The Illinois State University

Career Center

Prepared by:

Krista Bilow, Tyler Krivich, Katie Rio

KBR Consulting

March 29, 2017

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Table of Contents

Page
Executive Summary 3
1.0 Organization Background ...4
1.1 Business Definition.4
1.2 Vision..4
1.3 Mission4
1.4 Value Proposition4
1.5 Organization Structure 4-5
1.6 History & Culture ..5
2.0 Situation Analysis 5
2.1 Definition & Scope of Situation .5
2.2 Stakeholders Affected 5
2.3 Competition 6
2.4 SWOT Analysis...6-7
2.5 Market Position...7
3.0 Plan .7
3.1 Objectives, Strategies, & Tactics .8-9
3.2 Strategies .8-9
3.3 Tactics .8-9
3.4 Critical Success Factors .9
3.5 Key Performance Indicators 10
3.6 Budget & Resource Allocations 11
3.7 Timeline 11
3.8 Evaluation Method & Anticipated Results 11
Appendices ..12
A. Organizational Chart ..12
B. Budget 13
C. Timeline .14
References....15

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Executive Summary

The Career Center is a unique professional development service that caters to Illinois State
University students and alumni. The center has potential to grow engagement within the ISU
community. The following is a plan to the Career Center for the 2017-2018 academic year. The
business will first be analyzed and base operations discussed. Then, the potential for growth, as
well as issues hindering growth, will be discussed. Several objectives for the business and their
budget requirements will be suggested. These include:
Increase participation of students with a GPA of less than 2.5 by 30 percent.
Increase participation of freshmen-level students by 25 percent.
Increase engagement of senior-level students by 20 percent.

This plan will serve as a guide to carry out these objectives for the 2017-2018 academic year. All
Career Center employees should know and utilize the plan for it to reach its full potential. For the
2018-2019 academic year, this plan will serve as a basic guide to develop a new plan for the
needs of that year. Following the plan outlined below after its acceptance will bring the Career
Center the guidance it seeks to prosper in the coming years.

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1.0 Organization Background

This section is an introduction to the Career Center and its core business. The information here
serves as a basis to understanding the situation analysis in section 2.0 and the plan in section 3.0.

1.1 Business Definition

The Career Center strives to provide students and alumni with career services and resources that
enhance their career development and readiness, while providing them with opportunities to
connect employers seeking Redbirds as candidates.

1.2 Vision
Current Career Center Vision: To be recognized as a leading, centralized career center for internal
and external stakeholders.

KBR Consulting proposed the vision be revised to this: The Career Centers vision is to be
recognized as a leading, centralized, career center for students and alumni.

The rationale: We believe the proposed vision puts proper emphasis on the two important
stakeholders of the Career Center: students and alumni. These stakeholders are the focus in
Career Center planning, policies, and procedures, and these stakeholders are central to ensuring
they see, know, and act on the knowledge that the Career Center is there primarily for them. The
revision embodies the essence of the direction the Career Center hopes to move toward in its
future.

1.3 Mission
The Career Centers mission is to assist Illinois State University students and alumni with
developing, evaluating, and/or implementing career decisions.

1.4 Value Proposition

The value proposition is essential for identifying the factors that make the Career Center stand out
from its competition. It includes two parts: (1) a thesis statement describing the Career Centers
unique selling proposition and (2) proof points, which support the core idea of the thesis by
providing compelling competitive advantages that the Career Center possesses. The value
proposition is as follows:
Thesis: The Career Center provides on-campus professional development opportunities,
connecting students, alumni and potential employers.
Proof Points:
The Career Center has five full-time career advisors and two graduate assistants who
focus on students career development and professional readiness.
The Career Center provides a wide array of resources from an online job-posting
system, to free business cards, and resume paper/printing for students.
The Career Center partners with companies to assist them with their recruiting
strategies and to connect them with Illinois State talent.
Alumni have access to student resources up to three years after graduation.

1.5 Organization Structure

The Career Center is a division within Illinois State University's Division of Student Affairs.
Similar to the organizational structure of student affairs. The Career Center uses a hierarchical
structure for rank/title, authority, and sphere of control. The organizational structure in the Career
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Center consists of one director, five assistant directors, nine managers, and 11 student workers
(see Appendix A).

