Become a Career Champion

Career Development Services sponsors the Career Champions program to support faculty, staff, and administrators who are actively engaged in assisting students in determining and reaching their career goals. These are the program objectives:

• Establish a relationship between the Career Development Services office and our campus partners
• Provide on-going professional development on the most up-to-date best practices in the career management discipline which includes information about resources, trends, and data to share with students
• Develop and share consistent language to use when discussing career-related topics
• Build a community around career exploration and preparation in support of FGCU students in an effort to impact every student’s post-graduation success

The program is designed to be flexible and ongoing, understanding that faculty and staff are already very busy. The initial training consists of three required 90-minute sessions. The modules are focused around the following:

1. Career Development: Career theory and process, workforce readiness trends and the Florida legislature impact, NACE career readiness competencies, and basic coaching/counseling skills
2. Student Support: Career exploration and preparation tools and resources provided by FGCU and an introduction to the Career Toolkit
3. Employer Relations: Using Eagle Career Network, NACE standards for faculty and employer interaction, and the value of career events and employer relationships

Follow-up includes access to an electronic Career Toolkit of career resources and quarterly trainings that go into further depth on a particular career topic or trend. These trainings can be virtual and in-person and will be around 1 hour at a time.  A Microsoft Teams team and group chat will also be established for on-demand communication, announcements, and questions.

• Utilize language, resources, and standards of Career Development Services expertise
• Collaborate with and share additional resources with fellow Career Champions
• Model to other faculty and staff the benefits of becoming a Career Champion and suggest they engage in a future Career Champions training
• Strongly encourage students to attend career events with employers present and to utilize CDS resources

• Greater knowledge, language, and credibility around workforce readiness and career development
• Identification to students that you have been additionally trained in the resources of CDS (office decal, website acknowledgement, & certificate of completed training); additionally a personal resume/portfolio builder
• Invitations to employer events and site visits that build personal relationships with and enhance understanding of southwest Florida employers
• Networking opportunities within FGCU with like-minded staff and faculty
• Collaboration with CDS to create customized career resources, workshops, or events for your course or department
• The opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise in your subject area and have a positive impact on the work of FGCU Career Development Services