Here’s the part of hiring we do not always say out loud: not every opportunity begins as a public job posting.

Some roles are posted and filled through traditional channels. Others begin earlier, through conversations, referrals, alumni connections, faculty leads, and relationships that shape demand before a position ever appears online.

That has always been true. But in a market like this one, it matters a lot more.

As a member of the Career Services & Employer Alliance and as Executive Director of the Rockwell Career Center at the C. T. Bauer College of Business, I read CSEA’s April 2026 member survey as more than a snapshot of job-board activity. I see it as a signal of how career services work is evolving.

According to the survey, respondents estimated that, on average, 58% of jobs on their primary career platforms come directly from employers, while 25% are posted by career centers on behalf of employers and 26% are sourced by career centers from external platforms.

In other words, career centers are not simply receiving opportunities. They are increasingly helping surface them.

In a market where postings and, in many cases, hiring, especially for early-career talent, have cooled, that is a meaningful shift.

Which is another way of saying: the job board is not broken. It is just no longer the main event.

Opportunity Is Moving Earlier

What the survey highlights is not just where postings come from. It also points to a shift in when and how opportunities emerge.

The most telling finding may be how career centers are responding. Nearly all respondents, 96%, reported reaching out to alumni at target companies. Many are also prospecting for opportunities on LinkedIn, partnering with faculty for employer leads, and monitoring company career pages.

That is not just increased activity. It is a different strategy.

Roles are not always making it to the “post and apply” stage in the same way. They are being discussed, shaped, discovered, and sometimes filled through conversations, referrals, and relationships before they become highly visible to students.

The hiring process has not disappeared. 

It has moved upstream.

From Posting Jobs to Creating Access

For career services, this shift changes the work in a meaningful way. It is less about managing volume and more about creating visibility.

We are moving from simply curating job boards to building and activating networks. We are moving from waiting for opportunities to arrive to helping identify them earlier. We are moving from a transactional model of “posting and applying” to a more relational model of access, connection, and trust.

That does not mean job boards no longer matter. They do. They remain an important part of the process.

But they are only one part of the process.

When postings slow down, opportunity does not disappear. It often becomes less visible. And when opportunity becomes less visible, access depends even more on relationships, networks, and who is part of the conversation.

This reinforces why employer engagement, alumni relationships, faculty connections, and student coaching have to work together. The goal is not simply to help students find postings. It is to help them understand how opportunities develop and how to enter those conversations earlier.

What This Means for Students

Students naturally equate opportunity with what they can see. And right now, what they can see, job postings, may feel limited.

But the reality is more nuanced.

Opportunities still exist. They may just be less obvious, less linear, and less likely to appear only through a search bar.

That is why we are increasingly focused on helping students understand the market beyond the job description. Applying online is still part of the process, but it is no longer the whole strategy.

Students need strong resumes, thoughtful applications, and clear communication. But they also need curiosity, confidence, and the willingness to build relationships before they need something from them.

AI may make parts of the job search more efficient, but it does not replace the value of human connection.

A strong application might get you considered. A strong connection gets you remembered.

That is where opportunity often begins.

Final Thought

A slowdown in postings can feel like a constraint. But it may also be reminding us how hiring has often worked behind the scenes.

Opportunity has always moved through people, through conversations, connections, referrals, and communities that recognize talent before a formal process begins.

That means our work cannot stop at helping students find jobs that are already visible. We have to help them build the relationships, confidence, and market awareness that make opportunity visible in the first place.

The job board still matters.

But the future of access will not be built by postings alone.

It will be built by people willing to open doors, make connections, and bring students into conversations earlier.

• In-Person Presence & Communication: There is a renewed focus on in-person performance. Employers expect graduates who can command a room, present ideas without a script, and handle face-to-face conflict with composure.
• Radical Accountability: They want an "ownership culture." This isn't just about task completion; it’s about punctuality, proactive follow-through, and the emotional intelligence to take tough feedback without getting defensive.
• AI Orchestration & Auditing: Employers aren't impressed by students who just use AI; they want students who can audit AI. They need graduates who use these tools to accelerate work but possess the critical thinking to spot errors and bias before the work reaches a supervisor’s desk.
  

