Earlier in January John Morgan, President of a prominent teaching union in the UK was quoted as saying: "All the modern student needs is open transparent information about all aspects of the course, including its wage earning potential and actual job prospects, based on past graduates. Social networks will do the rest."
Take a look at the peer to peer advice requested and offered on popular sites like The Student Room or Yahoo Answers. You may come away shocked at the eagerness with which learners bypass career advice professionals and get answers from their peer group. This starts to look less shocking when you see the convenience factor - you can ask a question more or less anonymously, at any time of the day or night, and get answers almost instantly.
The quality however may leave something to be desired in some cases. But you can often detect real insight and advice based on personal, current experience, which any careers professional couldn't possibly get close to.
All this said, I don't think the role of careers teacher or adviser is quite redundant yet!
Here are ten roles I believe we can take on, which offer important support to our students in their university applications:
1. Explorer: Finding out about what’s out there. Trying it for yourself. Subscribing to expert blogs, or just using StumbleUpon to discover cool tools and sites.
2. Reviewer: Sharing your personal assessment of the suitability and value of what you find. Use social bookmarking tools like Delicious, or start your own blog.
3.Producer: Making your own content, through blogs, video clips and audio podcasts. Get a FLIP video camera, upload clips to YouTube, or podcast using radioinschools online studio, or Audacity.
4. Networker: Understand social networking processes. Learn about others experience and interests, and make referrals, or requests on behalf of clients. Visit Flowork to learn more, join Linkedin, network with fellow career professionals, set up a Facebook Fan Page for your institution.
5. Safety officer: Understand internet safety. Advise on safe social web use. Challenge risky behaviour online. Visit CEOP and Thinkuknow websites. Get training.
6. Intelligence Officer: Identify opportunities and intelligence sources, set up and monitor feeds on topics of interest. Help others create their own monitoring systems. Learn to consume RSS feeds using iGoogle, Google reader or other tools.
7.Tutor / Coach: Help students develop skills of online search, analysis and evaluation in the context of careers and labour market information. Encourage students online activity and model effective approaches. Help students with advanced search techniques, champion digital literacy in the curriculum, and be present online.
8. Curator: Manage, or commission your own online careers information resources/portal/ learning space. Start a virtual careers centre Create space on your VLE, start wikis or forums for students to share their research. Involve your Connexions Personal Advisers, or Careers Advisers/Counsellors.
9. Equalities Officer: Challenge stereotypes, and foster diversity and inclusion. The social web has created a platform for old prejudices, discrimination, and behaviour which can undo the work of those promoting equality and diversity in education and employment.
10. Guide: Signposting learners to appropriate / best content or people. Help individuals find their way to the best tools and resources for their needs.
Just when you thought your job was reducing in scope! Another ten hats!
