Career academies have been around for more than three decades and are increasingly becoming more popular. They are usually small groupings of students at the high school level, focused on a career pathway, such as health or business. Academics and career-based technical education are combined to bring relevancy to the subjects. Students often make connections with businesses in the area so that they can get real work experience in the field. Students are often able to prepare for college as well as learn technical skills that can get them placed in an entry level position after high school.
Last year I visited a new high school in Sacramento called the Arthur A. Benjamin Health Professions High School. They offered a media-filled exhibition, which included classroom experiences to promote the school's integrated curriculum. It was an exciting environment which appeared to make academics applicable to the real world and hopefully, not only keep the interest of the students, but also make them involved.
The career academy approach was of high interest to me. After all, I've had two kids who recently graduated from high school -- not to mention the business I'm in. Do academies really help?
A study has just been published from MDRC that randomly assigned a group of students (mostly Hispanic or African-American, from a total of nine urban high schools) into either a career academy or a control group. This longitudinal study followed students from the time they entered high school to eight years after their scheduled graduation.
Briefly, some of the highlights of the study include:
- Students from the Career Academies earned more money per year (+11%) than students in the control group.
- 50% of the students from both the Career Academies and those from the control group both received a variety of post secondary credentials. Also, 90% of students from both groups earned their high school diploma or a GED. There wasn't a difference between the groups when it came to academic achievements.
- Women didn't achieve the same benefits of the increased earnings as the men in the group. Investigators are looking into that finding.
To read the complete study, go to the MDRC website. With all the money being poured into academies and the number of high schools being reorganized, it is important to have some good research coming out about the efficacy of these programs.
For more information about career academies in general, go to the Career Academies Support Network website.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Landing that First Job: The Old Rules Still Apply
This morning, I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Musbach, the managing editor at Yahoo! Hot Jobs.
Tom graciously allowed me to pick his brain a little about strategies teens and young adults might use to land that first job or summer job.
It's been a long time since I was in that position (you know, back in the Dark Ages, before the World Wide Web made it possible to download a job application from the comfort of your own home). Back then, my search consisted of walking door to door at the local mall and requesting an application to fill out. Most of the time, my encounters with store management ended right there... but occasionally, something about my appearance or personality would trigger an actual interview... and eventually, a hire.
Today, most large retailers and restaurant chains offer job applications online. This is convenient, but it's a lot harder to make a good first impression, especially when you are just starting out in the market and haven't a lot of experience.
"The first thing you have to do is make sure you've got a tight resume," Tom says.
He recognizes that lack of experience is a kind of Catch-22 for young people: How can you get the job experience until you've landed that first job?
In that case, Tom advises young people to "think outside the job experience realm" and translate their extracurricular activities, volunteer work and studies into transferable skills the prospective employer wants (i.e., communication, reliability, responsibility, and leadership).
"You need to highlight your accomplishments in a succinct way," he says.
Getting that resume into the right hands can also be a challenge.
"It's important to network," Tom says. "Speak up. Ask your parents, relatives, family friends - who do you know?"
This sounds like the same advice I was given back when I was first job hunting, 35 years ago. In fact, it's the same strategy seasoned professionals use all the time, because the best jobs are not always advertised and are often discovered through word of mouth.
Tom mentioned some of the popular social networking sites, like LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace (the latter two being the most popular among young people). However, he cautions all job hunters to be wary of the digital footprints they may be leaving behind on social networking sites and blogs.
"Recruiters DO use search engines, and if things come up, if they see an off-color remark, it can reflect poorly on the candidate," he says.
Tom reminds job hunters that "any time you apply in person, you have to think about the impression you make."
He says it's even more important when your resume is thin, because the employer has so much less to go on.
Finally, Tom reminds job hunters to follow up with employers after applying.
"Don't assume they're not interested if you haven't heard from them," he says. "It is within you right to call and check on the status of your application, and it communicates your interest in this job."
Tom graciously allowed me to pick his brain a little about strategies teens and young adults might use to land that first job or summer job.
It's been a long time since I was in that position (you know, back in the Dark Ages, before the World Wide Web made it possible to download a job application from the comfort of your own home). Back then, my search consisted of walking door to door at the local mall and requesting an application to fill out. Most of the time, my encounters with store management ended right there... but occasionally, something about my appearance or personality would trigger an actual interview... and eventually, a hire.
Today, most large retailers and restaurant chains offer job applications online. This is convenient, but it's a lot harder to make a good first impression, especially when you are just starting out in the market and haven't a lot of experience.
"The first thing you have to do is make sure you've got a tight resume," Tom says.
He recognizes that lack of experience is a kind of Catch-22 for young people: How can you get the job experience until you've landed that first job?