A Word to the Class of 2026: Own Your Readiness
If you are a student reading this, don’t let the data discourage you; let it focus you. In a "flight to quality" market, the goal isn't just to be the "safest" bet in the room; it is to be the most intentional.

This begins with two non-negotiables: getting that internship and engaging with your career center early. Your internship is your primary bridge across the underemployment gap; it is where you prove you can apply theory to high-stakes practice. But you don't have to navigate this alone. Students who partner with their career centers aren't just getting resume critiques; they are gaining access to the employer networks and the "soft-skill" coaching that makes them the standard-bearers in any interview. The market is tight, but for the student who chooses to lead through polish and accountability, the path to a premier career remains wide open. You are not just entering the workforce; you are ready to command it.

The Path Forward: Our Collective Mandate
For those of us in the CSEA community, our mission has never been about the degree; it has always been about the outcome. But in a "flight to quality" market, the distance between a degree and a career has widened. Our mandate is to ensure our students don't just possess a credential, but that they arrive with the professional maturity to seize the opportunities we work so hard to cultivate.

By championing experiential learning and a "Day-One" professional polish, we bridge the gap between academic potential and market relevance. Technical skills may open the door, but it is the strength of character and operational readiness that will keep it open.

The Class of 2026 is ready for the challenge; the question is, are we ready to elevate how we prepare them?

“Is it no, or is it not yet?”

Thank you to Kimberly Moyer for sharing this framing at CSEA's recent webinar titled “How Promotion Decisions are Made: An HR Leadership Panel”!

The discussion included a great conversation about understanding how promotion decisions are made and how coaches can help MBA and Master’s students set themselves up for that next step.

The panel brought up three questions for coaches to consider when working with an early career student looking for their first promotion: 

Do they know the timing of the promotion cycle for their company?
Discussions about promotions often begin months before decisions and announcements are made. Helping students understand the timeline can assist with managing expectations.

Do they understand organization priorities?
Our students are eager to progress in their own careers, and they need to understand how their personal goals align (or don’t align) with that of the team, division, and company. Learning to understand organizational priorities can help students to be more strategic in volunteering for projects, building their internal network, and exploring professional development opportunities.

Do they have a portfolio of results?
We are living in a moment of immediacy, yet building trust with leadership and demonstrating results takes time and consistency. Helping students understand that promotions are not determined by a single successful project or one conversation is key. Focusing instead on consistency of results gives you an excellent case for your next step when the time is right.

Thank you to Dave Solloway (Associate Director of Working Professional Careers, Poole College of Management Career Center, North Carolina State University) for moderating, and to the wonderful panelists:

• Laurel Foote Hudson -  Director of Manager Effectiveness Programs and Learning, Fidelity Investments (speaking as an HR professional, not a representative of Fidelity Investments)
• Kathy Martin, Director, Campus Recruiting and University Relations, TIAA
• Kimberly Moyer - Senior People Business Partner, Nuantix (speaking as an HR professional, not a representative of Nuantix)
  

If you’ve ever stared at an event roster and thought, “We used to fill rooms with a subject line and a snack,” welcome. You’re among friends. CSEA’s January 2026 quick survey on student engagement doesn’t hand us a magic fix—but it does confirm something many of us have been living: students haven’t stopped engaging. They’ve just gotten more (perhaps ruthlessly) selective. 

And honestly? It’s understandable.

They’re juggling academics, work, recruiting, and whatever version of “life” is left after all that. So, when we ask them to show up, they’re not thinking “Do I love Career Services?” They’re thinking: “What do I get for this hour—and will it matter soon?”

As career services practitioners, we are always self-evaluating and striving for improvement. Now is the time to ask ourselves: “What can we do differently?”

