning and Development Specialist for the City University of New York and a career content creator with over 400,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.Nikki shares how career advisors can position themselves as trusted micro-influencers for their students, and walks through her practical, framework-driven approach to building a sustainable content ecosystem—no marketing degree or big team required.In this conversation, you will learn:Why career advisors are already subject matter experts—and how to leverage that as a micro-influencerHow Nikki's 3 AM Method helps career centers generate content ideas rooted in what students are actually worried aboutHow the Content Anchor System turns one workshop or presentation into a semester's worth of content across multiple platformsWhy consistency matters more than frequency when you're just getting startedHow Nikki ran a LinkedIn Bootcamp at St. John's University that generated hundreds of student posts, drove appointment bookings, and created a replicable content blueprintThe tools Nikki recommends for beginners: Edpuzzle, Loom, Descript, CapCut, and iMovieWhy starting a podcast—even a simple audio-only one on Zoom—is her top recommendation for career centers ready to dip their toes into content creationWhether you're a one-person career center or a larger team looking to be more strategic, this episode will leave you feeling like you can actually do this.Connect with Nikki Pebbles:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/nikkipebblesEmail: [email protected]: nikkipebbles.comTikTok, Instagram, YouTube: Search "Nikki Pebbles"Resources mentioned in this episode:EdpuzzleLoomDescriptCapCutiMovie Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

What does it actually look like when a university president makes career a strategic priority — and how does a career services leader make the most of it?In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Joe Catrino, Executive Director of the Center for Career Design at Dartmouth College, for a candid look at what's possible when career services has a seat at the highest table on campus.Joe joined Dartmouth in early 2025, stepping into a rare situation: a president who had made career one of her core institutional pillars. In just over a year, he's nearly doubled his team, helped close a $30 million fundraising campaign for student internships, and built a partnership with President Sian Beilock that has become a model for executive-level collaboration in career services.In this conversation, Joe shares how that partnership actually works — from the structure of their regular meetings and the impact reports he brings, to the business plan he built to align his center's goals with institutional priorities. He also offers practical advice for career leaders who don't have direct presidential access yet and want to start building those relationships from the ground up.Key topics include:What it looks like when a president is genuinely committed to careerHow Joe structures his regular meetings with President BeilockThe business plan framework he built with Dartmouth's advancement officeHow to connect career center outcomes to institutional prioritiesWhy Joe spent his first five months on a listening tour before building anythingPractical advice for career leaders who don't have presidential access (yet)Learn more about the Dartmouth Center for Career Design*: careerdesign.dartmouth.edu*Dartmouth's virtual career center is powered by uConnect Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

What if "not knowing" wasn't a problem to fix—but exactly where students are supposed to be?In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Dr. Justin Lawhead, Assistant Vice President for Career Readiness and Postgraduate Student Success at the University of South Carolina, to talk about one of the most persistent challenges in career services: the deficit model. Justin is working to replace it with something better—an affirmation model that treats career uncertainty as normal, reframes exploration as the goal, and meets students where they actually are instead of where we think they should be.Justin shares how his team redesigned their University 101 presence, ran a user-centered design exercise that surfaced exactly who students trust for career guidance (hint: it's not the career center—yet), and introduced "exploration" ribbons at career fairs so employers can better support students who are still figuring it out. He also gets into the harder questions: how do you measure what actually matters in career services, how do you bring your staff along through a mindset shift, and how do you communicate real impact to senior leadership?If you're a career services leader thinking about how to build a culture of exploration on your campus—and make the case for it up the institutional ladder—this one's for you. Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

The job market hasn't been this hard for students and recent grads in decades. In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with John Koelliker, co-founder and CEO of Leland—a platform that connects students and professionals with expert coaches and partners directly with career centers to amplify their impact.John works with tens of thousands of students and the employers trying to hire them. He brings a clear-eyed, front-row view of what's actually happening out there—and what career services professionals can do right now to help students navigate it.In this episode:Why this job market is uniquely difficult—and what's really driving itWhere the real pockets of opportunity exist for new grads (hint: it's not where most students are looking)Why the "generalist business" path is struggling and what students should do insteadThe power of being hypothesis-driven early—and how career centers can help without overwhelming studentsWhy in-person still wins in an era of AI-generated applicationsWhat the best career centers are doing differently right nowWhy career services engagement is one of the strongest leading indicators of student outcomes—and how to make that case to leadershipAbout John Koelliker: John Koelliker is the co-founder and CEO of Leland, a platform connecting students, recent grads, and professionals with expert coaches for career navigation and skill-building. Leland also partners with career centers to extend their reach and support for students. Before founding Leland, John worked in venture capital and operations and started his career at LinkedIn. He's based in Utah.Resources from the episode:John's LinkedIn profileJohn's email: [email protected] Leland—platform connecting students and professionals with expert career coaches; also partners directly with career centersDesigning Your Life—referenced indirectly through the "life design" and "prototyping" conversationSandbox—entrepreneurship program mentioned by John that gives college students academic credit to build companies; currently offered at a handful of universities Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

What if your on-campus student job could do more than pay the bills? What if it was actually a career development experience?In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Eran Peterson, Associate Director of Work+ at the University of Connecticut, to talk about how UConn is reimagining student employment through the Work+ program.UConn's Work+ program — adapted from a national model pioneered by Arizona State University and the Work+ Collective — is built around a simple but powerful idea: student jobs should be more than transactional. They should be intentional learning experiences where students develop and can articulate real career competencies, and where supervisors feel equipped, supported, and valued for the role they play in student success.Eran walks through how the program works in practice, including the professional development content and tools built for student "working learners," the robust supervisor training and resource ecosystem UConn has developed, and the impressive early results from their pilot year — including a jump in students' sense of belonging from 83% to 98%.He also gets into the challenges of scaling a lean operation, the unexpected ways supervisors are finding out about Work+, and his honest advice for anyone looking to start something similar at their institution.IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:— Why UConn focuses on supervisors first — and why that order of operations matters— How the Work+ team is building scalable, on-demand resources so the program doesn't depend on constant one-on-one support— What peer-led supervisor mini sessions look like and why they've become one of the program's biggest wins— How UConn is evolving Work+ to serve supervisors who manage large teams or service-based roles without regular workstation access— Why belonging matters for supervisors, not just students — and how Work+ is working to change campus culture around that— The surprisingly simple job posting tweak that's driving a flood of new supervisor interestABOUT THE GUEST:Eran Peterson is the Associate Director of Work+ at the University of Connecticut, where he has worked for over 13 years. He started his career at UConn as a career coach before stepping into his current role focused full-time on transforming student employment. Eran is passionate about helping students recognize and articulate the skills they're building on the job — a perspective informed by his own varied work history before landing in career services.RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:— Eran’s LinkedIn profile— Eran’s email: [email protected] — UConn’s Work+ program— The Work+ Collective—the national network of institutions building Work+ programs; Eran's top recommendation for anyone looking to get started— Center for Career Readiness and Life Skills—UConn’s virtual career center housing all career development content, resources, tools, and more (powered by UConnect)— Articulate 360/Rise—the e-learning tool UConn uses to build professional development modules for working learners— Suitable—the platform UConn uses to collect evidence of student competency developmentCONNECT WITH US:New episodes every other Tuesday. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and visit gouconnect.com/career-everywhere/podcast for full show notes, transcripts, and more. Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