1.6 History & Culture

The Career Center strives to provide students and alumni with career services and resources that
enhance their career development and readiness, while providing them with opportunities to
connect with employers seeking Redbirds as candidates.

Career Center employees value the mission and are motivated to help students and alumni reach
their full potential. Through their dedication to upholding the Career Centers mission, these
employees believe in assessing strategies and continuously improving their efforts.

2.0. Situation Analysis

This section outlines the current situation faced by the Career Center, including challenges and
obstacles. Addressing these challenges will help to improve the Career Centers position as a
leader in the ISU community.

2.1 Definition & Scope of Situation

The Career Center has become a key career planning resource for Illinois State University
students. Engagement across audiences is one area that could be improved, with a particular focus
on engaging freshman early, offer more resources to seniors, and raise participation of students
with GPAs under, only reaching 43% of students.

Due to the wide variety of majors offered through Illinois State University, the Career Center is at
a disadvantage for having field specific counsel (see 2.4 SWOT Analysis).

The Career Center generated nearly 24,000 student interactions over the past academic year
through the variety of programs and services provided. However, many students view career-
related services as transactional; they obtain them "just in time" when seeking a job, internship,
and/or career. Thirty percent of students served by the Career Center are freshman and
sophomores and fewer than five percent are graduate students.

2.2 Stakeholders Affected

The ISU Career Center has several stakeholders who stand to gain or lose from the
organizations success or failure. At a large scale, Illinois State University is the key stakeholder
of the Career Center. If the University were to no longer exist, neither would the Career Center.
For example, if the Illinois state budget and donations were to fail the University, it would force it
and the Career Center to close. Other stakeholders are the employees of the Career Center, who
rely on the organization as means of income. Corporations who offer sponsorship to the Career
Center are another key stakeholder, because if that funding were to cease a majority of
programming opportunities would no longer be available. The students, alumni and potential
employers are all other stakeholders. These three types of stakeholders overlap in their
expectations and needs from the Career Center, as well as their contributions to the success of the
organization. If these stakeholders choose to no longer use the Career Center, the organization
would not be serving its purpose and would have no reasoning for its existence.

2.3 Competition

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Currently, there are a small handful of mid-level competitors on the Illinois State University
campus with which the Career Center competes. The specific competitors found are Registered
Student Organizations that focus on professional career development, professors with experience
within a student's field of study. Online career-building resources, such as Refinery 29 are
considered web-based competitors. Competitors like these are considered to be mid-level in
competition to the Career Center because, while they offer potential resources and networking
opportunities, they are not as well connected and marketed to students, alumni and potential
employers.

2.4 SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is a way to determine an organizations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats and address them in chart form below. The SWOT analysis for the Career Center
reveals mission-critical matters that can help or hinder the Centers performance. The following
table covers each SWOT elements possible impact on the operation and possible actions to be
taken.

Aspects Implications Possible Actions

Strengths Provide customized Allows students to Promote the offerings and
meetings and create a plan for benefits to students
programs to help career development Develop new programs for
students develop Meets students needs students to enhance career
professionally. in different majors development

Well attended Students can network Develop industry specific

career fairs with a variety of career fairs (ex. public
organizations relations/communication firms
for communication degrees)
Weaknesses Low engagement 43 percent of the Perform a detailed analysis
among Illinois State Universitys student about target stakeholders
University students population is not being Develop opportunities for the
reached populations not currently
being served
Limited field- Generalities about Learn and apply the field-
specific information good resumes, letters, specific subtleties to meet
and counsel and interviews dont students, employers, and
account for important departments needs
field-specific
expectations and
practices
Opportunities Expand Creates more Reorganize counselors so
partnerships opportunities for that they are more
with selected high- students to break into specialized with field-
value organizations their career specific career-planning
on and off campus information and insights.
Reach out to companies
that employ alumni
Reach out to University
College for at-risk students
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 Reach out to University
Advancement for
mentorship
Reach out to
Departments/Schools for
field-specific career
insights and input.

