Strategic enrolment management professionals are deeply invested in student outcomes, including career readiness. Data from the recent 2024 Brainstorm Student Career Interests Report highlights how students in various disciplines approach career preparation, revealing patterns and opportunities for improving support.
Survey Findings and Disciplinary Insights
The survey shows that while many students engage in career preparation—such as creating resumes (66.1%) or setting up LinkedIn profiles (45.9%)—there are discipline-specific differences in how students prepare for the workforce. These insights offer clues to help SEM teams address the gaps and make informed, strategic adjustments.
- Liberal Arts Students
Liberal Arts students, who focus on areas such as social sciences, humanities, and other foundational academic fields, often struggle to connect their education to career-specific skills. Only 27.6% attend employer events, perhaps due to a lack of perceived relevance to their studies or challenges in articulating their transferable skills to potential employers. While they typically excel in analytical thinking, communication, and research, these students may not immediately see clear pathways into the job market and thus need support in translating their learning into workforce-ready skills. - Business, Engineering, and Computer Science Students
Business and STEM-focused students, on the other hand, display a high level of engagement with career-oriented activities. For example, 64.4% of Business students have LinkedIn profiles, and over 40% of Engineering students attend employer events. Their readiness is often bolstered by a more direct connection between their studies and career pathways, making them more confident in pursuing work experience and networking.
Strategic Recommendations for SEM Professionals
- Integrate Career Preparation in Liberal Arts Programs: Embedding career planning, such as skill articulation exercises and career discovery modules, into Liberal Arts curricula could improve students’ ability to communicate their value to employers. This approach may also enhance enrollment by aligning Liberal Arts programs with employability outcomes.
- Enhance Visibility of Career Resources: Only 18.7% of students, across all fields, have met with a career advisor. Increasing awareness of these services, particularly among Liberal Arts students who may feel uncertain about career relevance, can improve outcomes. Promoting these resources more effectively could lead to better employment rates post-graduation.
- Strengthen Employer Partnerships Across Disciplines: Low employer event attendance among Liberal Arts students indicates a need for partnerships that demonstrate the value of these students’ skills to employers. Collaborative events, co-designed with industry partners, could emphasize the unique critical thinking and communication skills Liberal Arts students bring, making employer events more appealing.
For SEM professionals, understanding these differences allows for targeted resource allocation and a stronger connection between academic programs and career readiness outcomes, which could drive both enrollment and student success.
