Couldn’t make it to a career services or career education conference this season? 

Or maybe you attended NC ACE, CECU, NACE, Florida ACE or EACE, but missed the Career Forge booth because the time evaporated in a blur of sessions, keynotes, and local attractions.

Either way, we’ve got you covered. 

This blog post recaps the most talked-about topics in our booth at several spring and summer events, revealing what’s top of mind for career services and career education teams across the country.

Let’s start with some heartfelt appreciation…

🏆 Award-Winning (And Worth a Look)

Thank you, everyone, for the genuine in-person congratulations, emailed celebrations, and comments on our LinkedIn post about winning the 2025 NACE Business Affiliate Innovation Award. 

If your career services management platform doesn’t do what you need it to, consider the software built exclusively on career services feedback for career services people to enhance student outcomes. 

No more exhausting workarounds or pre-set data fields more aligned with sales than student outcomes and employer relations.

💼 Experiential Learning Is Now Essential

Experiential learning (EL) is no longer a nice-to-have program. Every day, more conference attendees in each city tell us their institutions are considering or have already made it a graduation requirement. 

Then they asked two urgent questions:

1. How can we scale EL opportunities across programs and departments?
2. How will we track student participation and outcomes in a meaningful way?

💡Here’s a thought… Career Forge | Experiential Learning 💡

Our EL module is purpose-built to help schools scale, manage, and measure experiential learning, without adding administrative burden. From centralized tracking to real-time outcome reporting, Career Forge gives you the tools to make EL work at scale.

🤝 Relationships > Resumes

Another ever-present theme in our career services conversations at this summer’s conferences: getting back to relationships. Career centers want technology that lets them lead with authentic human career guidance.

Why? Because:

• Students disengage when they feel unseen amidst thousands of resumes.
• Search activity drops on job boards stuffed with irrelevant opportunities.

The Solutions?

-> Put the Right Opportunities in Front of Your Students

Showcase the Career Forge | Job Board: a curated experience where only employer postings approved by your career center are visible to your students. No random .edu-targeted spam, no noise—just roles that are relevant, vetted, and aligned with your students' goals.

-> Or Focus on the Prep

Support the student relationship where it often matters most: in conversation. Career Forge | Coaching offers a customizable, student-first appointment system designed for real guidance, not generic scheduling. Empower students to find the right coach, the right topic, and the right time—all on their terms.

📉 Doing More with Less

Career services professionals are doing more than ever, with tighter budgets and smaller teams. Too many conference attendees shared the same frustration of losing time with students and employers trying to make sales-based software do career services work.

That’s why we built Career Forge and prioritized:

• Customizable workflows that match the way you work.
• Direct support with responsive human help.
• Scalable tools to reduce manual work and free up time for students.

🔥 Career Forge expands resources with customizable workflows, data fields, and reporting🔥