Services Concorde Offers Graduates

All of the various services Concorde offers graduates is but a click or two away, at concorde.edu. Resume review and cover letters? Check. Interviewing instruction? Check. Job opportunity listings, mass emails and networking opportunities? Check, check and check. We're a health care career college that believes its relationships with students don't end at graduation.

But it goes beyond that. Each and every one of Concorde's Graduate Employment Specialists has a list of personal services they like to add to the basics, from personal counseling to licensing and certification help.

We asked Graduate Employment Specialists what they do to go the extra mile for our health care career college graduates. Here's what they had to say.

Leveraging email as a communications tool

Joan Kilna, Graduate Employment Specialist at Concorde's campus in Portland, Ore., encourages recent graduates to request being added to her department's mass email list.

"If an employer contacts me looking for graduates, an email goes out to everyone on my list," Kilna said. "It includes a summary of the job description and the address and website of the employer. Graduates must respond in order for me to send their resumes."

"We keep graduates' resumes electronically here on campus. I will review the resume to make sure it is up to date and is well written. Graduates usually have 48 hours to respond. I'll send all of the good quality resumes to the employer. At that time, the employer is responsible for follow up."

Kilna said sometimes she's asked by an employer to set up interviews or gather more information from a graduate, and she's happy to do so.

"We ask both the employer and the graduate about how the process went," she said. "We provide feedback to the graduate and offer our services if something did not go well."

Kilna also has "Thursday job search," which is where graduates can review job boards and follow up on new position leads. She hosts three professional development training seminars, called "Pathway to Placement." She offers mock interview sessions and provides current students with "survival jobs" should they need them.

"I always encourage graduates to come in to see me for services," she said. "But, the Portland campus has students and graduates who live up to two hours away so I also offer services by email or by phone."

Giving health care career college students the personal touch

Paula Barron, Graduate Employment Specialist at Concorde's campus in San Antonio, Texas, usually goes into the classroom and talks to students personally about resume preparation and interviewing techniques.

"I have resume samples I'll give out if it is needed," she said. "I'll set up one-on-ones to talk to the student about their resume in some cases. We do mock interviews with some of the classes and will cover quite a bit about interview tips."

Barron said she also sets up email links to graduates and follows up on job searches, or even if a graduate is working in his or her field.

"I try to keep in touch with graduates even if they are working to see how the job is going," she said. "When I go into classrooms before they leave, I make sure they know placement assistance is indefinite. I keep my lists of students so I can call, text or email them any news about jobs, or touch base with a recruiter or manager."