Embedding Well-Being into Career Services

What does it really take to support students’ well-being as they navigate the difficult and highly competitive job search process? At the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Conference and Expo, Kate Rockey-Harris and Victoria DiMonica of New York University’s Wasserman Center for Career Development presented recent innovations aimed at strengthening student support.

While all institutions are different, Rockey-Harris and DiMonica provided valuable insights and strategies that can be useful to any institution looking to infuse more robust wellness practices into its student career development approach.

Here are several elements they identified as central to the program’s success.

Invest in Staff Training To Support Student Well-Being

Supporting students effectively requires that career development staff are appropriately trained.

Rockey-Harris and DiMonica organized a two-day training session for 30+ NYU Staff.

The first day of training was led by Dr. Zoe Ragouzeos, NYU’s Vice President of Student Mental Health and Well-being. It focused on equipping career coaches with the language and skills to assist students who are experiencing stress. The session covered:

The importance of remembering that students have different lived experiences from our own. Demonstrations of breathing techniques that can help students calm down in moments of crisis. The distinction between supporting student well-being (the role of career staff) and providing mental health treatment (the role of counselors).

The second day of training was led by Dr. Regine Bruny-Olawaiye, NYU Associate Director of Wellness Emergency Response. This day focused on de-escalation techniques in career coach settings. Topics covered included:

Strategies for remaining calm during stressful situations. How to utilize the de-escalation sequence known as CARES (Calmly Listen, Acknowledge, Reassure, Explain, and Suggest Solutions).

For both training courses, Rockey-Harris and DiMonica relied on experts from their own institution to provide the necessary training. Your institution likely has professionals with similar expertise. Reaching out to them and requesting training assistance is a good first step for those looking to build more student wellness support.

Develop Student-Facing Resources Aligned with Student Needs

Another key component of NYU’s approach was developing student-facing resources focused on career-related well-being, including several educational videos.

At approximately three minutes each, the resource videos were designed to align with how students consume content.

“The videos teach students to use well-being techniques in commonly stressful career scenarios. We sent them to all students engaging in career coaching through an automatic post-appointment Handshake message,” said Rockey-Harris and DiMonica.

Each video focuses on a different well-being topic, including time management, relationships, career stress management, and navigating emotions.

Among other topics, the videos offer guidance on tracking energy levels, identifying peak alert times, building momentum through small steps, limiting digital distractions, overcoming procrastination, and managing emotions.

They offered an accessible way for NYU to support students with practical tools to help them not only navigate but thrive in the job search process.

While videos work well for Wasserman to get their wellness message out, it is not the only option. Other institutions might opt for a different approach, which is something both Rockey-Harris and DiMonica encourage. “Any authentic approach to connect careers and well-being at your campus would have a positive impact.”

Ensure Resources Are Visible and Accessible to Students

Creating resources is only part of the challenge. What often proves more difficult is making sure students are aware of them. This often requires collaboration with your institution’s marketing office. In NYU’s case, they created a campus-wide marketing campaign.

“While the new student video resources make the connection for the viewer between career development and well-being, we also wanted to merge the topics campus-wide,” said Rockey-Harris and DiMonica. “This led us to the third phase of creating a well-being career marketing campaign, which we rolled out along with the release of our new video resource. The marketing initiative included a joint YouTube page to store the new videos viewable to the entire NYU community, the creation of a dual office giveaway stress ball incentive item, and a career.flourishing email alias.”

Collect Feedback To Adapt and Improve Your Work

As with any initiative, feedback is essential to assessing impact.

NYU gathered feedback through student surveys. After viewing the videos, 99.5% of students reported that they better understood “the connection between well-being and their career development,” said Rockey-Harris and DiMonica.

This was strong validation that they were on the right track. Had the results been different, they could have pivoted and tried a different approach.

Closing Thoughts

Job searches can be very stressful, particularly for students looking for that first job in their chosen career field. There are many ways colleges and universities — particularly career centers — can support students as they navigate this difficult process.

Rockey-Harris and DiMonica from NYU’s Wasserman Center for Career Development have provided a strong framework that can help other institutions bolster their career coaching wellness practices.

“You don’t need to be a mental health expert to make your students feel cared for” said Rockey-Harris and DiMonica. “And students can only succeed in their career journey if they are aware and caring for their well-being.”