Be a Career Advisor

• How to Help Your Student
• Partnering with the Career Development Center
• The Millennial Generation
• Suggested Readings
   

Encouraging Your Student in the Career Development Process

Your assistance is greatly appreciated in this process. Understand, though, that it is natural for college students to move toward independent decision-making and away from relying on parental decision-making. If a student does not choose to use the Career Development Center, it will not be forced upon him/her. As in all developmental processes, "readiness" is the operative word. A student who is not ready to look at career options will probably make poor career decisions, if any.

How you can help:

• Encourage Major and Career Exploration: Maintain an open mind when your student considers majors and careers that might not parallel your parental expectations. Your student benefits from finding a career field that matches his or her interests, values, skills, and talents in order to experience personal and career satisfaction.

• Be Patient: When your student considers changing majors or when they are undecided about their future goals. Remember when you were 18-22 and what you wanted and needed from your parents.

• Step Back & Watch: As your students reach out to new adventures and learning experiences, encourage their initiative, trust their judgment, and support their choices as they become more independent

Partnering with the Career Development Center

• Identify internship & job opportunities for students in your organization or in your community. To learn more about posting internship possibilities, click here.

• Contact the HR department at your place of employment about recruiting on campus for full-time positions and internships.  If your organization cannot come to Richmond to recruit on campus, perhaps they would be willing to post entry-level positions on the Career Development Center web pages. Click here for more information on posting positions.

• Volunteer to come to campus to talk with students about your career field/organization.

• Volunteer to talk with/mentor students who are interested in your career field.

• Volunteer to house a UR student who is interning in your community.
   

• Check out this website as a resource for college parents:  http://www.collegeparents.org/cpa/index.html
   

We welcome your suggestions!  Here's how to contact us.

The Millennial Generation of College Students

Thumbnail Sketch of Millennial Characteristics

• More practical, rather than cynical or passionate

• Strong family ties; maximum parental involvement

• More likely to trust authority

• Less risk-taking than predecessors

• Conventional, rather than controversial or alienated

• Politics and Social Science will be hot fields of study

• More involvement in community service/volunteerism

• Hottest topics for debate: class and culture

The generation of college students that began entering college in 2000 is team-oriented, optimistic, and poised for greatness according to many predictors. The Millennials are much tamer than either the Baby Boomers of the 60's or the X's of the 80's. By the time of the second decade the new millennium, college campuses will probably be less race conscious and more female dominated than ever in history. This newest generation will have less patience with the internal politics of the faculty and will rebel against any university policies viewed as separatist.

The Millennials' views are the opposite of their Baby Boomer parents. They assert that the predominant cause of the problems in this country is "selfishness." The Millennials are accustomed to obeying the rules and they trust organizations much more than their parents do. They feel a pressure to become better than their parents, since these students have handled heavy schedules of homework and extracurricular activities since pre-school.


In the classroom, the Millennials want details. They want everything spelled out for them. They do not want to have to read instructions, but they want to know exactly, systematically, how to do the assignment from start to finish. For example, when a paper is assigned, they want to know how many pages it should be, how it should be set up, what resources they should use, and exactly when the assignment is due. There also appears to be a hesitancy to think for themselves, to use the "I" voice. They would rather refer to outside sources.

Suggested Readings for Parents of UR Students

The Parent's Crash Course in Career Planning:  Helping Your College Student Succeed. (Marcia B. Harris and Sharon L. Jones, VGM, 1996).

Study Abroad: A Parent's Guide. (William W, Hoffa, NAFSA, 1998).

Letting Go: A Parent's Guide to Understanding the College Years. ( Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treegar, HarperPerennial, 1997).

Empty Nest, Full Heart: The Journey From Home to College. (Andrea Van Steenhouse, Simpler Life Press, 1998).

Career Coaching Your Kids: Guiding Your Child Through the Process of Career Discovery. (David H. Montross, Robert J. Ginn, Jr., Consulting Psychologists Press, 1997).

Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation. (Neil Howe, William Strauss, Vintage Books, 2000).

Awakening at Mid-Life: A Guide to Reviving Your Spirits, Recreating Your Life, and Returning to Your Truest Self. (Kathleen H.Brehony, Berkley Publishing Group, 1997).

The above material was adapted from information made available to the CDC by Virginia Military Institute's Career Services office.  We thank them very much!