Strengthen This would allow the Use career ambassadors for

relationships with Career Center to department meetings
university utilize the university
departments and reach a larger
audience.
More field-specific
insights can be
obtained for use with
students and
employers.
Threats State legislatures Career Center closes Create a contingency plan for
continue debating because the university continued operation
about the state must cut back on
budget. expenses for low value-
added services/programs
Online professional Students may choose to Create a blog that addresses
development sites use those sites than the the students needs like cover
that offer similar Career Center letter and resume writing
help, especially for advice
field-specific
practices

2.5 Market Position

The Career Centers market position is the on-campus leader for career development. Students
have access to multiple services that prepare them for the future. However challengers to the
career center include online websites dedicated to professional development, like Refinery 29 and
Levo League. The following plan will propel the Career Center past the challengers. Refer to
section 1.4 on value proposition and 2.3 on competitions for more detail.

3.0 Plan

The section presents a formal and specific plan for the Career Center to enact in order to reach its
fullest potential by the end of the 2017-2018 academic year. It builds off of the previous two
sections and provides guidance for the Career Center to realize its vision. The plan is outlined in
the following subsections: objectives, strategies, tactics, critical success factors, key performance
indicators, budget and resource allocations, timeline, and evaluation and anticipated results.

3.1 Objectives, Strategies, & Tactics

The following table outlines objectives, strategies, and tactics to help the Career Center fulfill its
vision.

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 Objectives are specific big-picture statements about accomplishments sought. They
include (1) a desired effect, (2) a measurable goal, (3) the target audience, and (4) a
deadline.
Strategies are categories of tactics used to achieve the stated objectives.
Finally, tactics are the specific ways in which the strategies will be carried out.

Objectives Strategies Tactics

1. Increase participation of Strat 1A: Salient Information 1. Written

students with a GPA of correspondence to at-
<2.5 by 30 percent by risk students about
May 11, 2018. importance in
planning for success
Benchmark: The current through Career
participation of students with Center
a GPA of <2.5 is 21.09 2. Meeting with career
percent advisor about
academic goals
Rationale: Due to the building career goals
current low participation of 3. Inform University
students with a GPA of 2.5 College Advisors
or lower, this audience is about Career Centers
not fully utilizing the capabilities that can
resources the Career Center complement
University Colleges
has to offer. These
work.
resources can potentially 4. Feature adverse
help these students improve student success
their academic standing. stories

2. Increase participation of Strat 2A: Audience 1. Dorm Visits

freshmen level students by 25
percent by May 11, 2018.
Benchmark: The current
participation of freshman
level students is 45.1 percent.
Participation 2. Preview Presentations
3. Feature distinguished
alumni
4. COM 110 and ENG
101 class visits

Rationale: By increasing Strat 2B: Social Media 1. Create a blog focused

and retaining participation on professional
of Freshman level students, development topics
the Career Center can gain (ex: writing cover
long-term clients who are letters, pitch emails,
aware of the resources etc.)
available to them from the 2. Create mobile-
friendly website
start of their college career
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and will continue to utilize
them throughout.

3. Increase engagement of Strat 3A: Source Credibility 1. Senior Speaker Series

senior level students by 20 2. Career planning
percent by May 11, 2018. series

Benchmark: The current

participation of senior level
students is 58.4 percent
Rationale: Current senior
level resources provided by
the Career Center primarily
focus on graduation
readiness. By expanding
the variety of resources
available to seniors and
increasing engagement,
seniors will be able to fully
benefit from the Career
Center.
1. Job shadows
Strat 3B: Mentorship Program 2. Partner with
University
Advancement for
alumni-student
mentorships
1. Increase partnerships
with industry-specific
Strat 3C: Employer Relations
employers (example:
Weber Shandwick for
public relations
student; Chicago
theaters for acting
majors)

3.2 Critical Success Factors

The following table describes four categories of factors that could affect the Career Center
positively and negatively when attempting to fulfill its objectives along with the implications
related to each category.
Opportunities: occasions where the Career Center can take advantage of the situation to
build its image and increase student and alumni engagement
Barriers: include, but not limited to, situational, attitudinal, and environmental opposition
to the Career Center.
Environment: both internal and external factors that influence the Career Center
operations
Resources: employees and materials required to fulfill business objectives

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 Objectives Opportunities Barriers Environment Resources

