Not long after completing Calbright’s Medical Coding program, Vivian got a job in the health care industry. “It’s the first job that really feels like it fits,” she said.
She also said she received two things from Calbright that she needed to be hired in the role. The first was the essential technical skills employers look for.
“They asked me about specific coding scenarios, and I’m like ‘oh, I know this,’” she said. “I had an answer. I left the interview feeling so happy.”
The second was support designing a resume and cover letter that would help businesses to understand she has the skills they’re looking for, and what she is capable of.
Vivian sent off her first round of applications without consulting with Calbright’s Career Services program, or faculty from her Calbright programs, and they went nowhere, not even an email in response. So she went to the head of the Medical Coding program, Calbright faculty member Cindy Carney, for advice.
Cindy went over Vivian’s resume and cover letters with her.
“Cindy looked it through and told me ‘this is what you should tweak,’ because sometimes it’s the format of the resume and the way you present the information, not the information itself, that can be the issue,” Vivian said. ”So I re-uploaded my resume on job board websites and started applying again. And then I started getting callbacks, and interview invites. Cindy has helped me out through this entire journey, and always been advocating for me. Sometimes that’s career advice, sometimes it’s just being a person I could talk to and laugh with.”
This is a story that is very common at Calbright, where learners who complete their programs say that both the technical skills they gained and the job search support received were essential in getting on the career path they wanted.
Binh, an IT Support student, said his teachers at Calbright pointed him toward a job he loves but had never thought of: a senior developer in test at a medical device company.
“Calbright really provided all the tools and support I needed,” he said. “They would talk me through my anxiety, talk me through putting my resume together, do practice interviews, work on mindfulness.”
Data Analysis student Jeanette felt like she was at a dead end in her career before it had even really started. So she enrolled in Calbright. She got the skills she needed to work with data, and the career support to take advantage of them.
“I met with my career counselor at Calbright, we went over my resume and that was a huge help. I was able to include keywords based on my experience to be able to match what was asked on the job description and ended up getting the job, and that’s where I am now,” she said.
Calbright is still a young and relatively new college, established in 2018, and for its first few years the only relevant data it had on how its alumni were doing came in the form of surveys showing that Calbright’s students are overwhelmingly satisfied with the education they get, that Calbright helped them achieve their education and career goals, and that they are recommending Calbright to friends.
But over time, Calbright has worked tirelessly to collect statistically significant data on student outcomes in order to know whether its programs give students the kind of support that makes a real difference in their lives.
That research shows: Completing Calbright’s programs has a measurable, positive impact on students’ lives.
Working with CredLens,a nonprofit national data trust, and the Strada Education Foundation, which manages, and analyzes data on non-degree credentials in the U.S., Calbright’s research shows that more than 80% of Calbright completers are employed a year after graduation, and that the median Calbright graduate makes over $10,000 more annually than they did before enrolling.
Those are exactly the results Calbright sees playing out, over and over again, with students like Vivian, Binh, and Jeanette. Getting the skills they need to excel in new careers, and then getting the support they need to make sure companies understand what they can do.
That changes lives.
Maurice, an IT Support student, had been working in landscaping for 10 years, but always wanted to move into tech.
“At first, when I saw an ad for Calbright, it was like ‘it’s too good to be true!’ But when I looked further and found out what Calbright was doing, I was like ‘who would pass this up?’” he said.
He enrolled in the IT Support program and was astonished at “all the resources and support Calbright provides. I’ve never seen any place offer as many resources as Calbright.”
He noticed a difference in the responses he was getting to his job applications, and now is working as a helpdesk technician at a hospital.
Maurice speaks for many students when he says Calbright is “a one stop shop for whatever course you’re going for. Don’t be afraid! I was just a beginner, and once I trusted the process it all came together and I learned so much.”
