University Times

Pitt is introducing a new career-develop- ment strategy at this summer's freshman orientation sessions. Beginning two weeks ago, the Office of Placement and Career Services (P&CS), began implementing the Pitt Pathway. The pathway is a conceptual model outlining a common advisory framework for career-service providers University-wide.

The University's career resources include staff of the Counseling Center; the CAS advising center and internship office; internship offices of the College of Business Administration, the School of Information Sciences and the School of Nursing; the School of Engineering co-operative program office; the student volunteer outreach office, as well as P&CS.

"This office used to see mainly seniors and talk about placement," said P&CS director Bob Perkoski. "Now we will connect with students from freshmen on and talk about careers. What we don't want is a senior coming in and saying 'I don't know what I want to do.' We want to get them early, to start evaluating their options, learning their interests, gaining experience and learning presentation skills; in other words, to follow the Pitt Pathway."

Perkoski served as co-chair of the University Committee on Undergraduate Career Development with counselor Barbara A. Jenks of Student Affairs' Counseling Center. The committee issued its report in June 1997 recommending the pathway and proposing ways to implement it, including offering training for advisers and career-resources staff.

Committee members included faculty, staff, students, counselors and advising personnel. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Robert Gallagher commissioned the committee in January 1997 and charged it to consider how the University community could do a better all-around job of helping students discover and move toward their career goals.

Jenks said the pathway is a blueprint of a four-stage career development process. "It's like pulling out a map: You need to orient yourself and use your skills to find out where you are and which direction you're going in," she said. The four stages described in the pathway are self-discovery, career exploration, job experience and career-plan implementation.

"We would hope that when the concept is taught, the four stages will be readily identifiable," Jenks said. "We're not necessarily expanding services, but getting students to use them earlier, and strengthening the network of career-service interveners."

Eventually, Perkoski wants the pathway to be utilized by anyone on campus who provides career advice. "The pathway is not simple, not simplistic, but manageable. The stages are rough, but it's one framework, allowing different approaches. Resident assistants, advisers, career counselors, faculty advisers, even peers can all use this to help students make informed choices.

"These are not value judgments; all career options are equally acceptable. We don't tell anybody what to choose," said Perkoski.

Last fall, Jenks and J. Patrick Boyle, associate director of P&CS, began a series of presentations to advisers, introducing the pathway's structure and foundation and soliciting input.

"When advisers asked for more specifics, a handbook for advisers was developed," said Jenks.

The handbook includes a "decision tree" for determining which stage a student is in and guiding questions for advisers within each stage. "We also expect to come back to advisers for follow-up training," said Jenks.

Boyle, who is leading the audio/visual presentations at six freshman orientation sessions this summer, referred to the pathway's recommendations as "discussion starters, jumping-off points." According to the pathway's outline, a student with no idea what he or she wants to do is first urged to think about the questions: What are you doing when you are being most yourself? What did you like (or dislike) about your last summer job? or, about the job(s) your parents, relatives, or friends hold or held?

Students in this self-discovery phase also are urged to enroll in Freshman Studies 1 (FS-1); sign up for a Counseling Center Explore Program workshop; and visit the Career Resource Library at the Counseling Center.

A student still experiencing difficulty will be offered the Strong Interest Inventory, an assessment tool measuring interests, rather than aptitude or ability.

The inventory, originally developed by John Holland in 1973 and since updated, categorizes students' personality types into six "orientations": social, investigative, artistic, realistic, enterprising and conventional. According to a fact sheet about the inventory, evidence suggests a good career match is made when an individual can fit his or her orientation and interest preferences to jobs that typically employ people with common interests.

Once a student can focus on his or her values, interests, beliefs and life-style preferences, he or she is similarly guided through the other stages of the plan, with leading questions and suggestions on resources to access, people to talk with and materials to read.

In stage two, the student is urged to explore the world of work by talking to people who are in occupations that appeal to the student.

Students in stage three are guided toward gaining experience in a chosen field, such as through internships or part-time jobs.

In stage four, the student is urged to implement the plan by learning skills for locating potential employers and effective self-presentation. The pathway framework will be reinforced in a number of ways, according to Perkoski, including as part of the recommended curriculum of Freshman Studies 1, an optional one-credit course taken by about 85 percent of incoming students.

Boyle will help measure the long- and short-term progress of the pathway. "We plan to measure FS-1 students' opinions, have focus groups of participants, eventually, alumni surveys.

"Retention rates will be a critical measurement," Boyle said. "If more students stay in school they're probably more comfortable and have a better idea of where they're heading."

Perkoski added, "Eventually, I'd like to see a 'working laboratory,' if we got faculty members comfortable with this — and I think in general our faculty are very open to this approach — and maybe alums helping with stage two and three [career exploration and gaining employment experience]. The key is the University community working together, with an integrated strategy."

"Gaining experience is becoming more important all the time for earlier career success," Jenks said. Getting students to gain experience earlier — career-related volunteer work, part-time and summer jobs, internships — only helps, she said.

"Other schools have similar models," Perkoski said, "but ours is different because it is concrete and collaborative. The goal is to make the entire University's resources accessible for career guidance."

Boyle said, "I'd like to eventually see a cadre of current undergraduates, maybe through New Student Programs, introducing the Pathway to freshmen [as further reinforcement]."

He noted that the Pathway will be implemented at the regional campuses.

The Pitt Pathway outline is located at website: http://www.placement.pitt.edu/html/pittpathway.html The site also shows how to contact various career-related resources.

"The Pathway is new for us," said Perkoski. "But it's like a new pair of shoes: You try them out, work them in, and pretty soon, they're a comfortable fit. Our goal is to help students make informed choices and make them more comfortable at making choices." For more information about the Pitt Pathway, contact Bob Perkoski at 648-7127 or via e-mail: perks+@pitt.edu or J. Patrick Boyle, 648-7130 or e-mail: patrick1+@pitt.edu

–Peter Hart