In that case, Tom advises young people to "think outside the job experience realm" and translate their extracurricular activities, volunteer work and studies into transferable skills the prospective employer wants (i.e., communication, reliability, responsibility, and leadership).
"You need to highlight your accomplishments in a succinct way," he says.
Getting that resume into the right hands can also be a challenge.
"It's important to network," Tom says. "Speak up. Ask your parents, relatives, family friends - who do you know?"
This sounds like the same advice I was given back when I was first job hunting, 35 years ago. In fact, it's the same strategy seasoned professionals use all the time, because the best jobs are not always advertised and are often discovered through word of mouth.
Tom mentioned some of the popular social networking sites, like LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace (the latter two being the most popular among young people). However, he cautions all job hunters to be wary of the digital footprints they may be leaving behind on social networking sites and blogs.
"Recruiters DO use search engines, and if things come up, if they see an off-color remark, it can reflect poorly on the candidate," he says.
Tom reminds job hunters that "any time you apply in person, you have to think about the impression you make."
He says it's even more important when your resume is thin, because the employer has so much less to go on.
- Don't show too much skin.
- Leave ripped or torn garments at home
- Avoid t-shirts with slogans (especially if they are controversial)
Finally, Tom reminds job hunters to follow up with employers after applying.
"Don't assume they're not interested if you haven't heard from them," he says. "It is within you right to call and check on the status of your application, and it communicates your interest in this job."
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
How Do You Help Your Teen Look for Work?
My middle child, I'll just call him "Son" in blog posts, is unemployed. He needs a job, but at 19 years old, he has his standards as you can imagine. This is not a good year for Son to be so picky. The Sacramento Bee reported that the regional teens are competing with the senior market, a trend happening in other parts of the country as well. The unemployment rate in our local region for ages 65-74 was cut in half during the two year period of 2004-2006, down to 3.1 percent. According to the article, this summer's teen employment rate nationwide will be the lowest since 1948.
Since I have been involved in career education since my oldest was in diapers, my kids have been raised with career awareness drilled into their heads. So have their friends who have also been harassed since they were in elementary school. I have abused our local teachers, who have been tapped into with surveys, emails, reviews and more. When my kids were in preschool, I would have told you that my children would be experts in job search skills when they became young adults.
Fast forward. Son recently returned from his first year of college about 400 miles away from home. He is in his third week home and there are no real job prospects. He his on his way this afternoon to go to a Starbucks Job Fair and he wanted to know what to wear. I guess I'm glad he asked and when I think about it, it really isn't a bad question. Is a tie overkill? Probably, I tell him.
What really disturbs me is that he thinks going to one place a day is real job hunting.
Yesterday, he dropped in on his previous employer to kick a few tires. His ex-boss was nice enough to give him a lead to another job. That was the one place Son applied to yesterday. After filling out and dropping off the application, exhausted Son went out to eat with his buddy (who at least is already employed).
Son is actually a good worker, but he wants to make the fast buck. When he applied last week at a car dealership, he was told it was a 60-hour a week job. Uh, what? "Do people actually work that many hours?" he asked. Selling cars is no longer on his job-radar.
I don't mean for this post to be a complaint session about my son. He's probably only been out to lunch for fast food two times since he's been back because he has little left in his bank account. He's a good kid (really, he is! Just ask his grandma.) But, I do wonder what other parents do to help their children, who may be a little unrealistic, look for work.
Since I have been involved in career education since my oldest was in diapers, my kids have been raised with career awareness drilled into their heads. So have their friends who have also been harassed since they were in elementary school. I have abused our local teachers, who have been tapped into with surveys, emails, reviews and more. When my kids were in preschool, I would have told you that my children would be experts in job search skills when they became young adults.
Fast forward. Son recently returned from his first year of college about 400 miles away from home. He is in his third week home and there are no real job prospects. He his on his way this afternoon to go to a Starbucks Job Fair and he wanted to know what to wear. I guess I'm glad he asked and when I think about it, it really isn't a bad question. Is a tie overkill? Probably, I tell him.
What really disturbs me is that he thinks going to one place a day is real job hunting.
Yesterday, he dropped in on his previous employer to kick a few tires. His ex-boss was nice enough to give him a lead to another job. That was the one place Son applied to yesterday. After filling out and dropping off the application, exhausted Son went out to eat with his buddy (who at least is already employed).
Son is actually a good worker, but he wants to make the fast buck. When he applied last week at a car dealership, he was told it was a 60-hour a week job. Uh, what? "Do people actually work that many hours?" he asked. Selling cars is no longer on his job-radar.
I don't mean for this post to be a complaint session about my son. He's probably only been out to lunch for fast food two times since he's been back because he has little left in his bank account. He's a good kid (really, he is! Just ask his grandma.) But, I do wonder what other parents do to help their children, who may be a little unrealistic, look for work.
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