What does it look like when a small career services team thinks big—and builds the systems to back it up?In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Amber Goreham, Jess Johnson, and Derrick Gill from the University of Central Missouri's Career and Life Design Center to talk about how their six-person team is scaling career education across a campus of nearly 9,000 students.UCM has spent years building a strategic framework rooted in three pillars—exploration, career readiness, and connection—and those pillars now power three concrete initiatives designed to embed career into the academic experience: a milestone-based student roadmap, a plug-and-play faculty resource hub, and a Career Champions program that's turning faculty into career advocates across campus.Amber, Jess, and Derrick walk through each initiative in detail, share early results, and offer practical advice for other career services leaders who want to take a more integrated, academic-facing approach.KEY TAKEAWAYSHow UCM's three-pillar framework (exploration, career readiness, and connection) became the foundation for all three initiativesWhat UCM's milestone roadmap looks like across all four academic years — and how faculty can adapt it to their own programsHow the faculty resource hub makes it easy for instructors to embed career content into their courses with minimal liftWhat the Career Champions program entails and how UCM got immediate buy-in from department chairsWhy scalability and equity are at the heart of UCM's approach to Career EverywhereAdvice for career services leaders who want to start embedding career into academics at their own institutionsABOUT THE GUESTSAmber Goreham is the Director of the Career and Life Design Center at the University of Central Missouri. She has spent 18 of her 22 years in higher education in career services and leads the team's strategic vision for making career education accessible to all UCM students.Jess Johnson is the Assistant Director of Career and Life Design Education at UCM and a first-generation college student herself. She oversees curriculum and student-facing programming and was the primary architect of UCM's milestone framework and faculty resource hub.Derrick Gill is the Assistant Director of Faculty and Employer Partnerships at UCM. He brings a background in business internship coordination and media to his role and has been instrumental in building UCM's visibility with academic leadership and developing the Career Champions program.RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODEAmber’s LinkedIn profileJess' LinkedIn profileDerrick’s LinkedIn profileUniversity of Central Missouri Career and Life Design Center (powered by uConnect)uConnect—Virtual Career Center platformDesigning Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans (referenced as the foundation of UCM's life design approach)The Career Ecosystem Era in Higher Education by Jeremy Podany (mentioned by Derrick as a team reading the career center used to gather faculty input) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

What if career services leaders thought more like Chief Marketing Officers?In this episode of the Career Everywhere Podcast, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Ashley Safranski, Chief Marketing Officer at uConnect, to explore why adopting a CMO mindset can help career services leaders elevate their impact across campus.Ashley shares the striking parallels between marketing teams and career centers—from being perceived as cost centers to sitting at the center of institutional strategy. She also outlines five practical marketing strategies career leaders can use to increase student engagement, build campus champions, drive cross-functional alignment, and tie their work directly to top-line goals like enrollment, retention, and outcomes.If you’re ready to strengthen your seat at the table and position career services as a strategic driver on campus, this episode is for you. Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In an era of constant technological change, a liberal arts education builds the adaptability, critical thinking, and career agility students need to stay employable—even as jobs evolve or disappear.In this episode, host Meredith Metsker is joined by Sharon Belden Castonguay, Executive Director of the Gordon Career Center at Wesleyan University, to explore why a liberal arts education may be more valuable than ever in an AI-driven world.Sharon shares why employability matters more than first-job outcomes, how liberal arts graduates are uniquely prepared to navigate uncertainty, and why “major ≠ career” is actually a strength—not a weakness. She also explains how institutions can use data and storytelling to prove ROI, how AI fits into career preparation without fear mongering, and what students really need to thrive in an unpredictable future of work.This episode is a must-listen for career services leaders, higher ed professionals, students, and families navigating the changing landscape of education and work.Resources from the episode:Sharon’s LinkedIn profileSharon’s TEDx Talk (recently hit 1M views!)Sharon’s 2023 Career Everywhere Podcast episodeWesleyan’s virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this repurposed live session from the Career Everywhere Community, Meredith Metsker sits down with Gerald Tang, Executive Director of Career Services and Internships at Bridgewater State University, to explore how institutions can rethink and strengthen their employer engagement strategies.Gerald shares how his team moved beyond counting career fairs and job postings to develop a tiered, data-informed employer engagement model that aligns with institutional mission, regional workforce needs, and equity goals. From leveraging alumni and labor market data to launching BSU’s Hire Locally campaign, this episode offers practical insights for career services leaders looking to build more meaningful, sustainable employer partnerships.You’ll learn:Why event attendance alone doesn’t equal strong employer relationshipsHow to define and assess employer engagement tiersWhat data sources can inform smarter employer strategyHow regional focus and mission alignment can guide employer outreachResources from the episode:Gerald’s LinkedIn profileGerald’s slide deck (including spreadsheet examples)BSU Elevate campaign and webpageBSU virtual career center (powered by uConnect)BSU Hire Locally pageBSU’s labor market insights module (powered by uConnect)Career Everywhere Community (free and open to any higher ed career services professional) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

What does it really take to scale career services when you’re a team of one—or leading a very small team? In this episode, host Meredith Metsker is joined by Anita DeCianni Brown (SUNY Empire State University), Nick Edwards (Hardin-Simmons University), and Tyler Orr (Southern Virginia University) for a candid conversation about doing more with less.The panel shares practical strategies for expanding reach, leveraging technology, building faculty and campus partnerships, and advocating for resources—all while staying focused on meaningful student impact. Whether you’re building career services from the ground up or rethinking how to scale sustainably, this episode offers real-world insights, lessons learned, and encouragement for career services professionals at any institution size.Resources from the episode:SUNY Empire’s Virtual Career Center (powered by uConnect)HSU’s Virtual Career Center (powered by uConnect)SVU’s Virtual Career Center (powered by uConnect)uConnect (Virtual career center platform)Labor Market Insights module by uConnect HandshakeCareerShift FOCUS 2 Big InterviewSkillsFirstYouScienceLinkedIn LearningForageCareer Everywhere Community (free and open to any higher ed career services professional) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode, Dr. Matt Cowley of Virginia Tech shares how his team united career services, financial aid, procurement, legal, payroll, advancement, and employers to build a creative, compliant solution for funding unpaid and underpaid internships. Matt discusses how simple leadership moves—framing the problem around student impact, asking the right people to the table, and staying open to iteration—turned a complex challenge into a scalable system that gets real dollars into students’ hands.Key Takeaways:Solving unpaid internships required cross-campus collaboration, not just career services leadership.Matt brought together typically siloed teams by clearly articulating the student problem and inviting partners to co-create the solution.The final model routes support funds through employers, allowing students to be paid while staying aligned with institutional and financial aid policies.Data helped define the scope of the issue, but student stories drove urgency and buy-in.Early success shows that building the system matters as much as securing the funding—and that iteration is part of the process.Resources:Matt’s LinkedIn profileMatt’s email: [email protected] Tech’s virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