What’s working: relevance + trusted channels (not “more marketing”)

When peers were asked what most effectively drives consistent attendance, the top strategies were:

• Clear linkage to recruiting outcomes (roles, employers, skills)
• Faculty endorsement or course integration (trusted advisors carry more weight)
• Student club co-hosting or promotion (social currency – all my friends are there)
• Alumni-led sessions (they’ve walked this path already – I can learn)

In other words, students show up when:

• The value is obvious, and
• Someone they already trust is part of the invitation (or the delivery)

What’s limiting attendance: the trade-offs are real (and predictable)

The most common barriers peers reported were:

• Competing academic or work obligations (or your school’s rigid attendance policy)
• Perceived lack of immediate value (make the ROI blindingly obvious)
• Timing (especially for your working professional students)
• Event fatigue/oversaturation
• Communication overload (just think about your own inbox nightmare, then multiply)

None of this is shocking. But it’s clarifying. If “competing obligations” is the top barrier, then we don’t win by competing harder. We win by integrating better.

Employers said the quiet part out loud: stop doing “info sessions” like it’s 2016

Employer responses comprise a small share of the dataset (and therefore are not shared in the public summary report), but the signal is loud enough to be significant. The formats employers said generate the strongest student participation and interaction were:

• Case challenges / experiential activities
• Student club-hosted or co-sponsored events
• Targeted formats (invite-only, office hours, roundtables, etc.) 

Case Study:
What we’re shifting at Foster: from “career events” to an aligned student success ecosystem

At Foster, we’re still obsessed with outcomes. That’s not changing.

What is changing is the way we position and deliver career support. The survey reinforces what we’ve been leaning into: students engage more consistently when career isn’t framed as “one more thing to attend,” but as part of a coherent ecosystem that supports their success.

So we’re partnering more intentionally with Student Affairs and faculty to connect career themes to other parts of student life—leadership development, identity and belonging work, wellness/resilience, academic experiences, and community building.

Not in a hand-wavy “holistic” way. In a practical way that helps students connect the dots:

• “This leadership conversation maps directly to how you’ll show up in interviews and internships/full-time roles.”
• “This academic experience is also evidence you can use in employer conversations.”
• “This community is a network-building engine—if we design it that way.”

It’s less about forcing an ROI calculation for every standalone workshop (“Is this worth my hour?”), and more about creating an environment where the student sees, repeatedly, that the school is aligned. The adults are talking to each other. This isn’t random.

(Yes, that’s a low bar. And yes, it matters.)

One thing to try in the next month

If you only do one thing after reading this article, do this: run a “trade-off audit” on one of your recurring events—and redesign it.

Pick one event you run every term (you know the one—the “staple” that you keep because it’s tradition, not because it performs).

Now answer these three questions with brutal honesty:

1. What do students walk away with that they can use within 7 days?

A script. A template. A shortlist of target roles/employers. A networking plan. A practice rep. Something concrete.

2. Who is the trusted inviter?

Faculty. Student Affairs. Club leadership. Alumni. Program office. Anyone other than… another email from Career Services.

3. What needs to change so interaction is structured, not optional?

Mini-case, roundtable prompts, office hour sign-ups, role-based breakouts, targeted invites—anything that prevents “networking soup.”

Then redesign just that one thing and run it again within the month.

Not because you need more programming. Because you need sharper programming, which might be less of it.

Your turn

What are you doubling down on right now—and what are you retiring without remorse?

And if you try the trade-off audit, comment with what you changed. I’m genuinely curious what moves the needle on your campus (and what absolutely refuses to).

When I attended my first CSEA Global Conference, I was still finding my footing. 

I had been in my role for five months. Brand new to Career Services. Still trying to decode the Standards. Surrounded by people who spoke fluently about outcomes, data nuances, and reporting frameworks. Meanwhile, I was just hoping no one would ask me anything too technical.

Then I attended the new member orientation.

I remember a fellow new member handing me a pin. Such a small gesture. But as an introvert who felt wildly out of place, that moment mattered. It instantly shifted my experience from intimidating conference to community I might actually belong in. That simple interaction set the tone for everything that followed.

