Yes, the college career services should offer the following stock services:
- Resume and cover letter help (I’d argue that cover letters are a waste)
- Mock interviews – know how to talk and be self aware
- Resources for soul searching to figure out skills and interests
I’d expand with the following:
- No nonsense, active tips, in the vein of Ramit Sethi, where individuals are encouraged to be aware of their strengths and market the hell out of them.
- Industry, pull-the-curtain-back on how businesses and careers run, styled like Penelope Trunks‘ detailed missives.
- Light hearted life coaching that encourages personal introspection, ala Therese Schwenkler
- Big, bold, constructive, have no fear to do good work, as told by Seth Godin
What links the four individuals? An emphasis on active actions (monster.com, sending out resumes are passive), where we’re self aware of what the hell we’re doing.
Sethi details psychology of actions and their perceived impacts. He may come across as arrogant in his style, however, fine tune his advice to the point of self  confidence. Formatting and whitespace on a resume ain’t gonna do that.
Trunk hails as the veteran, the insider, the one who’s been there and still doing it. Â She seeks out information to gleam insights into trends or to justify why a common approach really doesn’t work. She emphasizes doing something and learning about what your learning–random jobs can teach you something.
Schwenkler brings the “life balance” dialogue to the career center. Â If you’re not happy, aren’t aware of your attitudes, all your relationships will be a challenge. She’s that cool, slightly quirky advisor that can actually relate to people.
Godin is a marketer of life. Â His writing belies an understanding that puts everything into perspective–career and life and all that we want to do with it. So long as we’re honest, working to do the right thing and not be afraid of our self doubts, we’ll be successful.