At Paré Consulting, we help universities reposition career services from a support office to a strategic asset—one that drives enrollment, improves retention, shortens time to degree, reduces student anxiety, and strengthens institutional ROI.

We partner with presidents, provosts, and campus leaders to align career strategy with institutional priorities—especially at a time when accountability, value, and student outcomes are under pressure.

You may need outside support if:

• Your ROI story is unclear
  Prospective families don’t see the value—and enrollment is stalling.

• Retention is slipping
  Students are disengaged, undecided, or switching majors too late.

• Career outcomes are lagging
  Your results aren’t keeping pace with peer institutions or accountability demands.

• Policy pressure is growing
  Federal and state expectations around outcomes are tightening—and fast.

• Campus culture resists alignment
  Faculty and staff aren’t on board with a career readiness mission.

• Silos are slowing you down
  You’re struggling to align efforts across decentralized offices.

• Your career center has lost trust

It’s focused on the wrong work, missed key signals, or underperformed—and now leadership doubts its value. 

• Equity gaps persist
  Vulnerable students aren’t getting the support they need to succeed.

• External partners are raising red flags
  Alumni and employers say students aren’t ready.

• You’ve invested—but progress is flat
  Tools, platforms, and partnerships haven’t delivered meaningful traction.

• Your peers are pulling ahead
  In rankings, public dashboards, and real institutional outcomes.

Read the case for action →  

We bring clarity, strategy, and momentum to help you move from scattered efforts to system-level change.

Institutions we work with typically see:

• Clearer messaging around career ROI—internally and externally

• Better alignment between leadership, faculty, and career services

• More effective, measurable student outcomes

• Greater employer and alumni engagement

• A stronger position in a competitive higher ed market

• Renewed energy and buy-in from career services teams

You don't have to figure this out alone. Talk with us→ 

We tailor every engagement to your institutional goals, context, and constraints. Whether you're navigating change, building alignment, or scaling impact, we help you move from scattered efforts to coordinated strategy.

Our consulting work often includes:

• Landscape assessments
  Stakeholder interviews and ecosystem mapping to understand what's working—and what's not.

• Strategy development
  Vision setting, prioritization, and actionable plans aligned with institutional goals.

• Implementation roadmaps
  Phased timelines with early wins, long-term impact, and change management support.

• Career competencies & experiential learning integration
  Support for frameworks, rubrics, curriculum alignment, and student development pathways.

• Tool development
  Dashboards, reflection guides, assessment rubrics, communications and messaging guides, and planning frameworks—custom-built for your campus.

• Peer benchmarking

Comparison to national trends and peer schools to assess gaps, highlight opportunities, and support data-informed advocacy. 

• Stakeholder engagement
  Cross-campus alignment through facilitated sessions, executive briefings, and collaborative planning processes.

We don’t do off-the-shelf. We build systems that work—for your team, your students, and your leadership.

Let's talk about what's possible→  

Most consultants stop at operations. We don’t.

We bring the strategic insight, institutional fluency, and leadership experience to reposition career services as a true driver of ROI, retention, and relevance.

Here’s what sets us apart:

Cross-Divisional Expertise

We speak both languages—academic affairs and student affairs. That means we can build bridges where others hit roadblocks, align deans and faculty with career strategy, and help you embed career readiness into the academic experience.

Institutional Strategy, Not Just Service Delivery

We don’t just optimize processes—we help you position career services as a core solution to your institution’s most pressing challenges: enrollment, retention, accountability, and long-term sustainability.

Credibility That Gets Buy-In

We’ve been in the seat. With deep leadership experience in career services, we bring credibility with front-line staff—and the strategic mindset that earns trust with presidents and provosts. We help you move from resistance to momentum.

Custom Tools, Built for You

From dashboards and career competency rubrics to stakeholder reports and communication frameworks—we don’t drop in with theory. We leave you with tools that drive results and support implementation.

Peer Comparisons that Drive Strategy

We contextualize your work with national and peer data and benchmarks that resonate with leadership, support budget asks, and sharpen your competitive edge.

A Thought Partner You Can Trust

We’re not just consultants. We’re collaborators. We stay in the trenches with you—thinking through the politics, pressure, and practical realities that come with change.

Let’s talk about how we can support your team→  

Save time. Move forward faster.

Campus change takes time—but it doesn’t have to stall.
We help you make faster, more informed decisions with a clear-eyed view of what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus first.

Reposition career services as more than a student service.

Career services isn’t just about career readiness—it’s a strategic lever for solving broader institutional challenges:
Enrollment. Retention. ROI. Student well-being.
We help you connect the dots, frame the work, and build support at the highest levels.

Engage more voices, with less resistance.

We bring a neutral perspective that creates space for honest conversations across silos—while building momentum and reducing pushback.
Faculty. Deans. Student affairs. Admissions. Employers. Everyone gets a seat—and a stake—in shaping the vision.

Accelerate change with real traction.

We don’t just diagnose problems. We give you the tools, data, language, and support to move forward with confidence—and results that resonate with leadership.