Jennifer Barragan

Excellence in Career Services
CHEP Status: Active
CHEP Awarded: 07/17/2023

Badge Evidence | Completed Courses (4 Hours Each)

This course offers strategies to provide employment and job search skills training that enables students to seek jobs in the field for which they are trained. You'll learn how to offer comprehensive career services regardless of whether your career services department is staffed full- or part-time. The course provides strategies for an institution to set up a Career Services Department, enhance and run it, and measure results. It describes how a successful career services department can ensure that your students have the skills and self-confidence to succeed in the workplace. You'll learn techniques to increase placement rates and reach out to the community to meet and maintain relationships with hiring decision-makers.
In this course, you will be given tools to help your students find the job that's right for them, present themselves impressively on paper, and interview with ease. This course is designed so you can successfully support your students in four phases of their job search: doing a targeted job search, writing a powerful resume and cover letter, presenting professionally, and developing effective interview skills.
Social media is critical tool for career services professionals to interact with and reach their constituent groups yet many career professionals aren't aware of how to develop a purposeful social media strategy. Without a social media strategy, career services departments risk losing relevance with their audience, and they also lose the opportunity of harnessing social media to achieve department goals. This course describes the phases of planning and implementing a social media strategy for your career services department. Each module is based on the fundamental steps of preparing a comprehensive and measurable plan to achieve the goals of the career services department.
Educational institutions have opportunities to create unique alumni associations which will look and feel more like alumni communities. This course will show you how you can create active alumni communities to increase enrollment, retention and placement for your entire institution. You will learn how to provide your alumni with valuable services and how to seek their help to enhance your educational programs and career services, as well as marketing and admissions. From getting started to setting up an alumni data base management system and determining the institution's return on investment, this course provides you with operational strategies for establishing an effective alumni association.
Although job developing requires a mix of critical skills, many career advisors are forced to learn them through the "sink or swim" method. They're often asked to immediately make a specific number of cold-calls daily. They learn that "job developing" is synonymous with cold-calling. It isn't. This course covers how to properly prepare for job developing, how to prospect, prioritize employer contact, and communicate with employers to address objections, get job orders, manage them to completion, and continuously engage employers and candidates to develop long-term partnerships. Job developing should be more comprehensive than a simple list of employers to cold-call.
In today's world where jobs are posted online, matching algorithms screen digital résumés, and recruiters source candidates online, students must market themselves online. Writing a résumé and cover letter alone is no longer an adequate skill set for career seekers to successfully find and secure employment as well as manage, advance, and transition their career throughout life. Students must know how to digitally market themselves, and 21st century career advisors must know how to advise them. This course will help you advise students on developing digital career-marketing strategies for career success.
Military veterans represent a unique type of non-traditional student and must overcome distinctive challenges to reintegrate into the civilian workforce. With an influx of over one million veterans projected to enter higher education in the next several years, career services personnel must be prepared to provide the level of service these students need and deserve. This course helps career services practitioners understand the unique obstacles veterans face in the reintegration process, how to help them translate their military experience into civilian language and provides strategies & tools that can support veterans in becoming gainfully employed.
Securing gainful employment for students with an arrest or criminal conviction is filled with unique challenges. This course introduces many of the challenges your students have (and will face), not only from the student's perspective, but also from the employer's. Upon completion of the course, you will be in a position to counter potential stereotypes and 'negligent hiring' fears. Topics of study include reviewing effective interview practices and the importance of honesty, how attitude lays the foundation for success or failure, the value of developing a letter of explanation, as well as reviewing techniques to mend a problematic past.
Students with disabilities represent a unique minority group within higher education. Despite being the largest minority group in the world, all too often their access to and inclusion in programs and services comes as an afterthought. Career services practitioners pride themselves in their ability to serve diverse populations, yet many remain untrained in working with disabled students. This course helps career services practitioners understand federal legislation basics as they relate to disabled students, the unique challenges they face, and characteristics of the population as well as practical resources and career services strategies to help overcome their unique barriers to employment.
**While the course addresses interaction considerations for those with deafness, blindness, learning disabilities, acquired brain disabilities, and physical disabilities, it shouldn't be expected that the course will cover all possible disabilities you may want to specifically learn about. It provides a broad overview.