That first year was pure learning mode.

I attended as many sessions as possible. Every presentation unlocked a new idea, a new clarification, or a new way of thinking about the Standards. What initially felt complex and abstract began to feel structured and actionable.

A huge part of that shift came from the generosity of people willing to answer questions. I will forever be grateful to Beth Ursin, who patiently indulged my endless stream of “can you clarify this one thing?” and my persistent search for “is there a simple cheat sheet for all of this?”. She has a way of breaking down complex reporting nuances into concepts that actually make sense. 

If I could rewind to that first conference, I would change one thing: I would have been far more intentional about following up with the people I met. Conferences create connections. Relationships require follow-through.

My second CSEA Global Conference was a completely different experience.

Instead of quietly absorbing information, I had the opportunity to present on a global stage alongside my colleague, Liz Stanson. We shared an initiative that was directly influenced by ideas and insights from my first conference. That full-circle moment remains one of the most meaningful professional highlights of my career.

The reception exceeded every expectation I had.

Even while presenting, I still attended Standards 101 sessions.

That is one of the unique strengths of CSEA. No matter your experience level, there is always more to learn, more nuance to understand, and more perspective to gain. The Standards evolve (the updated Standards being applied right now). Institutional challenges evolve. Best practices evolve.

Each conference feels like both a learning accelerator and a professional recalibration point.
Networking, admittedly, is still not my natural habitat.

As an introvert, large professional gatherings will probably always feel slightly uncomfortable. But one of the unexpected benefits of repeated attendance has been realizing how collaborative and welcoming the CSEA community truly is. Over time, those rooms stop feeling intimidating and start feeling like conversations with peers facing similar challenges.

And here is why I find having a CSEA membership the most beneficial aspect of my role:

1. Risk & Compliance Value
   CSEA Standards are not theoretical. They play a major role in rankings, reporting accuracy, and institutional credibility. Membership provides clarity, interpretation, and reduced compliance risk.
2. Operational Efficiency
   The practical guidance, peer discussions, and shared practices significantly shorten the learning curve. This translates into fewer errors, stronger processes, and better data integrity.
3. Strategic Insight
   The conference is not just about Standards. It surfaces emerging trends, employer dynamics, reporting shifts, and peer innovations that inform decision-making back on campus.
4. Professional Development ROI
   Few professional investments simultaneously build technical expertise, institutional knowledge, and cross-school networks at this level.
5. Community Access
   Perhaps most underrated: access to a highly specialized network of practitioners who openly share challenges, interpretations, and solutions.

In short, the membership cost is easily outweighed by the value of avoided missteps, improved reporting accuracy, and accelerated expertise.

As the next CSEA Global Conference approaches, I find myself reflecting on how impactful my previous experiences have been. While I’m still uncertain whether I’ll be able to attend this year, I remain incredibly grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to learn, connect, and contribute within this community.

And I sincerely hope to make it back again soon.

For those considering attending, especially newer professionals or those navigating the Standards, the conference offers an unusually high concentration of practical knowledge, generous peers, and immediately applicable insights.

Few events deliver that combination as consistently.

By Kelly Collins, Executive Director, Rockwell Career Center, University of Houston Bauer College of Business
Former Board Member and Current Member, Career Services Employer Alliance

Career lessons show up in unexpected places if you’re paying attention. I just happened to find mine in paw prints.

Working in career development means evolving constantly: responding to students’ needs, adjusting to employer expectations, and staying ahead of shifting workplace trends. Over the years, I’ve realized that some of my clearest insights come from unlikely sources. Two of my most reliable (and unfiltered) teachers? My dogs, Siggi and Squeaks.

They don’t attend career fairs, build résumés (truthfully, they’d rather eat than build), or worry about whether their LinkedIn photo looks “approachable but professional.” And yet, their daily behavior mirrors so many of the challenges and opportunities people face in the career process.

Here are the dog-inspired lessons that continue to shape how I coach, lead, and navigate professional growth.

