Career Readiness for All, By Design

Too often, critics reduce college to what happens inside the classroom. But the reality of the undergraduate experience is far more dynamic: like an interactive map, equal parts curriculum and choose-your-own-adventure.
 
Yes, inside the classroom, students are pushed to think critically, wrestle with new ideas, and expand how they learn.
That foundation matters.
 
But outside the classroom? That’s the real career readiness and leadership laboratory of the undergraduate experience.
 
For me, it felt like a giant chutes-and-ladders board: full of opportunities, hidden lessons, and hard-earned wins. Student government. Leading clubs. Organizing campus events. Handling conflict with your roommate. Managing your time. Communicating with people from different backgrounds and perspectives. Navigating the complexities of peers, deadlines, feedback, and expectations. 

All the skill development you need for life and career success: it’s all right there. But it’s not forced upon you. Nor is it standardized. That’s the catch, and the point.
 
Success in life and work doesn’t come from a checklist. College isn’t a vending machine. You have to activate the full experience yourself. Each student has to choose how much they want to grow and change. 
And for those who don’t take advantage of the opportunities available to them, there’s a safety net for that too.
 
From my view, career services provides a crucial backup plan—for students who didn’t access the full experience in time. Those who didn’t seek out mentors, internships, or meaningful work-study jobs. But critics miss this nuance.   
The problem isn’t that colleges don't provide career preparation. It’s that we don't require it. 
 
Here’s what we’ve learned in our college-to-career transformation work: 
The only place every student goes is the classroom.
If we want to guarantee it happens for every student, that is where it has to live. 
 
The good news is that faculty have been doing this work for decades, quietly, one conversation at a time. In office hours. Through feedback. With recommendation letters and pep talks. They’ve always been guides to what comes next. For those who seek them out. So, if we want to ensure every student gets access to career readiness experiences, it has to be embedded in the classroom.
 
What’s changing now is that some institutions are finally giving faculty the support, time, space, and tools to embed this into curriculum. To build career preparation into syllabi, assignments, and course design. Not just for the students who show up for office hours, initiate, or ask questions, but for every student from day one.
That’s the final step.

We need to:

• Give colleges credit for the full laboratory of life & career readiness they already provide
• Recognize the career preparation already baked into the fabric of the undergraduate experience
• Support and equip faculty in embedding their career readiness experiences and mentoring into the classroom for every student

We just have to make that preparation visible, and make sure it happens for every student, not just the ones who knew to ask.

Warmly,
Bridget