1. Increase Help give at-risk Students with a Build More career

participation students GPA of <2.5 do relationship with counselors
of students opportunities to not want to or at-risk students, might be needed
with a GPA succeed dont know they especially for increase
of <2.5 by 30 could interact freshmen and participation
percent by with the Career sophomores
May 2018. Center

2. Increase Allows freshmen Potentially Strengthen More career

participation students to creates stress on relationship with counselors
of freshmen- become better the student to incoming might be needed
level students prepared for their complete freshmen and for increase
by 25 percent career program the Career participation
by May 2018. Center On-/Off-
campus
organizations
point students to
Career Center

3. Increase Career Center Career Center Builds a Increase

engagement can refine may not relationship knowledge of
of senior- resume and understand between Career industry-specific
level students cover letters for industry- Center and resume and
by 20 percent graduating specific resume seniors cover letter style
by May 2018. seniors and cover letter
style

3.3 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are intermittent measurements taken by the Career Center to keep the plan on path to
success. For each listed objective, specific measurement will be taken by the staff periodically
and compared to the benchmark, or level prior to progress.

Objective 1: Increase participation of students with a GPA of <2.5 by 30 percent by May

2018.
o Benchmark: The current participation of students with a GPA of <2.5 is 21.09
percent.
o KPI: Participation of students with GPA <2.5 should increase three percent every
month school is in session.
o Look at these numbers every month and adjust as necessary
Objective 2: Increase participation of freshmen level students by 25 percent by May
2018.
o Benchmark: The current participation of freshman level students is 45.1 percent.
o KPI: Participation of freshmen-level students should increase 2.5 percent every
month school is in session.
o Look at these numbers every month and adjust as necessary

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 Objective 3: Increase engagement of senior level students by 20 percent by May 2018.
o Benchmark: Increase engagement of senior level students by 20 percent by May
2018.
o KPI: Engagement of senior-level students should increase two percent every
month school is in session.
o Look at numbers every month and adjust as necessary

3.4 Budget & Resource Allocations

This section outlines and explains what is needed for each part of the plan and how much it will
cost. It is important to remember that budgets measure performance in terms of resource
allocation, which includes, but is not limited to, money.

The Career Center is a unique business situation as it relies on the university to provide its
funding. Thanks to in-house talent and pre-established resources and networks, the budget created
for the Career in this plan is modest considering the scale of their reach. Due to the current
political climate in Illinois, the Career Center created a partnership program to help derail the
costs of certain programs.

3.5 Timeline (beginning with the proposals acceptance/approval)

In order to ensure the successful implementation of this plan, it is important that the strategies and
tactics be enacted at the correct time. To accomplish this, we have included a timeline for the
Career Center to follow within this plan. The items in this timeline are not dependent on one
another, but it is important to note the critical points. Critical points in the timeline are when
multiple programs going at once. The timeline can be viewed in Appendix C.

3.6 Evaluation Method & Anticipated Results

To determine if this plan was successful, the Career Center will have to evaluate the efforts of the
plan. See Section 3.5 for KPIs and benchmarks.

Objective 1: Increase participation of students with a GPA of <2.5 by 30 percent by May

2018.
o If the participation increase by three percent every month or totals to 30 percent,
the plan was successful
o If the plan was not successful, adjust operations for the next fiscal year to reach
the increase for next fiscal year
Objective 2: Increase participation of freshmen level students by 25 percent by May
2018.
o If the participation increases by 2.5 percent every month or totals to 25 percent,
the plan was successful
o If the plan was not successful, adjust operations for the next fiscal year to reach
the increase for next fiscal year
Objective 3: Increase engagement of senior level students by 20 percent by May 2018.
o If the engagement increases by two percent every month or totals to 25 percent,
the plan was successful
o If the plan was not successful, adjust operations for the next fiscal year to reach
the increase for next fiscal year

Success is anticipated for the Career Center with this plan. Each element should be easy to
implement by the employees. If the plan starts to not meet KPIs, adjustments must be made
before the end of the plan cycle to remove threat against overall success.
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Appendices

A. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

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B. BUDGET

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C. TIMELINE

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References

Career Center. (2017). Career center annual report 2017. Normal, IL: Author.

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