• Connection Comes Naturally When You Lead with Curiosity
  
  My dogs can make a friend in under four seconds. No scripts. No networking anxiety. Just unfiltered curiosity. Say their names, and they light up like they landed a paid Fortune 500 internship with paid relocation!
  
  Professional takeaway: Genuine curiosity is one of the most powerful (and underused) networking tools. When we stop trying to “impress” and instead focus on learning about the other person, we lower the pressure for everyone, including ourselves. Students often think networking is about selling themselves. In reality, it’s about understanding people, asking thoughtful questions, and letting relationships develop naturally. That’s what leads to opportunities, mentorship, and lasting connections.
  
  Action step: Reach out to one new person this week with a question you’re genuinely curious about; no hidden agenda.

• Clarity Drives Action (Just Ask a Dog Who Sees a Squirrel)
  
  The instant a squirrel appears, Siggi and Squeaks reach a level of career-goal clarity most humans spend months trying to achieve. No overthinking. No imposter syndrome. Just pure, laser-focused intent…unless cheese is involved, in which case clarity becomes negotiable.
  
  Professional takeaway: Clarity is what separates movement from momentum. Many students and professionals feel stuck - not because they’re unmotivated, but because their goals are too vague (“find a job I like”) to drive meaningful action. The more specific the goal, the easier it is to identify the next right step, and the easier it is to recognize progress.
  
  Action step: Define your top three career goals for the next six months. Read them every week. Adjust them as needed; careers evolve, and so will your clarity.

• Consistency + Resilience = Career Superpowers
  
  My dogs run their routines with military precision. Show up late once, and they behave as if they’ve survived an extreme hardship. Decline a treat, and they launch a full-scale persuasion campaign within seconds. But the key is this: they always try again.
  
  Professional takeaway: Careers are built through consistent effort. But careers are transformed through resilience. That means:
  • applying again after the first rejection
  • sending the follow-up email
  • revisiting a stalled job search with fresh strategy
  • adjusting approach when the market changes
  
  Coaches know this: the students who succeed long-term are rarely the ones with the perfect résumés. Rather, they’re the ones who keep showing up, adjusting, and trying again.
  
  Action step: Reserve 30 minutes each day for a career-related task, be it job searching, networking, refining materials, or reflecting. Protect this time like a daily meeting with your future self.

• Celebrate Milestones, Not Just Outcomes
  
  Dogs celebrate everything. Rolling in something questionably stinky? Victory. Bringing back the ball this time? Triumph. Convincing you it’s dinner an hour early? Their résumé is updated with “strong negotiation skills.”
  
  Professional takeaway: Celebrating small wins keeps people motivated. Job searches are long; sometimes longer than anyone wants to admit. When we only celebrate outcomes (the offer, the internship, the promotion), we miss all the growth happening along the way. Coaches and leaders can help normalize celebrating effort, progress, learning, and persistence because that’s what carries people through the tough parts.
  
  Action step: Create a “win list” and add three small accomplishments each week. It all counts.

• Communicate Clearly and Be Present in the Process
  
  Dogs are world-class communicators. Sit by the door. Paw on your leg. The intense “you know what I want” stare. And when they’re on a walk, they’re all-in, fully present unless a squirrel has personally wronged them before.
  
  Professional takeaway: Career success often hinges on two intertwined skills:
  
  Clear communication and intentional presence. Clear communication helps students articulate what they want, what they need, and how others can support them. Presence helps them avoid rushing decisions, misreading situations, or missing important details. Together, these skills strengthen confidence and decision-making, especially in fast-changing environments.
  
  Action step: Each week, choose one specific thing you need; feedback, a referral, a conversation with a supervisor, and clearly ask for it. Then take five minutes to reflect on what the experience taught you about your communication style.

Final Thoughts

These lessons remind us that career development isn’t just a checklist; it’s a mindset and a practice.

Curiosity builds connection.
Clarity fuels action.
Consistency creates momentum.
Resilience keeps us moving.
Presence strengthens our choices.

