Effect of Brief Staff-Assisted Career Service Delivery on Drop-In Clients

Ideally, clients seeking career counseling should be seen as soon as they reach out for help (DiMino & Blau, 2012). Yet an increasing number of clients seeking services coupled with reduced resources often leads to longer wait times (Gabriel, 2010; Gallagher, 2010). For example, a comparison of national career center surveys (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2013, 2014) showed an increase in the student-to-professional ratio from 1,889:1 to 2,370:1, while the nonpersonnel median annual operating budget decreased almost 50%, from $69,887 to $34,000.Responding to an increased student demand for career services, the Career Center at Florida State University in Tallahassee implemented a differentiated service delivery model (i.e., self-help services, brief staff-assisted services, and individual case-managed services) based on cognitive information processing (CIP) theory (Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004) more than 40 years ago. Self-help services, which differ from "counselor-free" (Kronholz, 2015, p. 282) services, are designed for more independent use, in that counselors are relied on in a time-limited format to refer users to appropriate educational and occupational information. Individual case-managed services provide the same type of services as brief staff-assisted services, but on an extended basis because of the client's low readiness, as evidenced by his or her low decision-making capability, high complexity of issues compounding the decision-making process, and possible mental health issues. The goal of this differentiated service delivery model is to maximize the number of people who can be served by providing an optimal amount and type of assistance that meets clients' needs.The present study examined the experience of brief staff-assisted career counseling based on CIP theory. The study was guided by three objectives: (a) to examine the effects of brief staff-assisted career delivery interventions on drop-in clients, (b) to determine clients' attitudes about the quality of brief staff-assisted career counseling, and (c) to assess the strength of the relationship between the endorsement of selected counseling process variables and changes in outcome variables with regard to clients' perceptions of their knowledge about next steps, confidence in making next steps, and anxiety about career concerns.MethodParticipantsParticipants were 138 volunteer clients (60% women) of a career center at a large southeastern university who presented with varied concerns. They ranged in age from 17 to 39 years, with an average age of 21 years (SD = 2.81). Of the participants, 61% identified as White, 17% as Latino, 12% as African American, 6% as Asian American, and 4% as being of another race or ethnicity. With regard to academic level, 19% were freshmen, 20% were sophomores, 24% were juniors, 25% were seniors, 3% were 5th-year students or higher, 5% were graduate students, 1% were community members, and 3% were other. Career center statistics during the year in which this study was completed indicated that of 13,966 drop-in clients, 10,639 (76%) were female. The majority of the drop-in clients were seniors (54%), followed by juniors (20%), sophomores (12%), graduate students (10%), freshmen (3%), and alumni or community members (1%). Career center data for race/ethnicity of drop-in clients were not available.SettingThe career center in this study provides services designed to meet the needs of college students and community members through self-directed, brief staff-assisted, or individual case-managed interventions. Career advisers are trained in general counseling skills in a graduate counseling program and receive up to 90 hours of specific training in CIP theory, career information, and counseling skills. Each adviser receives up to 1 hour per week of counselor supervision by senior staff members, and supervisors receive supervision by certified or licensed senior staff and faculty. …