NACE Excellence Awards
Best Practice or Program—Information Resources for Students—College
Michigan State University—Career Passport
Students who visited any of the
five career centers at Michigan State
University this year usually left with
more than just a bit of resume or interview
advice. In addition to receiving
the services they sought, students
walked away with a 70-page
glossy “graphic novel” that covers
just about every step of planning for
a career—from writing a resume to
finding a mentor.
Kelley Bishop, executive director of career services, says the university’s 2007-2008 Career Passport, which also is distributed during workshops, class presentations, and admissions sessions for prospective students, strives to be “a highly visual, edgy publication that is content- and design-forward.” Part of that “edge” is the stylized, anime-like representations of students that often speak in cartoonbubble style.
“How do I sort out my career options?” asks a “student” on page 12. “I have a major, but I don’t know what I can do with it.”
Other characters, some drawn full
face, others in silhouette, ask and answer
similar questions throughout the
publication, their words interspersed
amid longer passages of text that include
details on what the career center
has to offer and short articles on career
exploration, resume and cover-letter
writing, job-search strategies, interviewing,
negotiating job offers, and
much more.
Bishop says the career center network staff, which publishes a Career Passport annually, agreed last year to “do something new and cool,” for the next issue, and found Tom Ruffley, an already-published graphic design student, to illustrate the publication.
Staff members who participated directly in preparing the publication are Renee Hall, writer, web site team; Linda Gross, assistant director, career exploration; Eric Doerr, associate director, Lear Corporate Career Services Center; Tammison Smith, career advising supervisor; John Hill, internship coordinator; and Courtney Chapin, career consultant, College of Arts and Letters.
“They really did think outside of the box,” Bishop says of the staff, adding that everyone recognized the cardinal rule of communicating with students. “It’s not what we think is cool, it’s what they think is cool.” Bishop says that while the Passport has been designed by a professional for the past several years, after the formatting provided by third-party publishers proved unsatisfactory, this year’s effort “puts the edge in edgy.”
“As in actual graphic novels, Career Passport characters advance the plot with dialogue and inner monologues,” Bishop says. “The result grabs the reader’s attention by putting an interesting twist on the usual expectations.”
Bishop adds that the new concept also grabbed the attention of advertisers, including small, local businesses that received reduced rates on small “partner” ads.
“We’re breaking even on this,” he says, pointing out that, with a press run of 20,000, that’s important.
“We’re living in a world now where our students are very, very savvy consumers,” Bishop says, pointing out that students who grew up in an era of instant messaging and high-end video games won’t settle for anything stodgy “They want media that speaks to and is driven by them. If our career guide isn’t cool and hip, they’re not going to take a look at us.”
