Leading Career Services in a Decentralized Model (feat. Erica Kryst)

In this episode of the Career Everywhere podcast, host Meredith Metsker welcomes Dr. Erica Kryst, Executive Director of Career Services at Cornell University, to discuss how she leads a decentralized but highly collaborative career services function.

Erica, a first-generation college student with degrees in musical theater and communications, brings a unique perspective to her leadership. She draws on her own experiences growing up in rural Pennsylvania with limited early exposure to career options and emphasizes the importance of collaboration, context, and enthusiasm in her approach to career services.

A major focus of the conversation is Cornell’s decentralized structure, where there’s a central career center (where Erica works) and each college also has its own career center.

Erica explains the strengths of this model, such as providing students with highly personalized and discipline-specific support, while also ensuring broad access to shared resources and tools like uConnect, Handshake, and more. She highlights the systems in place for regular communication and collaboration among career staff across campus, including all-staff meetings, shared committees, and digital tools like Microsoft Teams, which help keep 80+ staff members aligned and working toward common goals.

The episode also dives into a functional review currently underway at Cornell, aimed at reimagining career services to ensure equity, streamline employer relations, and enhance student access to support.

Erica shares insights into the process of gathering input from a wide range of stakeholders, the push towards a more hybrid and unified model, and the need to sustain staff motivation and student-focused innovation. Drawing from her own career journey, Erica encourages other career leaders in decentralized environments to understand the specific context of their institutions, prioritize student needs above all, and foster a culture of curiosity and open partnership.

Resources from the episode:

• Erica’s LinkedIn profile
• Erica’s email: [email protected] 
• Cornell’s virtual career center (powered by uConnect)

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