Career Development Center among nation’s best for social media use

Infographic by designer Kari Jonson.

St. Thomas’ Career Development Center has kept up with social media-savvy students, a sign that it is ”trending” in the right direction.

A JobBrander list of the “Top 25 College Career Centers on Social Media” ranked the Career Development Center eighth nationally. Although the recognition was unexpected, career specialist Kristen Murphy said the ranking is meaningful.

“We are very proud about it, and it came as a little bit of a surprise,” Murphy said. “What it means, I think, and we’ve talked in the office, is we’re doing something right in reaching students.”

The center uses Facebook, Twitter and a blog on WordPress, in addition to Pinterest, LinkedIn and YouTube. it also recently launched an Instagram account.

Murphy said the use of social media is part of the center’s initiative to effectively interact with students in the digital age.

“We know that this is the way people are communicating now,” she said. “This is just the way media is going. It seems to be digital, and we want to be early adopters.”

Although the center does not have access to data which would allow it to see if student participation has increased because of social media, Murphy said the outreach will hopefully lead to greater student use of the center’s services.

“(Participation) has been pretty flat the past few years, but we’re thinking that the use of social media is one way to change that,” she said. “Social media is a really great way to reach people that are not coming in to see us.”

Junior D.J. Jones said social media has affected his engagement with the Career Development Center. After initially meeting with a career specialist last fall, Jones said the center’s social media presence has been very helpful.

“As I’ve gotten more serious about updating my resume and looking for internships, the center’s social media, in particular the blog, have kept me up to date on important services like on-campus interviews,” Jones said.

The center’s use of social media hasn’t only helped undergraduate students though. Jeremy Hepler, a 2015 graduate of St. Thomas, used the center’s social media content during his job search.

“I applied to numerous jobs over the course of the summer, and only one of them was not a job listed on the career website,” Hepler said. “The Twitter account helped me identify new job postings in my field that I may want to apply to.”

Murphy said one of the most well-rounded social media resources offered by the center is its WordPress blog. All of the career counselors contribute, and it features topical career information for students depending on the time of year. For example, in the fall, the blog typically includes information on major exploration and on-campus interviews.

As for the other heavily used platforms, Facebook typically is used for posting career-related articles and Twitter for use during live events, Murphy said. YouTube is also used to post videos of career panel discussions.

Going forward, the center will continue to expand its use of social media, with an emphasis on the creation of videos.

No matter the platform, the Career Development Center will continue its use of social media to help students achieve their lifegoals.