How do you launch a university-wide Experiential Learning Center—in just one year—across three campuses, during budget cuts, staffing challenges, and constant organizational change?In this episode of the Career Everywhere Podcast, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Dr. Josh Domitrovich, Rhonda Gifford, and Meaghan Clister of PennWest to unpack the strategy, persistence, and cross-campus collaboration behind their brand-new Experiential Learning Center (ELC).You’ll hear how the idea evolved from a one-person internship center into a robust, centralized hub designed to promote, track, and assess experiential learning for all PennWest students (across three physical campuses and online). The team shares how they gained buy-in from senior leadership; aligned their work with institutional priorities like enrollment, retention and outcomes; and built a campus-wide culture around experiential learning.They also open up about early wins, lessons learned, and the signals they watched closely to guide their timing and approach—insights that any career services leader can apply on their own campus.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why experiential learning became a strategic priority at PennWestHow the team navigated shifting leadership, limited resources, and campus integrationThe proposal strategies that finally earned a “yes” from senior leadershipHow the ELC is breaking down silos and centralizing data across programsWhat early results show, and where the team is headed nextWhether you’re exploring experiential learning initiatives or looking to make career services indispensable at your institution, this conversation is packed with inspiration and practical takeaways. Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode of Career Everywhere, host Meredith Metsker talks with Jeremy Schifeling, Founder of The Job Insiders, AI and ChatGPT expert, keynote speaker, author, and former higher ed career services leader.Jeremy breaks down how AI is actually changing the job market right now, who’s being most affected (including Gen Z and tech talent), and why he believes we’re moving from the “revenge of the nerds” era to the “revenge of the liberal arts.” He explains which skills will matter most in an AI-powered world—like communication, empathy, and relationship-building—and how AI can complement, not replace, the human work of career coaching.Jeremy also shares a practical three-step plan for career services teams to start using AI today, how to help students “AI-proof” their careers, and creative ways to integrate AI into existing programs for career exploration and interview prep. Throughout, he emphasizes the importance of an internal locus of control: we can’t control AI or the economy, but we can control how we respond.If you’re wondering how to prepare students for a rapidly changing world of work—and how to use AI without losing the human heart of your work—this episode is for you.About Jeremy Schifeling:Jeremy Schifeling is the Founder of The Job Insiders, an AI, LinkedIn, and career strategy company dedicated to helping job seekers navigate a rapidly changing world of work. He’s an AI and ChatGPT expert, keynote speaker, top-ranking author, and former higher ed career services leader. Jeremy has worked in K-12, nonprofits, higher education, and big tech (including LinkedIn), giving him a uniquely holistic view of how people build meaningful careers. He’s currently writing a book on AI-proofing for the future, coming in 2026.You can connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn, where he regularly shares insights on AI, career strategy, and the future of work.Resources from the episode:Jeremy’s LinkedIn profileThe Job Insiders websiteJeremy’s first book: Career Coach GPT: The Complete Guide to ChatGPT Resume, Cover Letter, Interview, and Job Search Success Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode, University of Washington Executive Director of the Career and Internship Center Briana Randall shares her team’s four-year journey to expand their budget and find new funding sources for career services.She walks through what worked (and what didn’t) when it came to pursuing new revenue streams—from donor campaigns that fell flat, to creative partnerships across campus, to the major success that changed everything: securing funding through a Student Tech Fee grant.Briana breaks down exactly how she made her case to the student committee that manages the fund, what data and endorsements helped seal the deal, and how those grants now sustain core tools like uConnect, LinkedIn Learning, Interstride, Jobscan, and Yoodli.She also reflects on the realities of working within limited budgets, why some fundraising attempts with alumni and corporations didn’t pan out, and how she’s learned to think strategically (and bravely) about asking for support.Key topics:How the University of Washington Career and Internship Center used the Student Tech Fee grant to fund key technology and tools that directly serve studentsThe exact process Briana used to apply for and win multiple rounds of funding—including tips for presenting to student committeesWhat funding approaches didn’t work (like alumni donation drives and corporate sponsorships) and whyHow Briana built partnerships across campus to share costs and resourcesAdvice for other career center leaders seeking sustainable, creative funding modelsAbout Briana Randall:Briana Randall is the Executive Director of the Career and Internship Center at the University of Washington in Seattle. She’s been with the center since 2004 and has served as director for the past five years. A longtime Career Everywhere Champion, Briana is known for her innovative approach to expanding access to career resources—even in the face of tight budgets.Resources from the episode:Briana’s LinkedIn profileBriana’s email: [email protected] UW’s Virtual Career Center (powered by uConnect)Find a copy of Briana’s successful Student Tech Fee grant application for uConnect in this articleCareer Everywhere Community (free and open to any higher ed career services professional) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

How do you scale career support for thousands of nontraditional, online students—many of whom are balancing work, school, and family life?In this episode, host Meredith Metsker chats with Anita DeCianni Brown, who has led career services at SUNY Empire State University for over a decade. Anita shares how she built SUNY Empire’s career services function from the ground up, including how she transformed the career center’s digital presence from a single webpage to a full virtual career center that offers 24/7 resources and support to more than 17,000 students across New York and beyond.They discuss how Anita’s team personalizes support for learners at every stage—whether they’re career starters, career transitioners, or career advancers—and how tools like uConnect, Handshake, and Big Interview help her small team of four scale their impact.Anita also shares creative programming ideas (like her Ask5 alumni interview series), the importance of explaining the “how” and “why” behind every resource, and how she fosters collaboration with other departments through a new career liaison program.Key topics:How Anita built and scaled SUNY Empire’s career services function as a team of one for 10+ yearsHow she recently grew her team from one to fourStrategies for supporting nontraditional, online, and adult learnersWhy technology and accessibility are critical for equitable career supportWhat Anita’s tech stack looks likeHow to structure (and schedule) programming for students working full-timeThe power of collaboration across departments through career liaisonsWhy explaining the “how” and “why” of career tools boosts engagementAnd moreAbout Anita DeCianni Brown:Anita DeCianni Brown is the Director of Career and Experiential Learning Services at SUNY Empire State University, where she has led career services since 2014. Over her 35-year career in career services, Anita has built programs from the ground up, developed innovative ways to support adult and online learners, and created strong partnerships across departments to make career education accessible to everyone.A proud SUNY Empire alumna herself, Anita is passionate about helping nontraditional students find meaningful career paths and build confidence at every stage of their professional journeys.Resources from the episode:Anita’s LinkedIn profileAnita’s email: [email protected] SUNY Empire State’s Career Hub (powered by uConnect)Career Everywhere CommunitySUNY Empire State’s Career Kits (coming soon!) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