If Siggi and Squeaks had one official career tip, it would be this:
Keep sniffing around. The right opportunity always shows up.

And honestly? They’re not wrong.

Stay engaged. Stay optimistic. Trust the process.

Tail wags optional—but highly recommended

Recent H-1B visa changes have added new layers of complexity to an already challenging job search process for international students. To better understand what’s happening on the ground, CSEA recently surveyed member schools and employers across the U.S. Their responses reflect both the real concerns students are feeling and the many ways career teams are actively adapting to provide support.

Based on what career professionals are seeing this season, a few common suggestions emerged:

• First, start early and stay informed: give yourself as much lead time as possible for your search, attend info sessions on work authorization, and rely on trusted sources, such as your campus immigration advisors, career center, and official government sites rather than rumors.
• Second, broaden your strategy: consider a wider range of roles, industries, and locations; look at employers with a history of sponsoring international talent; and be open to cap-exempt organizations or opportunities in other countries where it makes sense for your goals.
• Finally, build a Plan A, B, and C with your support team. That might mean a U.S. role that uses OPT or STEM OPT, a longer-term plan that includes H-1B or other visa options, and parallel paths in your home country or other regions.

Your career center is there to help you think through these scenarios, make a concrete action plan, and connect you with alumni who have navigated similar transitions. While the policy environment may keep shifting, the core strategies that matter, starting early, staying flexible, building relationships, and asking for help remain firmly within your control.

The recent CSEA October Member Quick Survey focused on the use of AI in the job search. The results reveal a clear tension between current, volume-focused applications of AI and its exciting potential for truly strategy career guidance.

Current AI Use
Students have quickly adopted AI to streamline high-volume tasks in their job search process, primarily focusing on resume writing, cover letter writing, and interview prep. 
Recruiters are primarily using AI for administrative efficiency, specifically creating interview questions and screening resumes with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

At least one school reported cautioning students against using AI based on feedback from employers. More broadly, the concerns reported by schools and employers are two-fold: students being screened out of ATS for using generic, AI-generated content, and systems becoming overloaded with a higher volume of generic applications, drowning out quality candidates.

The Strategic Pivot
The most interesting insights are the potential applications of AI to fundamentally improve career services. This moves the discussion beyond how to beat the machine to how to strategically use the machine. Ideas include: 

• Real-time labor mapping: AI could map skills to emerging roles, simulating career trajectories using institutional data, or even perform continuous labor-market scanning to let coaches know what the trends are. 
• Targeted support: Predictive analytics could flag students needing early career support based on institutional data, allowing coaches to intervene proactively. 
• Dynamic matching: AI could be used to dynamically match students to employers based on deep fit (culture, skills, potential trajectory) beyond job titles, resulting in better outcomes for both parties. 
• Equity audit: Beyond the job search itself, AI could potentially analyze hiring data to address systemic issues, such as the gender or racial pay gap. 
  

From Caution to Calibration
The pulse survey confirms that AI has become fundamental to the modern job search. The challenge for career services teams is to move beyond cautioning students about AI resumes. We need to create an active strategy to explore how to leverage the potential for predictive analytics. This means investing in systems and processes that can harness institutional data to create a dynamic, better-fit ecosystem for students and employers alike, focusing our limited coaching time where it can have the greatest strategic impact.

 

During a recent CSEA Virtual Programming Committee meeting, a member shared this story. In 2008, they were working as an employer brand strategist for a communications, brand, an advertising company based out of New York. The country was deep in the Great Recession, and their company focused on building employer and recruitment brands.

This was not a comfortable industry to be in when unemployment hit a staggering 10 percent. But there was one voice in the company who helped steer it through the worst of the economic collapse, a vice president who signed off every email with one simple, positive phrase, “Onward and Upward”.

This served as a small, upbeat reminder that, with every new day, the sun will still shine, and we will continue to move forward.

Fast forward to 2025 and we are once again managing adversity, and change, and navigating the unknown.

BUT…onward and upward!

