Session Information
2010 NACE Annual Conference
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Work/Life Balance: Considerations for Career Decisions
Track : Professional Development
Program Code: 240
Date: Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Time: 1:00 PM to 2:15 PM  EST
Location: Anaheim
SPEAKER :
Catherine Neiner, Agnes Scott College, Members of the NACE Principles Committee
Description
"What would you do if you knew the candidate you were interviewing would drop out of the work force within eight years? What would you do if you knew a student you were career counseling would probably have a non-linear career path but was not ready to acknowledge that? We do a good job of educating our students in the knowledge and skills necessary to pursue a career, but are we adequately preparing our students for the life choices that sometime challenge pursuit of that career? We do a good job of recruiting students into our organizations. But are we adequately structuring the work environment so that we retain them? As this generation enters the work force, and particularly as more women than men graduate from college, work/life balance has gained importance in students' career decisions. How do career services professionals advise students who want flexibility in their schedules because of family or community commitments? How do employers structure work so that women and men can maintain meaningful careers and so that the business can retain their knowledge and skills? This session will explore findings on the primary component that employees say impacts work/life balance—flexibility in work schedule—and how it should inform our work. Thought-provoking findings on workplace flexibility will be presented. Then we will all explore questions, including: How we can inform students' thinking processes as they go into their first post-college jobs to better achieve work/life balance? What are ways that work can be structured to the satisfaction of both organization and employee? Who are our allies among faculty, parents, and colleagues?

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