Managing Change as you Move Toward a Career Ecosystem

By Monique Frost

Consultant, The Career Leadership Collective

Many of us have heard the phrase, "Change is inevitable." While we acknowledge its truth, preparing for change often takes a back seat in our daily priorities. Yet, as campus leaders, career centers, and institutions navigate the shift into the Career Ecosystem Era, the need for intentional adaptation has never been more urgent. Transitioning from the traditional Career Center Era to a dynamic Career Ecosystem demands a mindset that embraces institutionalizing career services. 

While many campuses are making meaningful progress toward more impactful career development for students, others remain constrained by the challenges of change, leaving them vulnerable and underprepared. As teams implement new approaches, they often encounter familiar mental roadblocks, such as "But this is how we've always done it," and "If we change, what does that mean for my role?" These thought barriers can stall innovation and reinforce outdated models, making it all the more important to foster a culture that embraces change rather than resists it.

So, how does your campus and career center handle change? If change is a regular occurrence, how can one actively prepare for what lies ahead? Staff turnover, budget constraints, leadership transitions, shifts in workforce trends, skills development, and the growing demand for lifelong learning are just a few examples of changes every career team must be equipped to manage– all while building a career ecosystem. 

The good news about building a career ecosystem that benefits all students is that it doesn’t require a big org chart change, a large influx of resources, or renaming everything. However, it does require repurposing time toward embedded career learning. Right-sizing what is and is not changing as you build a career ecosystem is paramount to staff and faculty buy-in.  

Equipping career teams and campus communities to navigate career ecosystem change begins with institutional priorities and alignment around core values. When teams understand what matters most—and keep those priorities at the heart of their work—they lay the groundwork for a resilient and adaptable career ecosystem. This alignment is most effective when approached proactively, rather than reactively.

A reactive stance includes:

• Responding after the fact

• Often, implementing a short-term solution

• Waiting for questions

A proactive stance includes:

• Thinking ahead

• Strategically creating and nurturing the right opportunities

• Leading active communications 

Both approaches have value; however, overreliance on a reactive posture can erode overall preparedness and a team's trust in change. A healthy balance between the two is essential to maintaining equilibrium in a constantly changing environment. To ensure actual readiness, alignment across all levels—both internal (on campus) and external (industry, community, partners)—is critical. 

In his recent book, The Career Ecosystem Era, Jeremy Podany emphasizes the need to proactively clarify where you are in the change process,

"Even though your institution's career services primarily reflect the older Career Center Paradigm, you may be dabbling in Ecosystem Era practices...Any steps you have already taken can indicate momentum toward positive change. A thorough assessment of your current practices can help you understand where you are, where you need to go, why, how, and how fast."

An example of a Career Center shifting from a reactive to a proactive posture is John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio (JCU). The JCU staff have taken a more sustainable and scalable approach by strategically thinking ahead and recognizing the limitations of relying solely on a one-on-one career advising model, which can strain lean teams and lead to overload and burnout. They calculated that, on average, new career staff members remained on staff for 3 to 5 years. Rather than looking for a short-term solution, (insert title), (insert name),  mobilized the career team to think of a resource that could be created by career center staff but galvanized and executed by campus partners. They are now incorporating faculty-embedded career development curriculum options, allowing all faculty members to seamlessly integrate career readiness into their course syllabi. This collaborative model not only eases the burden on career services staff but also ensures equity around career development while creating a shared responsibility across campus.

Another great example of a campus career center taking a proactive stance is the University of Oklahoma. With over 60% of the student population involved in athletics, the Career Center embraces an integrated approach by empowering the athletic department to lead career development. Through active communication and interaction, the athletic department implements this strategy and meets students where they are, leveraging existing relationships and structures to embed career readiness into their daily experiences.

As Career Centers strive to adopt a more proactive stance rather than a reactive one, we must ask ourselves: What types of change are we prepared to embrace, and what types are we not? Building a clear change preparedness framework to answer this question is essential. Such a framework enables campus ecosystems to navigate uncertainty with intention and resilience. When The Collective works with career center leadership teams, we lead them through a few key questions to lay the groundwork for a proactive strategy:

1. Excellence: 

   1. What builds a high-performance culture? 

   2. How do we recruit + keep great staff? 

2. Energy:

   1. If we list out our programs, what is our Effort vs. Impact, and what shall we start, stop, or continue? 

   2. Is our team focused on their top priorities, saying yes and no to the right tasks?

3. System-Wide:

   1. How much time are we spending on integrating our work vs. just doing out work?

   2. How do we connect more deeply to the classroom and academic advising?

4. Progress:

   1. What leading and lagging outcomes are we trying to grow?

   2. What are our bright spots

5. Awareness:

   1. What words should we consistently use to provide our audience with a fresh, relevant, and inspiring path to career readiness?

   2. Where, how, and to whom do we need to connect regularly?

By intentionally addressing these five areas, career teams and campus leaders can lay the foundation for a more agile, aligned, and forward-thinking career ecosystem that is prepared for change and actively shaped by it. Thus, they can further cultivate a healthy campus career ecosystem. 

Is your team or campus ready for change? We'd love to talk with you to discuss how you can accelerate and grow your career ecosystem. To connect with one of our team, reach out to services@careerleadershipcollective.com

Monique Frost is a consultant and facilitator with The Collective. She brings over a decade of professional experience in higher education, including roles in Career Services, Residence Life, Student Orientation, and Student Counseling. Monique values learning, growth, and development, and seeks partnerships to assist constituents in achieving excellence. Her focus is on contributing to the success and growth of institutions, teams, and individuals.