How can career education become part of every student’s academic journey—not just an optional add-on?In this episode of Career Everywhere, host Meredith Metsker chats with Brenna Gomez, Director of Career Integration at Oregon State University, about how OSU successfully embedded career development into its new general education curriculum (called Core Education).Brenna shares how the Beyond OSU initiative ensures that every student, in every major, has built-in opportunities to explore career paths, develop professional skills, and reflect on their goals. She also breaks down OSU’s four-pillar strategy for career education and offers advice for other institutions looking to weave career learning throughout the academic experience.Key topics:How Oregon State embedded career development into its new general education curriculum (called Core Education)What the Beyond OSU program is and how it worksHow OSU’s career services team collaborated with faculty from the startThe role of OSU’s faculty “community of practice” concept in sustaining career-integrated learningOSU’s four-pillar strategy for comprehensive career education (integrating career into Core Education, tailored career support in each college, alumni and employer networks, embedded co-curriculars)Practical tips for other career leaders who want to start small and build buy-inAbout Brenna Gomez:Brenna Gomez serves as the Director of Career Integration at Oregon State University. With a background in creative writing and teaching, Brenna leads OSU’s efforts to embed career development across the curriculum and throughout the student experience. She also oversees the university’s highly-successful Career Champions program and works closely with faculty and staff to make career learning accessible to all students.Memorable quote:“All disciplines are career disciplines. Every major leads to a career.” – Brenna Gomez Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode, host Meredith Metsker talks with Joretta Nelson, Vice Chairman of Credo (now part of the Carnegie family). With 25 years of experience in higher education—including time as a music faculty member, vice president for enrollment management, and now a national consultant to presidents and cabinets—Joretta brings a unique vantage point on how career services leaders can position themselves as strategic, institutional partners.Drawing on her extensive work with presidents, provosts, enrollment leaders, student affairs leaders, advancement officers, and more, Joretta offers a behind-the-scenes look at what life is like for these senior executives. What keeps them up at night, who they’re accountable to, and what their day-to-day actually looks like.Most importantly, she shares how career leaders can build relationships, align with institutional priorities, and provide the data and stories cabinet members need to be successful.This episode is a practical roadmap for anyone looking to move beyond unit-level advocacy and become a trusted voice at the institutional strategy table.Key takeaways (by cabinet leader):The President:Manages nonstop demands: board relations, fundraising, community representation, finance/budget, parent concerns, etc.Works on a cyclical calendar tied to board meetings, fundraising campaigns, and more.Career services can help by supplying three key data points and ready-to-use student stories each month.The Provost/Chief Academic Officer:Balances faculty governance pressures, budget realities, and program innovation.Faces heavy strain post-COVID, often balancing faculty's “grief” about higher ed’s transformation.Career services can partner by proactively working to integrate career into curriculum design, especially in arts and humanities programs where pathways are less clear.The Chief Enrollment Officer:Lives in a world of numbers: yield, conversion, and net tuition revenue.Works under immense pressure to prove the institution’s value proposition to prospective students and families.Career services can strengthen recruitment efforts by embedding career outcomes and employer partnerships into admissions events, campus visits, marketing materials, and more. Learn more in our previous episode: How Career Services Can Partner with Enrollment to Drive Student SuccessThe Head of Student Affairs:Oversees student life, mental health, onboarding, retention, residence life, and sometimes athletics.Post-COVID, this group experienced the highest leadership turnover in higher ed.Career services can help by embedding career readiness into student affairs learning outcomes, first-year and second-year experiences, and high-impact practices.The Chief Advancement Officer:Focuses on fundraising, donor relations, and institutional reputation.Has a direct line to the president and board.Career services can add value by sharing employer partnership data and student success stories that appeal to donors. Leading with transparency builds trust.Joretta’s advice for career leaders:Lead with empathy, transparency, and how you can help cabinet members succeed in their roles.Always tie career services work back to the overall student success strategy.Provide a steady stream of data and student stories.Don’t be afraid to start small. Sometimes it all starts with a coffee meeting!Resources from the episode:Joretta’s LinkedIn profileCredoCarnegieuConnectPrevious episode: Jonathan Wehner (Carnegie) on the Chief Enrollment Officer perspectiveBrené Brown’s leadership book: Dare to LeadSurviving to Thriving (a book by Credo) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode, host Meredith Metsker is joined by Jonathan Wehner, AVP of Enrollment Strategy at Carnegie and a seasoned higher ed leader with more than 20 years of experience leading enrollment at institutions like Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and Case Western Reserve University.Jonathan brings a rare insider’s perspective on what enrollment leaders are juggling today, from declining demographics and shrinking budgets to waning public trust in higher education.He explains what keeps chief enrollment officers up at night (like meeting headcount goals with fewer students, balancing institutional finances with student success, and protecting staff under immense pressure) and why career outcomes are increasingly the core value proposition of higher ed.Together, Jonathan and Meredith dig into how career services leaders can seize this moment to become mission-critical partners in enrollment and student success. Key takeaways:Career services must reframe their role. Jonathan emphasizes the need for career leaders to pivot from thinking of themselves as a “student services function” to becoming an institutional mission function that drives enrollment, retention, and institutional reputation.Career is higher ed’s core value proposition. With skepticism about the ROI of a degree at an all-time high, prospective students and families want to see clear, specific outcomes—especially program-level data on internships, employment, and salaries. Institutions that don’t differentiate on outcomes are “missing the boat.”Enrollment leaders face immense pressure. Chief enrollment officers are responsible for both revenue (tuition dollars) and large expenditures (financial aid), often with sprawling portfolios that include admissions, financial aid, advising, research, and sometimes even career services. Their daily decisions affect institutional finances and the livelihoods of staff and faculty, creating enormous stress and sleepless nights.Partnership requires proactive outreach. Career leaders should initiate regular meetings with their chief enrollment officer and come prepared with something of value—such as early access to outcomes data, stories from students, or trends from employer engagement—to earn trust and build collaboration.Joint metrics strengthen collaboration. Beyond the First Destination Survey, Jonathan recommends tracking metrics like internship participation, employment outcomes tied to academic programs, and the impact of experiential learning. These insights can power admissions conversations and marketing.Visibility in recruitment is key. Career services should be highlighted on campus tours, open houses, and admissions events—not tucked away. Families and students want to know about outcomes upfront, making career offices central to recruitment.Pair data with stories. Numbers alone aren’t enough. Admissions teams need both hard evidence (employment rates, salary ranges, top employers) and human stories (how an internship shaped a student’s path) to persuade both data-driven and emotion-driven decision makers.Resources from the episode:Jonathan’s LinkedIn profileCarnegieuConnectOutcomes Data Visualization module (by uConnect)Illinois Institute of Technology example of filtering outcomes by internship vs. no internship Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode, host Meredith Metsker sits down with Julia Vollrath (Director of Career Data, Technologies, and Engagement) and Marissa Altenburg (Integrative Career Solutions Manager) from the University of Florida.Julia and Marissa share how UF’s career center has woven data into the fabric of its operations—transforming data from a scary, four-letter word into a common language that empowers staff, drives decisions, and builds credibility across campus. They discuss how to create a true data culture within career services teams, where every staff member feels confident using data for storytelling, decision-making, and cross-campus collaboration.You’ll hear practical strategies for making data accessible, consistent, and action-oriented—plus some fun commentary about why Professor McGonagall would make an excellent university president.Key takeawaysData is a common language: It builds credibility with provosts, presidents, and external partners, showing career services’ direct connection to student success and institutional goals.A true data culture is shared: Data shouldn’t sit with just one assessment lead. Every staff member should be confident using it in their daily work.Accessibility matters: Tools like Excel dashboards, user-friendly reporting, and regular training make data feel approachable and useful.Consistency builds trust: Quarterly trainings, monthly reporting, and standardized definitions ensure data becomes part of the culture rather than an occasional add-on.Context is key: Data without explanation is dangerous. Pairing numbers with stories makes the information actionable and compelling.Resources from the episode:Julia’s LinkedIn profileMarissa’s LinkedIn profileCareer Everywhere Community (free digital community for all higher ed career services leaders)University of Florida’s Career Hub (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

How can career services and faculty partner to embed career exploration directly into the classroom—so every student has access, no matter their background or schedule?In this episode, host Meredith Metsker chats with Krysta Foster, Associate Director of Career Services at Michigan State University’s Lyman Briggs College, and Dr. Shahnaz Masani, Assistant Professor in Lyman Briggs College and MSU’s Physiology Department.Together, they’ve built a unique, fully integrated career curriculum called the In Real Life Lab (IRL) that weaves career exploration and skill development into the core science curriculum.Krysta and Shahnaz share how their partnership began, why they see career work as equity work, and how they’ve designed IRL to help students articulate their purpose, plan parallel career paths, build self-efficacy, and connect their academic work to real-world impact.They also discuss what it takes to create strong, collaborative relationships between faculty and career staff, the powerful outcomes they’ve seen so far, and their vision for scaling the program both at Michigan State and beyond.If you’ve ever wondered how to break down silos between faculty and career services—or how to make career education more equitable, accessible, and purpose-driven—this is an episode you don’t want to miss.Key takeaways:Why embedding career into curriculum makes career exploration more equitable and accessible for all students.How Michigan State’s In Real Life Lab helps students connect classroom learning with purpose-driven career planning.What makes faculty/career services partnerships work—and how to start building them on your campus.The powerful outcomes students experience when they reflect on their skills, practice career readiness in class, and build confidence through low-stakes experiences.Resources from the episode:Krysta’s LinkedIn profileKrysta’s email: [email protected] Shahnaz’s LinkedIn profileShahnaz’s email: [email protected] Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education article about the IRL curriculum Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