This year, the CSEA Virtual Programming Committee is adopting this message as the theme for a new monthly series of programming. We will include topics such as mental health support, building resiliency, staff morale, and positive motivation.

Through this programming series, we hope to create a collaborative space to share the message that can make it through the uncomfortable and still have positive impact on our students and job candidates.

We invite you all to join us on this journey of support and caring for one another, and we look forward to sharing ideas of hope and healing.

New Membership Categories

Supporting Member – $149/year
For those transitioning out of career services or recruiting but wanting to stay connected. Retirees, job seekers, and others with past experience in the field qualify.
Benefits include conference discounts, webinars and round tables, resource groups, the online community, and inclusion in the school/employer directory.

Consultant Member – $149/year
For independent consultants serving CSEA’s member community—such as contract career coaches, freelancers, or authors. Vendors with subscription-based or long-term products do not qualify.
Benefits include conference discounts, webinars and round tables, job board access, and directory inclusion.

Updates to Existing Categories

Employer Membership – Complimentary
All employer categories are now streamlined into one complimentary option. Employers can also explore partnership opportunities to elevate their brand.
Benefits include conference discounts, research access, webinars, resource groups, job board, employment data system, on-demand learning, and full directory access.

Affiliate Membership – $300/year
Affiliate options are now consolidated into a single membership at a reduced rate.
Benefits include placement in the enhanced Buyer’s Guide, research access, webinars, job board, and more.

What This Means for You

These refreshed categories make it easier to find the right membership fit while maximizing opportunities to learn, connect, and engage with peers across the CSEA community. And of course, we still have our School Premium and School Basic Membership options available!

When AI comes up in conversation, the focus often lands on fear: Will AI replace some of our roles? Will human-centered work become irrelevant? But what if, instead, AI could make our work even more relevant?

Used wisely, AI has the power to remove administrative and repetitive tasks—such as compiling company research or drafting practice interview questions. This could mean freeing up time for more meaningful, one-on-one conversations and personalized interactions with students. With AI serving as a well-trained assistant, career coaches can deliver deeper, higher quality guidance tailored to each individual's needs.

Coaches can also add value by helping students navigate the ethical use of AI in their job search, positioning themselves as trusted advisors in a rapidly shifting landscape. This means guiding students not only in how to use AI tools effectively, but also in knowing when to step back—so they continue building creativity, problem-solving, and professional judgment.

Being aware of the challenges presented by AI will help coaches guide students in the best way possible. Over-reliance on these tools can be a red flag to employers and may undercut the development of essential skills. Coaches who understand these nuances can help students harness AI responsibly, protecting both their career prospects and the reputation of their institutions.

The conversation doesn't stop with career coaches. Institutions need structured frameworks for AI use in career service, with clear policies, ongoing training, and continual evaluation of emerging tools. According to Burke's research, around 50% of schools surveyed have an AI framework in place. Staying ahead of these trends not only safeguards the relevance of career services but also strengthens our legitimacy as professionals leading students through the evolving world of work.

Rather than replacing career coaches, AI—when used strategically—has the potential to elevate our role, increase our impact, and ensure we remain indispensable guides in a world where technology and human insight must work hand in hand.

Article written by Megan Hendricks, Executive Director, CSEA
edited using ChatGPT

The updated site will feature an enhanced online community designed to make it easier for you connect, collaborate, and stay engaged. Here's a sneak peek of some of the features:

• Interactive Social Feed – Share best practices, ask questions, and keep the conversation going with fellow CSEA school and employer members.
• Dynamic Member Directories – Find and connect with colleagues more easily.
• New Ways to Connect – Explore opportunities to network and engage with the community.

Community Transition Update

As we get ready to launch our new website and online community on September 30, there will be a brief transition period.

• CSEA Connect (including the Open Forum and Document Library) will remain available until September 15.
  
• From September 15–30, access will pause while we prepare the new platform.
  
• After launch, the Open Forum will be archived, and we'll move files from the past two years into the new Document Library.
  
  We can't wait to welcome you into a more dynamic and engaging community experience!