There are millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) job seekers struggling to find careers and even hold down a job, due in part to their sexual orientation and gender identity. What amplifies this issue is the fact that many college career advisors who are supposed to help struggling jobseekers are not trained to address the unique struggles their LGBTQ students face in their career development. This course equips career advisors with the perspective, knowledge, and practical skills necessary to provide quality career services for their LGBTQ students, who greatly need their assistance.
In the most competitive economy ever, crafting powerful job search documents, communicating strategically with employers, and presenting evidence of one’s qualifications won’t even necessarily get candidates jobs—it’ll barely get them interviews. This course covers advanced writing techniques, shows examples, and offers detailed strategy explanations to help career professionals enhance their ability to teach students how to craft modern job search documents and strategic employer communications. You'll be able to more effectively advise students on how to use impactful strategies that differentiate them from competitors through résumés, letters, portfolio evidence, and strategic post-interview correspondence. *This course also contains several downloadable resources to be used in your career center.
Effectively coaching students to achieve their goals in a way that builds autonomy, confidence, and accountability is fundamental to the role of a career services professional. Despite this fact, many career professionals have never engaged in professional development to build their coaching skills. This course helps career services professionals develop fundamental coaching skills so they can act as a catalyst and facilitator in assisting students to work towards their self-identified goals, with the belief that self-identified goals lead to increased student buy-in and motivation for attainment. Learn to put practical coaching techniques into action to maximize your results with students. *This course is relevant to a variety of career support professionals regardless of titles such as career counselors, advisors, coordinators, or "case managers" serving a variety of populations which may include students, out-of-school youth, or dislocated workers (youth or adults).
School hiring events are staples for many institutions, whether ground-based or virtual. They are a large undertaking. However, when done correctly, these events should yield many positive results for students, employers, and the school. This course examines each part of the process involved in a school hiring event: from the planning and ideation phase, to budgeting, staffing, logistics, marketing, student preparation, and a complete process for post-event surveying and follow-up. Beyond practical tips, ideas, and strategies, this course will provide a resource of documents that will help support a robust and dynamic school hiring event.
Establishing, developing, and maintaining employer relationships is a large aspect of a career-services practitioner’s responsibility. This involved process requires insight into your institution, your department, and your industry, as well as an understanding of key strategies that can assist in the building and nurturing of employer relationships. From acquiring industry knowledge to marketing your services and identifying opportunities for long-term employer engagement, this course can assist you in providing a roadmap intended to move you from a potential cold-call relationship to understanding an employer’s perspective on return on investment and gaining effective and long-lasting employer partnerships.
Nearly every career education institution needs to establish an effective Advisory Board; a group of employers and industry leaders who help maintain the requirements of existing programs, directing curriculum to meet industry needs and advising toward the creation of new programs. This course addresses the planning, operation, and management needed in the development of an Advisory Board. From prospecting for and nominating new members, to developing bylaws, conducting meetings, managing members, and sustaining your Board, this course covers the process for establishing your own Advisory Board while also providing a handful of supporting reference materials created for your use.
Professional networking is an essential career development skill that can lead to new job opportunities, higher salaries, and valuable relationships. Despite the numerous advantages of networking, many learners are unaware of its importance and not equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively build and maintain professional relationships. Career professionals must be able to teach learners how to build the social capital they need to gain access to opportunities, information, and resources that drive career success. This course provides a structured, practical approach to helping learners develop the knowledge and skills needed to foster professional relationships that will assist in career advancement for years to come. *The course contains multiple done-for-you resources for download and use with learners.
Personal branding is about communicating and presenting one’s unique promise of value. It’s an essential skill that must be learned, not only to facilitate seeking employment opportunities, but to help one navigate professional transitions throughout their working life. But for most job seekers, developing and communicating their brand is extremely challenging. Educators and workforce professionals must be empowered to guide their learners through a process that makes personal branding easier to understand and implement. This course describes a structured, practical approach to helping learners communicate who they are, what they can do, and how they can add value in the workplace, through offline and online methods. *The course contains multiple done-for-you resources for download and use with learners.
