Part Two: The promise wasn’t enough At the University of Sheffield Careers Service, we are good at collecting the quantitative data. Bi-annual DLHE and student evaluations gave us masses of information to measure ourselves against. However, the information we are collecting via case studies is beginning to be an even more valuable measure of student satisfaction.
Case studies give us the ability to continually evaluate our students’ perspective of their career journey on a real time basis. They are without doubt a fantastic marketing tool but they also allow us to receive continuous feedback from our students and to continually evaluate the service we provide.
Students respond very well, perhaps because they are millennials and like UGC (user generated content) or perhaps because like us all, they’re human and enjoy a story.
From my point of view, here are the big reasons why students engage with case studies. 1. They’re inspiring and they’re told from the perspective of someone who has had a great time, not from someone who thinks you’ll have a great time. This equates to passion and nothing is more engaging or enticing than someone who has passion for what they do.
“Use university and time in higher education as an opportunity to explore your local community and enrich it in every way possible. I would argue that alongside my studies, doing stuff like volunteering is equally as enriching as getting a first class degree or an award.” Dominik – History student – summer placement
2. It’s told from the point of view of the target audience. A student knows the concerns of other students and can relate to these concerns, in some cases better than a marketing department. If you can create content that your audience can relate to, it becomes readable and relatable.
3. Case studies can be creative. Add in a few pictures and a social media blog and this marketing is far more engaging than
the description in a prospectus of what a student could do.
The advantages for career services to use case studies can be viewed from a clear marketing perspective. However, case studies can also provide value for businesses as a real time, up to date measure of how well your service is viewed by your customers. Some of the top reasons to use case studies as a business are: 1. As marketing material, case studies are flexible. You can use case studies in so many ways. On your homepage, social media, using them in articles, quotes in presentations and in sale emails. The list probably goes on.
2.It makes you sound authentic. We can quote figures and facts to students but sometimes it’s better to hear it in the words of someone who has been there and done what the student wants to do. Student quotes and case studies can make you relevant and reputable.
“My piece of advice to students: Apply for as many opportunities as you can, it is highly likely you won’t get the ONE you apply for so keeping as many doors open as possible is the best way to secure a placement.” Sophie – Management student – Summer Placement
3.They’re cheap…
4.They demonstrate success even when the student has not been successful. The success stories are great, those whose experiences went to plan, worked for Top 100 companies and have been offered a graduate place. The stories from students who didn’t have a great time and had to overcome problems are better.
“One of my favourite campers (we aren’t supposed to have favourites - but everyone does!) unfortunately lost his father three days before the end of camp. It was heart breaking to see him leave early, and consoling him was very tough.” Rosemary – Sociological studies – Summer placement
5.Most importantly we continue to learn. Don’t just read the case study. Understand what the student is saying or how it could have been better and question if you could have done something. Improve the process and the experience for the student and the future generations of students.
Part 3: Completing the circle Our graduate case studies have just exceeded 1000 and we’ve only started collecting case studies from students who have undertaken work experience. The potential to increase this number is huge. At present we have a great range of quotes, stories, recommendation and pictures we can use in our ongoing marketing materials.
Ultimately we want the case studies to feed directly onto department admission pages so that students can understand the type of work experience they could be involved in, should they choose to study with us. Hopefully the case studies will give future generations ideas and inspiration of where their degree could take them.
On a wider scale the case studies provide students with a vehicle for self-reflection, something we are constantly encouraging them to do more of as part of the career planning process. If we can get students to undertake this self-reflection and understand their role in their career choices or seek help when they need it, then perhaps their opinions will be more enlightened when they complete their degrees. Opinions matter but it is better to be informed instead of just being opinionated.
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