K4A: Reaching the Diverse Adult Workforce Population

K4A: Reaching the Diverse Adult Workforce Population

This article is the first in a four-part series on Kuder^® 4 Adults.

By: Catalina D’Achiardi-Ressler, Ph.D.
Kuder, Inc. Vice President of Research

Kuder, Inc. recently announced the release of Kuder 4 Adults (K4A), which was developed as a result of the high demand for a solution to help address the career planning needs of a diverse adult workforce population within an ever-changing national economy. K4A includes a variety of tools to help any adult through their career planning and job search process. The product includes customized features for eight different adult user populations to provide them with an enhanced experience throughout the system. These populations include:

Adults just out of school looking for their first full-time job.
Adults with work experience seeking a new or better job in their same occupation within their company.
Adults with work experience seeking a new or better job in their same occupation outside their company.
Adults with work experience wanting to explore a change to an entirely different occupation.
Veterans transitioning from the military to a civilian job.
Adults with a disability that may affect job placement.
Ex-offenders transitioning to the free world.
Retirees seeking another job or volunteer work.

Once users complete the registration process, the system suggests a personal pathway based on their selections. Each pathway includes a menu highlighting a suggested course of action for navigating the system; however, users always have access to the four steps of K4A: 1) Take an Assessment; 2) Make a List of Occupations; 3) Consider Education or Training; and 4) Get Ready for Job Search (Check Kuder User News, Vol. 7, Issue 1 for more information on each step).

K4A is currently being used by adults in four states, and will soon be released nationwide. In an effort to increase awareness of the many features available for each user type in K4A, this issue of Kuder User News marks the beginning of a series in which we will highlight two of the eight pathways. It is our hope that this information will enable practitioners to better serve their adult populations when using K4A.

A Look at Two K4A Pathways: Adults Just Out of School & Retirees

Adults Just Out of School Looking for Their First Full-Time Job

In addition to the four steps of K4A, here is a list outlining the actions that have been customized for this population:

Find an Internship: Many students find their first full-time employment at the workplace where they complete internships. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), in 2007, employers extended full-time offers to 70 percent of their interns and almost 90 percent of them say that they are satisfied with those they have hired. It is for this reason we provided this additional tool where students can connect directly to MonsterTRAK’s internship search engine.

Attend a Job Fair: This tool allows users to search for the nearest job fairs in their local communities. It also helps recent grads learn how to make the best out of this opportunity to seek employers.

Use Your College Alumni Association: Almost all higher education institutions have an alumni office that keeps track of their graduates. They often have a network of alumni and employers that can be a rich source of information to jump-start their job search. This tool helps recent grads search for their school’s alumni office directly from our site.

Use Social Networking Sites: Social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are among the most used web sites in the United States and around the world. They provide easy access to a number of “social groups” and may be a way for recent grads to introduce themselves to other professionals in their field and get advice about the job search process. This tool provides recent grads with advice on how to best make use of these sites for professional networking.

Conduct Informational Interviews: Informational interviewing can be a great way to meet potential employers and other professionals. An informational interview is a short question-and-answer session that the recent grad can conduct with a professional currently practicing in their area of interest. This tool provides a list of questions individuals may use for informational interviewing and some tips on how to conduct such interviews.

Retirees Seeking Another Job or Volunteer Work

Beyond the four main steps of K4A, retirees will find the following options in their personal pathway:

Find a Full-Time Job: This tool provides retirees with five quick steps to refresh their job search skills and prepare for the process. The five steps guide users through the process of preparing a list of occupations that leverage skills from previous jobs held; creating a résumé and cover letter; reviewing their interview skills; and searching for job openings.

Identify Community Activities: Through a short exercise, this tool helps retirees identify activities that may interest them within their community.

Find Volunteer Work: This tool links the user directly to SeniorCorps, a site that helps users identify how their unique background and experience may suit organizations in need of volunteers. Through SeniorCorps, users connect with opportunities to become mentors, coaches, or companions to people in need, or contribute their job skills and expertise to community projects and organizations.

Find Part-Time or Temporary Work: This tool links users directly to PrimeCB, a search engine that helps people over the age of 50 find part-time and temporary work in their community.

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Kuder, Inc. 302 Visions Parkway Adel, IA 50003 800.314.8972 www.kuder.com • news@kuder.com