With new recruiting technologies, increasingly selective hiring practices, and the prevalence of remote work, it's clear that job searching has fundamentally changed over the years. Yet outdated and ineffective job search methods persist. Career educators and workforce development professionals must be equipped with the latest knowledge and techniques to help learners navigate a modern, competitive job search landscape. This course provides a structured, practical approach to helping learners develop the skills needed to execute an effective job search strategy while building resilience in the process.
Help students ace the interview with successful tactics to showcase their qualities and make them the best fit for the job. A career management specialist will be able to master the appropriate actions for students to take before, during, and after the interview. These tactics can then be implemented in a career management class or during the preparations for prospective job interviews. The goal of this course is to help develop a better understanding of the topic and produce tangible resources to help implement plans, strategies, and ideas at your school. In addition to lecture videos, resource links, and assessments, you will be able to utilize Journal and Learning Activities, which will continue to be useful after successful completion of the course.
In today's digital labor market, a strong online presence is a necessity. As the world's largest online professional network, LinkedIn is a critical platform for anyone serious about building their professional online presence and advancing their career. However, many learners may not know how to make the most of this powerful tool, and as a career professional, it's your job to help them succeed. This course will equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to teach your learners how to create a standout LinkedIn profile, expand their professional network, and tap into valuable resources that can help them stay ahead in their field. *The course contains multiple done-for-you tools and resources for download and use with learners.
Remote work has been on the rise for decades and is now shaping the way companies everywhere do business. To work effectively in remote environments, you must learn new skills, tools, and mindsets that enable you to communicate, collaborate, and connect with colleagues you may never physically meet. This course will teach anyone considering or currently working in a remote position how to boost their productivity, balance work-life demands, and build meaningful professional relationships regardless of place, proximity, or time zone. With the knowledge and skills developed in this course, you'll be better equipped to thrive, or help others to thrive, in remote work settings.
Although empowering learners to set and achieve career goals is the essence of career guidance and education, many professionals have little training on the science of motivation and goal setting. As career professionals, it is crucial that you understand these principles in order to effectively support learners who are navigating the complexities of career planning, including setting and achieving goals, maintaining motivation, and adapting to changing circumstances. Decades of research show that when goals are matched to your learners' interests, values and abilities, their motivation and achievement are more likely to increase. This course provides essential knowledge of motivation and goal setting that equips professionals to help learners strive for career success. *The course contains multiple done-for-you tools and resources for download and use with learners.
This course is an introduction to the foundation of work-based learning (WBL). Quality WBL is about a continuum of opportunities for students to connect to business. As a WBL coordinator, your roles are numerous and varied, but the position is rewarding when you can help students gain awareness to their future. WBL delivery models that are designed to provide WBL experiences for students in different community settings will be shared. Strategies for model implementation will be provided to facilitate WBL opportunities to and for all students.
This course covers the components needed to establish a work-based learning program. Included is information about expected outcomes for students, employers, and the school. A section of the course focuses on liability and risk management strategies that can be used to ensure that all those involved in the WBL program are aware of how best to establish a comprehensive program with minimum risks. The role of the coordinator is identified in relation to school and community settings and how the coordinator can be a resource to both students and employers. Program improvement and evaluation methods are shared to promote ongoing program development.
Derived from the feedback of over 100 institutions, empirical research, and case studies, course participants are presented with specific strategies and best practices that promote graduate employment. This course is for all education professionals seeking to understand the institutional practices that maximize graduate employment outcomes. Because employment outcomes are as much a function of institutional behaviors as they are of student behaviors, this course is based in systems thinking, which challenges participants to examine the interdependent relationship among institutional infrastructure, student career-readiness, and graduate employment rates.
Accurate representation of graduate outcomes is critical to upholding institutional integrity. All involved in employment reporting must continuously identify ways to strengthen their system for tracking, collecting, and verifying employment data. When documentation is both a quality and a compliance matter, staff must understand the verification program as a whole, the role they play in continuously improving it, and how to use professional principles and best practices in documentation. This course is designed to encourage participants to critically analyze their own employment reporting practices while sharing ideas and best practices that can help lead to the highest level of data integrity.