With public trust in higher ed at an all-time low, and ROI under the microscope, career services is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s central to proving the value of a college degree.In this episode, Christine Cruzvergara of Handshake joins host Meredith Metsker to discuss how career services leaders can meet this moment with clarity, courage, and strategy. Christine shares how leaders can redefine their value proposition, position their teams as essential partners on campus, and scale their work through tech and human connection—even as a one-person office.You'll learn:Why getting students hired should be your North Star (not just “being innovative”)How to reframe your value for senior leaders, admissions, and prospective familiesWays to scale warm introductions and build a high-impact alumni networkWhat advocacy really looks like: Multi-threaded, persistent, and politically savvyHow to rethink your staffing, services, and story to stay relevant in the future of career servicesIf you're a career services leader ready to step into the spotlight and lead in this ROI era, this episode is your playbook.Resources from the episode:Christine’s LinkedIn profileuConnectHandshakeLeland Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Rebekah Paré shares five ways career services leaders can measure career center effectiveness—beyond the standard metrics.--In this episode of the Career Everywhere Podcast, host Meredith Metsker is joined by higher ed career services veteran and Paré Consulting founder, Rebekah Paré, to explore how career centers can measure (and improve) their effectiveness.With a wealth of experience in both academic affairs and career services, Rebekah shares five core strategies that career leaders can use to optimize their centers and clearly demonstrate value to institutional stakeholders.Rebekah’s five-part framework includes:Strategic orientation: Is your center leading or reacting? Do you have defined goals and KPIs? Rebekah outlines how clear goals and alignment with institutional initiatives can transform a career center from reactive to proactiveInstitutional alignment: Are you helping your institution meet its top priorities like enrollment, retention, and workforce readiness? Learn how to connect your work with the university’s strategic plan—even if you weren’t originally included in the process.Academic integration: Are you bridging academics and career? Rebekah highlights the importance of collaborating with faculty across all disciplines to embed career competencies and experiential learning directly into the curriculum. Plus, she shares a few strategies on how to do exactly that!Student reach and service design: Who are you serving, and how? Discover how to use disaggregated data, intentional design, and scalable service models to ensure equitable access and impact, especially for first-gen and non-traditional students.Communications and influence: Can others articulate your value? From one-pagers to speechwriter talking points, Rebekah shares tactical ideas for making career center impact visible and memorable to presidents, provosts, and beyond.Rebekah emphasizes that effectiveness goes beyond the standard metrics. It’s about driving transformation, building buy-in, and aligning your work with campus-wide goals.Whether you're trying to scale services, deepen partnerships with academic departments, or advocate for resources, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you lead more strategically.Bonus: Hear about Rebekah’s swing band side hustle, her unapologetic liberal arts roots, and her answer to the ultimate philosophical question: What kitchen spice are you?Resources from the episode:Rebekah’s LinkedIn profileRebekah’s websiteRebekah’s newsletterRebekah’s guest post: The New Rules of Career Services Advocacy in Higher EduConnect’s Virtual Career Center platform Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode, James Tarbox and Theanne Thomson share how Stanford’s career education and alumni teams collaborate to support graduates for up to five years post-graduation through the innovative Stanford PlusFive program.From 1:1 career coaching to alumni-led networking groups, this program offers recent grads a meaningful bridge from college to career—and the data proves it’s working.Here are a few key themes from episode:What the Stanford PlusFive program is and how it worksThe importance of career coaching and alumni connections for recent gradsHow alumni volunteers help scale support through global industry and identity-based groupsStrategies for fostering a strong partnership between the career center and alumni associationHow the PlusFive program has evolved since launching in 2021Tangible outcomes, including a 57% increase in career coaching appointmentsVision for the future: Expanding support through a potential “Five Plus” model for alumni beyond the five-year markThe power of intentional collaboration and clear communication between campus partners“We need to show people as they graduate that we see them, that we understand their challenges, and that we're here to support them,” James said.Guest background:James Tarbox, the Assistant Vice Provost and Executive Director of Stanford Career Education at Stanford University, has been a career services leader for over 25 years and is a champion of expanding alumni career support beyond the traditional one-year mark.Theanne Thomson, the Director of Alumni Career Connections and Interim Director of Student Programs at Stanford University (and a Stanford alum herself), focuses on building scalable alumni connection opportunities, from networking events to industry-specific communities.Resources from the episode:James’ LinkedIn profileJames’ email: [email protected] Theanne’s LinkedIn profileTheanne’s email: [email protected] Stanford PlusFive webpageWhat Color is Your Parachute? book Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Danny Pape, Executive Director of the Center for Career Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis, shares the story of how WashU shifted from a long-standing decentralized career services model to a unified, centralized structure—without losing a single position.With decades of experience across multiple institutions and roles—from career coach to administrator—Danny brings a thoughtful, people-first approach to leadership. He walks us through the why behind the unification, how his team used data and stakeholder input to guide the process, and how they've reimagined career services around student interests instead of majors.Here are a few key themes from the episode:Why unification was necessary: Confusion and inconsistencies across departments were creating barriers for students, employers, and faculty alike.Shifting from major-based to interest-based support: WashU created eight career communities aligned with students’ career goals and industry trends, not their majors.Scaling with technology: Tools like uConnect help eliminate access barriers, drive engagement, and provide critical data insights to inform decisions.Serving the whole career ecosystem: Dedicated teams for employer engagement and academic partnerships help ensure consistent support across campus.Leadership lessons: Transparency, stakeholder buy-in, and peer mentorship were essential to managing such a big change successfully.The future of career services: Danny emphasized the need to evolve constantly, tell the story of career services more effectively, and develop the next generation of leaders in the field.“We as career center leaders and employees need to get comfortable that our role is changing, from that of being a practitioner to being more of a facilitator or an influencer,” Danny said.Resources from the episode:Danny’s LinkedIn profileDanny’s email: [email protected] WashU’s virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

