At 12twenty_live, college and university career services leaders came together to tackle shared challenges.
Across the keynotes, the 2026 Jobs Report release, the peer-led sessions, and product sessions and announcements, one message was consistent: owning what matters means owning your data, your systems, and your institutional impact.
Now is more of an important time than ever to make sure you own what matters, so that you are set up for success and your institution can evolve with the changing needs of the students and the employer market.
The opening keynote challenged career centers to rethink ownership. Ownership of outcomes data, of student and employer relationships, and of the systems that power their work. New product innovations were introduced with a clear lens: helping institutions reduce friction, increase visibility, and scale career services without losing trust or control.
→ The key message was: Stop renting your relationships. To scale without losing trust, you must own your data, your employer network, and your platform.
The 12twenty Jobs Report grounded the event in real-world hiring data, highlighting how internships, experiential learning, and early signals increasingly shape long-term outcomes. Rather than reacting to headlines, career leaders were encouraged to use this data to inform strategy, set expectations, and tell a clear ROI story on campus.
For a deeper look at the findings and implications, explore the full 2026 Jobs Report analysis.
Iowa State shared how they scaled career events across seven colleges while maintaining a unified experience for students and employers. They showed how thoughtful backend coordination and consistent communication can turn decentralized programs into a cohesive campus-wide strategy. Read their full case study here.
UNC Kenan-Flagler demonstrated how defining “actively managed” employers – and supporting those relationships with outcomes, hiring trends, and year-over-year data – elevates employer engagement. Their approach positioned the career center as a strategic partner, not just a touchpoint.
This hands-on lab walked through how to design OCI (On Campus Interviews) periods, rounds, and schedules with intention, balancing student access, employer needs, and administrative efficiency. Attendees left with practical guidance on configuring OCI rules, leveraging in-app video, and reporting on interview activity with confidence.
Learn how you can improve your OCI strategy here.
Product announcements focused on making outcomes easier to capture, analyze, and share across students, alumni, employers, and campus partners. The emphasis was on stronger foundations: cleaner data, smarter workflows, and better insights that career leaders can confidently take to stakeholders.
This workshop helped attendees move beyond static reports to dashboards that answer real leadership questions about engagement, outcomes, and ROI. The focus was on building a data culture that aligns career services with admissions, academics, and executive leadership priorities.
Through peer-led rotations, career leaders exchanged practical wins and challenges across onboarding, campus partnerships, and outcomes collection. The session reinforced that many of the most scalable ideas in career services emerge through shared experience and collaboration.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville shared how they’ve embedded experiential learning, competencies, and digital badges into a unified Career Services 3.0 model. This session highlighted how centralized data and shared workflows enable institutions to scale access while maintaining rigor and accountability.
We will upload the best sessions soon to our webinar on-demand database. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get notified when they are live!
The closing session spotlighted how career teams are using outcomes surveys, analytics, alumni data, and AI-powered solutions to reduce friction and increase visibility across the 12twenty platform. The takeaway: most institutions already have what they need, and greater success comes from using it more intentionally.
12twenty_live reinforced that the future of career services belongs to teams that can pair human guidance with trusted data, and use both to drive institutional impact. Owning what matters isn’t about doing more; it’s about focusing on what truly moves outcomes forward.
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