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College seniors graduating in 2021 had a challenging finish to their undergraduate education. During a pandemic-disrupted senior year, students’ career planning and preparations for entering the workforce were significantly altered, internships were cancelled or changed to remote, and on-campus hiring events were nixed. 

Seniors responding to the 2021 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its new Career and Workforce Preparation (CWP) Topical Module provide a glimpse of their exposure to college and university career planning resources, career exploration in the curriculum, confidence in work-related skills, and post-graduation plans. Administered between February and May 2021, the NSSE CWP module captured the views of nearly 30,000 seniors from 91 colleges and universities.

Survey results demonstrate that even during the pandemic, most seniors (71%) had a clear idea about their career plans, and a majority (76%) judged what they learned at their institution relevant to their career plans. For this short blog piece, we chose to focus on seniors’ responses to the open-ended question: 

Is there anything this institution could do better to help students develop their career plans or gain work-related skills? Please describe.

We further narrowed our review of 5,230 seniors’ written responses to two salient themes. The first theme highlights comments that broadly captured the impact of COVID-19 on seniors’ career plans. The second theme draws attention to the efforts of faculty and staff that students found helpful.

Pandemic-Altered Career Planning & Preparation

Seniors’ comments about the impact of the pandemic largely reflect what we’ve heard anecdotally and would expect, including expressions of a disappointing senior year, concerns about cancelled career fairs, and worry about entering an uncertain job market, among others. Seniors who missed the opportunity to take expected hands-on courses in technical production, nursing, or in labs, were particularly disappointed that these courses had to shift to online.

As one senior said, “The biggest challenge was the effect that COVID had on biological lab classes. I had an entire class that I was highly interested in ruined due to not being able to attend trips or gain field experience.” Another senior elaborated on frustration about “virtual classes” and not being able to “stay after class and develop relationships with instructors who had real-life experiences and who could provide advice and direction.” Yet, other seniors appreciated an increase in industry professionals zooming into classes. One commented, “I think our coursework became more rooted in reality once COVID happened.”

The pandemic changed career advising, with more students utilizing online campus resources and job search websites, rather than in-person fairs and networking opportunities. Students expressed gratitude for these online services, offering kudos for institutions that expanded online career advising, offered virtual internships, and hosted innovative online career networking.

Helpful Faculty and Staff

Seniors largely expressed understanding about necessary adjustments for health and safety required by the pandemic. Comments emphasizing the helpful efforts of faculty and staff demonstrate the good work going on, and also suggest what institutions could do better to facilitate seniors career plans. “My wonderful professors helped me learn more about graduate school and the field I am looking into.” Another senior praised their university:

“[Institution] is a fine school and highly supportive in helping students develop their career plans and gain work-related skills but what sets this university apart is the faculty who sincerely care for their students and strive to create the best learning environment possible. Many times, my professors have sacrificed their time after class or on a conference call to help me. They also teach with passion and encourage each of us to do our very best!”

A senior majoring in fine arts commented that in their program, “professors have done a lot to give us experience in the real world and connect us with professionals in the industry.” A senior in engineering said,

“My research professor gave us several important opportunities to present our work both locally and nationally, which was fantastic. I wish the professional visits had continued virtually in the midst of COVID, but otherwise, I am happy with the measures they took.”

Seniors were particularly thankful for the positive, guiding influence of faculty.

Notably, seniors were candid in their critique of faculty who seemed ill-informed about career options in the major or made no attempts to relate coursework to real contexts or the workplace. In terms of courses and career services, seniors’ suggestions included requiring internships, greater resources for finding quality internships, more real-life scenarios and case studies, and guest speakers from industry, particularly in their courses.

Implications for Career Planning and Instruction

Seniors’ comments suggest the value of career services and in particular, faculty guidance about careers. Career centers that effectively implemented more online workshops and panels and helped students understand how the labor market and their fields have been impacted by the pandemic were praised. Seniors’ comments also reinforce the need for more self-serve resources related to career planning, such as résumé and cover letting writing (both in-person and virtual), additional interview preparation, and graduate school advice. Given the ongoing disruption caused by the pandemic, career centers should encourage students to take advantage of online career preparation and search platforms and to volunteer remotely with local organizations to gain needed experience.

Faculty should also keep connecting with students and develop synchronous systems for mentoring and coaching outside of class sessions. It is essential to let students know that faculty care about their well-being and to direct students whose needs exceed instructors’ personal boundaries or professional expertise to on-campus partners for assistance. Furthermore, integrating career and educational goal exploration into course assignments and inviting industry experts to join class via video call can help students draw connections between coursework and their educational and career goals, and thus find greater relevance in course content.