As prospective students and their families become increasingly focused on ROI, post-grad outcomes, and career readiness, collaboration between career services and enrollment management has never been more important.When these two functions work in tandem, institutions are better positioned to not only recruit and retain students, but to tell a more compelling and authentic story about the value of the college experience.In this episode, uConnect Founder and CEO David Kozhuk talks with Rebekah Paré and Michael Griffin about how career services and enrollment leaders can collaborate more intentionally—and what happens when they do. Rebekah is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Paré Consulting and a former career services executive. And Michael is a former VP for Enrollment Management and a seasoned higher ed executive.They cover:Why a cross-functional partnership is essential in today’s higher ed landscapeWhat tangible outcomes are possible when enrollment and career teams alignHow to get started–and what practical tactics drive collaboration that lastsAnd moreWhether you’re leading a career office or steering enrollment strategy, this episode offers the insights and inspiration you need to build stronger, more student-centered partnerships on campus.Resources from the episode:David’s LinkedIn profileRebekah’s LinkedIn profileMichael’s LinkedIn profileuConnect virtual career center platform Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Lexie Avery and Melissa Lawson of Binghamton University share how career services and admissions collaborate to recruit, retain, and support students with career development—before they even step foot on campus. Lexie, the Senior Associate Director of Student Engagement and Career Readiness, and Melissa, the Director of Admissions Communications, have worked closely together for years and built a strong partnership between the career center and admissions.Here are a few key ways the two offices collaborate:The career center participates in admitted student events, exposing students to career services before they even begin classes.Career services provides messaging to campus tour guides to equip them to effectively discuss career services offerings—plus the career center is always a stop on tours.Speaking of tour guides, the career center also provides professional development to campus tour guides, particularly around interviewing, hiring, and training their peers. When admissions brings high school guidance counselors to campus, career services participates to share information on career outcomes, experiential learning, and what makes Binghamton different.Similarly, a career services staff member also occasionally travels with admissions counselors to out-of-state recruitment events to speak on career resources, outcomes, and what Binghamton can provide that other schools can’t.Admissions and career services coordinate marketing messaging and programming for incoming students, including a two-credit online summer career exploration course.The two offices also regularly share data and insights. For example, career services shares First Destination Survey data and other outcomes and engagement data to help admissions tell a stronger story to prospective students and their families. And admissions shares survey data from incoming students to help the career center understand incoming student interests and expectations around career preparation.The partnership has contributed to strong enrollment and retention and early career engagement from Binghamton students. Win-win!Resources from the episode:Lexie’s LinkedIn profileMelissa’s LinkedIn profileBinghamton’s virtual career center Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode of the Career Everywhere podcast, host Meredith Metsker welcomes Dylan Houle, Executive Director of the Career Center at Santa Clara University, to discuss the misalignment between the importance of career outcomes for students and the positioning of career services in higher ed.In short: If career outcomes are a major reason most students choose to go to college, why are career centers so often underfunded, understaffed, and positioned as mid-level offices on campus. A former teacher, Dylan’s propensity for lifelong learning led him to career services and to start his own podcast called Career Services Leadership, where he talks to senior leaders in career services about their approach to leadership and staff development. Now he’s in the early stages of research for a dissertation centered on career services leadership. In this episode, Dylan shares how he plans to investigate the forms of capital that career services leaders possess that may not be widely seen or valued by their institutions—as well as the forms of capital that are valued but career leaders have limited opportunities to accumulate. Dylan’s goal is to identify how career services leaders can leverage their capital to achieve greater organizational impact.Key themes from the episode include:The need to elevate the role of career servicesDeveloping clear career pathways for professionals in the fieldBetter integrating career services throughout the curriculum and the broader campus ecosystem.Resources from the episode:Dylan’s LinkedIn profileDylan’s email: [email protected] Examples of Dylan’s monthly director’s email: May 2025, April 2025, March 2025Career Services Leadership podcast Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode of the Career Everywhere podcast, host Meredith Metsker welcomes Dr. Erica Kryst, Executive Director of Career Services at Cornell University, to discuss how she leads a decentralized but highly collaborative career services function.Erica, a first-generation college student with degrees in musical theater and communications, brings a unique perspective to her leadership. She draws on her own experiences growing up in rural Pennsylvania with limited early exposure to career options and emphasizes the importance of collaboration, context, and enthusiasm in her approach to career services.A major focus of the conversation is Cornell’s decentralized structure, where there’s a central career center (where Erica works) and each college also has its own career center.Erica explains the strengths of this model, such as providing students with highly personalized and discipline-specific support, while also ensuring broad access to shared resources and tools like uConnect, Handshake, and more. She highlights the systems in place for regular communication and collaboration among career staff across campus, including all-staff meetings, shared committees, and digital tools like Microsoft Teams, which help keep 80+ staff members aligned and working toward common goals.The episode also dives into a functional review currently underway at Cornell, aimed at reimagining career services to ensure equity, streamline employer relations, and enhance student access to support.Erica shares insights into the process of gathering input from a wide range of stakeholders, the push towards a more hybrid and unified model, and the need to sustain staff motivation and student-focused innovation. Drawing from her own career journey, Erica encourages other career leaders in decentralized environments to understand the specific context of their institutions, prioritize student needs above all, and foster a culture of curiosity and open partnership.Resources from the episode:Erica’s LinkedIn profileErica’s email: [email protected] Cornell’s virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

BSGU President Rodney Rogers and Steve Russell, AVP of Corporate Partnerships and Executive Director of the Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections, share how Bowling Green State University continues to shatter records when it comes to enrollment and retention. In fact, the 2024-2025 academic year marked the second consecutive year that BGSU has set enrollment records. This year, they welcomed one of their largest and highest-achieving freshman classes in university history, with new student enrollment up 14% compared to fall 2023, and up 22% compared to fall 2022.BGSU is also seeing impressive success with retention, leading to several notable rankings—including one from The Wall Street Journal, which lists BGSU as the No. 1 University in Ohio for student experience. In this episode of the Career Everywhere podcast, host Meredith Metsker talks with President Rogers and Steve about how BGSU’s focus on career readiness and outcomes has driven record enrollment and retention. They discuss:The state of higher education and why there needs to be an increased focus on career readiness and outcomesHow BGSU is focusing on career readiness across campus and beyond (including specific strategies)What BGSU’s life design approach looks like (and why President Rogers chose that strategy)How the Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections partners with admissions and enrollment How the career team gathers, analyzes, and distributes student engagement and outcomes dataHow, as a leader, President Rogers communicates his vision and gets everyone rowing in the same direction and committing to career readiness effortsPresident Rogers’ advice for career services leaders who are trying to advocate to senior leadership for more support and resourcesAnd moreResources from the episode:Rodney’s LinkedIn profileRodney’s email: [email protected] Steve’s LinkedIn profileSteve’s email: [email protected] Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections websiteRadbill Center for College and Life Design website Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Justin Morris and Robin Huston, both of the University of Oklahoma, share how their team is implementing Career Everywhere and building a career ecosystem across campus and beyond. In the episode, they discuss:How they built a three-year strategic plan for the career center to implement Career EverywhereHow they secured high-level buy-in from university leadership to drive the Career Everywhere initiative forwardHow they secured budget to nearly double the career center staff and create roles focused on data analysis, events, advising, and experiential learningHow they deploy a "roadshow" approach, where career center staff proactively build one-on-one relationships with faculty, staff, and administrators across campus to integrate career into their workTheir annual Career Everywhere symposium that gathers stakeholders and facilitates collaboration around embedding career into curriculum and campus lifeEstablishing a Career Champions program to recognize and support faculty and staff who are integrating career into their work with studentsAnd moreRobin and Justin’s goal is to create a self-sustaining career ecosystem where career development is seamlessly woven throughout the student experience, rather than siloed in the career center. This approach aims to improve access and equity in career preparation for all OU students.Resources from the episode:Justin’s LinkedIn profileJustin’s email: [email protected] Robin’s LinkedIn profileRobin’s email: [email protected] OU career center website Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Allie Danziger, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AscentUP, shares what professionalism looks like in 2025 and how career services teams can stay on top of new trends. AscentUP is a student success platform that bridges the gap and offers support for learners of all ages about professionalism, career readiness, academics, finance essentials, and more through training, coaching, and access to paid internship opportunities. They are also one of uConnect’s content partners for our Curation Kits and our Classes Module, both of which plug into our virtual career center platform.In this episode, Allie discusses the evolving landscape of professionalism, how career teams can educate students about the unwritten rules of the workplace, what professionalism trends might be on the horizon, how to be authentic and analytical at work in the age of AI, and more.She also covers:The importance of adaptability in the workplaceThe significance of learning velocityThe necessity of clear communication regarding roles and responsibilitiesMaintaining work-life balance in a hybrid or remote work environmentHow to utilize AI tools without becoming fully dependent on themHow career coaches can address imposter syndrome with studentsResources from the episode:Allie’s LinkedIn profileAscentUP websiteuConnect’s Curation KitsuConnect’s virtual career center platformuConnect’s Classes Module (coming soon!) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Andrea Franklin and Tracy Austin, both of Clemson University, share how they’ve built a scalable, free, and effective professional development program for their career center staff. The program, called Spark Exchange, includes monthly presentations led by career center staff or external partners like faculty and employers about topics that matter to students and to the work of career services.In addition to providing valuable professional development for the Clemson career team (especially when it’s not always possible to send staff members to conferences), Spark Exchange also strengthens the career center’s relationships with partners on and off campus. Plus, it’s free to facilitate and infinitely scalable. Win-win!In this episode, Andrea and Tracy share:What the Spark Exchange program entailsWhy they started itWhat results and benefits they’ve seen since starting it several years agoAnd moreResources from the episode:Andrea’s LinkedIn profileTracy’s LinkedIn profileClemson’s virtual career center Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

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

Amanda Zielinski Slenski and Suede Graham of Out for Undergrad, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping high-achieving LGBTQ2+ undergraduates reach their full potential, discuss how career centers can support LGBTQIA+ students. In this episode, Amanda and Suede cover:Some of the unique challenges that LGBTQIA+ students often encounter as part of career explorationBarriers or biases LGBTQIA+ students might face during interviews or internships, and how career services can coach them to be prepared to handle these situations confidentlyHow career services teams can help students assess a company’s culture or inclusivity as part of the job search processHow career leaders can best support LGBTQIA+ students in career development and immediate strategies that can be implemented to increase supportHow to consider adapting career advising, workshops, and resources to meet the unique needs and circumstances of LGBTQIA+ studentsAnd moreResources from the episode:Amanda’s LinkedIn profileSuede’s LinkedIn profileOut for Undergrad websiteOut for Undergrad job boardEmmanuel College LGBTQIA+ community page (powered by uConnect)Human Rights Campaign websiteHuman Rights Campaign LGBTQ+ Professional and Student AssociationsWindooSTEMReaching Out MBA Romba ConferencePoint Foundation (LGBTQ scholarship fund)Out LeadershipOut to Succeed 2.0 (global survey of the LGBTQ+ workforce) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

When it comes to student engagement with career services and resources, business schools are a different beast.First, most students enrolled in business schools (especially those in graduate programs) have specific goals and expectations around post-graduation outcomes. As a result, they often require more frequent and specialized engagement with career services. Second, it’s no secret that rankings and reputation play a critical role in the success of every business school. Career outcomes directly influence both of those things, which is why many business schools have their own career centers and leverage their own relationships with employers, faculty, alumni, and more. In this episode, we talk with Toni Rhorer of the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego and Gene Rhee of the Lundquist College of Business at the University of Oregon about how they’ve scaled engagement with career services. Toni and Gene share tactical strategies about:How they get buy-in from faculty to embed career development into curriculumHow they partner with admissions (and use outcomes data)How they use technology to make resources available 24/7How they leverage student clubs, alumni, employers, and more for large-scale programmingHow they’ve turned 1:1 appointments into personalized, high-value sessionsAnd moreResources from the episode:Toni’s LinkedIn profileGene’s LinkedIn profileRady School of Management’s virtual career center (powered by uConnect)Lundquist College of Business’ virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Dave Merry, Associate Provost and Executive Director of the Center for Career Equity, Development, and Success at Suffolk University, shares how his team is working to improve career equity, address systemic bias, and provide equitable support for all students.“It [career equity] means not everyone has the same, but everyone has what they need. We try to really question how we can target and tailor our resources in a way that, to some, sometimes feels like we are providing more resources to some students. And that's because we are. We recognize that some students need more support or need different support, and that's part of what career equity is,” Dave says.  In the episode, Dave discusses:How his team defines career equity (and why it’s so important)How his team is working to improve career equity (including several specific strategies)Why he hired a Director of Career Equity and Access on his teamWhy his team launched their annual Career Equity Conference (and what it entails)What results his team has seenHow they measure successAnd moreResources from the episode:Dave’s LinkedIn profileDave’s email: [email protected] Suffolk’s career center websiteEmployer DEI toolkit Director of Career Equity staff pageCareer Equity Conference webpageLabor Market Insights tool (powered by uConnect)Opinion piece from Dave in USA Today about employers and workplace equity Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Gerald Tang, Executive Director of the Career Services and Internships Office at Bridgewater State University, shares his top five elements for effective change management in career services. The five elements include:People: Understand the strengths, management styles, and buy-in of the individuals involved in the change process.Culture and environment: Assess the organizational culture, hidden rules, shared values, and dynamics among key leadership.Time: Consider the timing of the change and any external factors that may impact its implementation.Vision and leadership: Reflect on your own leadership style and vision, and ensure that you communicate a clear direction to others.Resources: Evaluate the resources needed to execute the change, including people, finances, technology, and physical space.Gerald, who’s worked in higher education for 18 years, shares some examples of how he’s managed change in his current and past leadership roles, his advice for others, and more. Resources from the episode:Gerald’s LinkedIn profileBridgewater State University’s virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Nitin Agrawal, Co-founder and CEO of Interstride, shares best practices for supporting international students. Interstride is a plug-and-play platform to support international students across the full lifecycle, from admissions through graduation.In the episode, Nitin (who was an international student himself) covers:The unique experiences of international students as part of the career exploration processHow career leaders can best support international students in career developmentHow to consider adapting career advising, workshops, and resources to meet the unique needs and circumstances of international studentsImmediate strategies that can be implemented to increase support for international studentsAnd moreResources from the episode:Nitin’s LinkedIn profileConcord University International student community page (featuring Interstride content)Indiana University Indianapolis Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering F-1 Visa one-pagerInterstride websiteCuration Kits (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Claire Klieger, Assistant Vice President and Executive Director of Career Services at Swarthmore College, discusses how she advances shared goals by building cross-campus partnerships and collaborations. “I don’t think you need to reinvent the wheel. You just need to strengthen the spokes,” Claire says. In the episode, Claire shares:What cross-campus collaboration means to her (and why it’s important)What effective collaboration looks likeHow she builds and maintains relationships across campusHow she stays up-to-date on what’s going on across campus (and strategizes on where career services can plug in)Specific examples of how the career center has benefited from cross-campus collaboration (including an elevated role on campus)How she connects career center initiatives to the goals of senior leadership And moreResources from the episode:Claire’s LinkedIn profileClaire’s email: [email protected] Swarthmore College virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Jhillika Kumar and Conner Reinhardt, co-founders of Mentra, share best practices for supporting neurodivergent students. Mentra is an employment network for 1 billion neurodivergent professionals (with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, etc.) worldwide. Mentra is an AI-powered, reimagined hiring process that captures more nuanced skills-based and humanistic factors like a person’s unique neurotype, which is not currently captured in more traditional resumes and forms of hiring.In the episode, Jhillika and Conner cover:What neurodiversity is and the widespread benefits of cognitive diversityThe unique challenges that neurodivergent students often face as part of the career exploration processWhat career leaders should know about supporting neurodivergent students How career services professionals can prepare neurodivergent students for today’s workforceHow to partner with and educate employers when it comes to recruiting and hiring neurodivergent studentsAnd moreResources from the episode:Jhillika’s LinkedIn profileConner’s LinkedIn profileMentra’s one-pager for helping employers hire neurodivergent studentsMentra website Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Paul Maniaci, an Assistant Director in the Career Design Lab at the Columbia University School of Profesional Studies, shares how he’s hosting and producing a podcast for his career center. Paul’s podcast, called Rising to the Top, covers a variety of topics related to career development and features interviews with leaders and individuals who have achieved success in their careers.In the episode, Paul shares:What his production process looks like (including finding guests, pre-interview conversations, recording, editing, etc.)Why he launched the podcastHow he zeroed in on the podcast’s theme and formatHow he approaches interviewingHow he measures success and engagement from his audienceHow he markets the podcastAnd moreCareer Everywhere podcast host Meredith Metsker also shares her perspective on how she hosts and produces the Career Everywhere podcast for uConnect.Resources from the episode:Paul’s LinkedIn profileMeredith’s LinkedIn profileRising to the Top podcast Riverside (tool used to record both Rising to the Top and Career Everywhere) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Willie Wittezehler, Creative Director at Roadtrip Nation, shares best practices for how career centers can use video to engage Gen Z with their services.Willie has produced and directed Roadtrip Nation’s award-winning documentaries for over 16 years and been behind the lens for over 200 interviews. Roadtrip Nation is a nonprofit organization that provides resources and tools to help people explore careers and build lives around their passions. Roadtrip Nation has conducted over 3,500 video interviews with leaders from around the world who have turned their interests into their careers.In the episode, Willie covers:Why Gen Z prefers video for content consumptionTrends around video content, length, and formatsTips for creating authentic content that will appeal to Gen ZOn-camera interviewing best practicesWhy video should be a key part of every career center’s content strategyWhy video as a format is uniquely well-suited to provide students with real insight into career pathwaysStrategies for how to leverage and promote video content to support Gen Z students And moreResources from the episode:Roadtrip Nation websiteRoadtrip Nation documentariesA Balanced Equation documentary Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Michele Doran and Melanie Murphy of Denison University share how their team built the Journey Program, a popular two-day workshop that helps sophomores with early career exploration. The Journey Program includes four 90-minute sessions designed to help students explore careers, think critically about what they want out of work and life, and come up with a plan to make it happen. The four sessions include:Reflect: Students look back on all the things they've done in high school and their first year of college and think about what motivates and fulfills them.Imagine: Students start thinking about how they might want to live their lives—beyond career. Where do they want to live? How important is money to them? What does wealth mean to them? Where might they want to live? What kind of time do they want to devote to the things they care about personally?Plan: Students think about how they're going to use their time at Denison to build the skills, values, and habits that will help them achieve their goals. Build: Students start creating a roadmap for their plans. They work on resumes, cover letters, and other essential building blocks of a strong career.In the episode, Michele and Melanie share what the Journey Program entails, why they created it, how they built it, what the results have been, and more. Resources from the episode:Michele’s LinkedIn profileMichele’s email: [email protected] Melanie’s LinkedIn profileMelanie’s email: [email protected] Journey Program homepageDenison Magazine story about the Journey ProgramHelping Sophomores Succeed bookYou Majored in What?: Designing Your Path from College to Career bookDesigning Your Life bookDenison virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Michael DeAngelis, the Senior Associate Director of Communications and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, shares how he created a popular Improv for Interviewing workshop for Penn students. A former theater major, published playwright, and accomplished podcaster, Michael uses games and techniques from the theater world to help students think on their feet and keep the conversation going.Because as Michael says, “What is an interview anyway, but a conversation?”In the episode, Michael covers:What the 90-minute workshop entails (including detailed overviews of each improv game he facilitates with students)Why he started the workshop back in 2020How to facilitate it in-person and virtuallyHow he advertises the workshopHow he connects the improv skills to interviewingAnd moreResources from the episode:Michael’s LinkedIn profileSlide deck with an overview of the workshop, descriptions of the games, marketing language, and info about how to credit MichaelArticle about the Improv for Interviewing workshop by Penn University Life Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Cheryl Rotyliano, Senior Associate Director of Market Readiness and Employment at the Wake Forest University School of Business, discusses the ATS simulation program she developed to demystify the recruiter experience for students.The program involves a one-hour simulation where students review resumes, cover letters, and video interviews to make hiring decisions. The simulation helps students understand how applicant tracking systems (ATS) work and empathize with the challenges that recruiters face in the modern age. In the episode, Cheryl shares:What the simulation entails and how it’s structuredWhy she built the simulationHow she built the simulation program (including how she created all the example resumes, cover letters, and video interviews)How she facilitates the simulationWhat her future goals are and how she hopes to scale the ATS simulation to reach more studentsAnd moreResources from the episode:Cheryl’s LinkedIn profileA systematic review of the effectiveness of empathy education for undergraduate nursing students (research)Perspective mistaking: Accurately understanding the mind of another requires getting perspective, not taking perspective (research)PDF with screenshots from the simulationWake Forest School of Business virtual career center (powered by uConnect) Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

In this episode, Nancy Bilmes of UConn, Christian Garcia of the University of Miami, and Mike Summers of Lafayette College each share how they’re making Career Everywhere a reality on their campuses.The University of Connecticut has built one of the most robust and successful Career Champion programs in the country, with over 1,000 faculty, staff, alumni, and employer participants who have been learning about current career-related trends, resources, and language to have more confident and meaningful career conversations with students. The University of Miami has found creative ways to engage faculty and staff (including a faculty toolkit, a dedicated webpage, and an annual awards ceremony) and embedded live RSS job feeds into every academic department website. Lafayette College holds networking opportunities and programming that focus on helping students build social capital, aligns all career counselors to majors and liaises with faculty to create partnerships, uses their website to make career resources available 24/7, and more.Resources from the episode:Nancy’s LinkedIn profileChristian’s LinkedIn profileMike’s LinkedIn profileCareer Everywhere community (join today!)PDF handout with resourcesHow to Build and Scale a Career Champion Program podcast (UConn)Example of a Career Champion newsletter (UConn, 2023)UConn’s virtual career center website (powered by uConnect)UConn Career Champions resources page (which includes their champion intake forms)University of Miami faculty toolkit PDF (2022)University of Miami faculty toolkit PDF (2023)Live job and internship RSS feed for the College of Arts and Sciences (Miami)Toppel Awards homepage (Miami)Career Everywhere Live recording about the Toppel Awards (Miami)Toppel Faculty and Staff Engagement Hub webpage (Miami)University of Miami virtual career center (powered by uConnect)Lafayette College’s virtual career center (powered by uConnect)Learn more about uConnect Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community

Sarah Coburn, Senior Associate Director for Experiential Learning and Employer Engagement at St. Lawrence University, shares how she built a successful on-campus internship program.The on-campus internship program (OCIP) provides paid internships for students to work in various departments on campus, gaining valuable skills and experience. The internships are structured to include additional professional development time and orientation (also paid) through the career center. In the episode, Sarah discusses:What the OCIP looks like and how it’s structured Why she built the OCIP and how valuable it is for St. Lawrence students in rural upstate New YorkHow the internships are structured (e.g. what the roles look like and in what departments, who supervises, how performance is measured/monitored, etc.)What the additional professional development through the career center includesHow the budget works (e.g. who pays the interns)How she built cross-campus partnerships with other departments and employers and got buy-inHow she measures successWhat results and outcomes she’s seen since launching OCIPHer goals for OCIP in the futureAnd moreResources from the episode:Sarah’s LinkedIn profileOn-campus internship program (OCIP) webpage (includes examples of roles)OCIP supervisor evaluation form Continue the conversation in the Career Everywhere Community! Join 2,000 other higher ed career services leaders today: careereverywhere.com/community