Month: May 2018

Best Practices - Conference Updates - Hot Topics - Professional Development

Building Your Tribe Through Strategic Relationships

May 18, 2018 by 2 Comments

By Erica Lake, University of South Carolina
College of Hospitality, Retail & Sport Management

Does it seem like everyone has a mentor but you? Are you wondering how to take your career to the next level? This blog post will focus on methods to build relationships that provide mentorship experiences throughout your career; and many are through associations like the Southern Association of Colleges & Employers (SoACE) and the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE).  When thinking about mentorship, it is often thought of as a one-to-one relationship that is formal and over a long period.  In my recent professional experience, I have been stretched to re-imagine different aspects of mentorship.  In essence, the foundation of mentorship begins with a relationship.  We will explore how to build strategic relationships through formal mentors, peer-to-peer relationships and short-term interactions that can positively influence your professional career. We will also explore ways to make new professional connections that can affect your career through storytelling. In addition, you can learn how to incorporate mentoring techniques during your interactions with students to contribute to their success. I hope that by the end of this blog, you will have a few tools for finding your next mentor.

What is mentorship? Levinson, Darrow, Klein, McKee (1978) describe it as “Career advancement and psycho-social support.”  Based on my experience, mentorship can apply to almost any area in your life.  Mentoring has also been equated to coaching and helping someone along.  Serving as a father (or mother) figure who sponsors and guides a younger person.

It’s important to note that I have had both male and female mentors of different races and ages.  The most important aspect of the mentorship relationship in my opinion is common ground and similar interests.

Mentoring is described as a two-way or reciprocal process, which provides benefits also for the mentor. For instance, the work of Levinson et al. (1978) found that mentoring rejuvenates mentors’ careers since it enables them to assist and shape the professional and personal development of mentees. According to Douglas (1997), other benefits for the mentor include increased confidence, personal fulfillment and assistance on projects. In relation to the benefits for the organization, Murray and Owen (1991) identify several benefits of formal mentoring programs including increased productivity, improved recruitment efforts, motivation of senior staff, and enhancement of services offered by the organization.

One of our USC Sport and Entertainment doctoral students,  Evelyn Jara-Pazmino, is researching mentorship in the sports industry. She is researching mentorship for international student athletes and likened mentorship to having a coach to help you assimilate to the culture of the team and the environment.  The message in numerous professional articles is clear that there are benefits to mentoring relationships.  Everyone wins: the mentor and mentee.

How do I get started?  Find someone, with whom you have a connection and similar goals. Some tips suggest working hard to be noticed.  While I agree, I also believe you can proactively ask to connect on LinkedIn or grab coffee.

What do I need to know?  Check out these tips for the mentoring relationship from the LeanIn organization.

Remember to value your mentor’s time by asking thoughtful questions about challenges you are facing.  Do not just use it as time to catch up.  View feedback as a gift.  Women are more likely to receive vague feedback than men, which disadvantages us at promotion time.  2/3 men said senior leaders helped them advance compared to 1/3 women.

According to Sheryl Sandberg, mentorship and sponsorship are crucial to career progression.  Mentorship can often evolve into sponsorship, as illustrated by Larry Summers’ decision to hire Sandberg early in her career.  She suggests, instead of asking someone to mentor you, focus on making a good impression on that person and allowing a relationship to develop naturally.  A track record of performance and openness to feedback can help motivate mentors to invest further in developing protégés.  Loyalty and honesty are key characteristics of the relationship between mentor and protégé.  When protégés reach a position of power, they can both “pay it back” by helping their mentor when needed and “pay it forward” by helping others.

I love this video from Sheryl Sandberg’s movement #LeanInTogether.  It discusses how mentorship has impacted celebrities in their career: http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/23/technology/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in-new-campaign/index.html

My Mentorship Journey

It’s story time.  When I began my professional career, I didn’t think that I had ever had a mentor, but now when I look back, I realize that I actually had my first mentor at a young age.  As I’ve already mentioned, mentorship needs change over time.  My first recollection of a mentoring relationship was when I was in junior high and a librarian helped me to perfect an essay that I wrote for an essay competition.  We worked tirelessly on it for a while and I was successful.  He coached me throughout the process.  Then in high school, I participated in a speech competition and won at the local level.  When preparing for the regional competition, I had a mentor who introduced me to Toastmasters International and helped me to prepare for the next level of competition.  In my professional career, various supervisors have served as mentors.  And in my current job, I was able to secure a mentor by asking a question in the Director’s Think Tank at the 2017 SoACE Conference.  I’d recently began a new job and wanted information about strategic planning.  I made a comment during the group discussion and talked with this thought leader after the session.  During our conversation, he offered to continue to conversation with me in a mentoring capacity.  This was an amazing opportunity for me and I am very grateful for his generosity!  We speak by phone periodically and he has been very helpful to me in this new role.  I would describe our relationship as a more formal mentorship.

How do you take advantage of short-term mentorship opportunities?  Sign up for consulting sessions offered during the SoACE and NACE conferences.  These conversations with unbiased professionals can provide valuable advice and insight in a short time frame.  They can help plant seeds and move you forward in your career.

Get involved through a Knowledge Group or committee.  These opportunities have provided me with a network of professionals that I can call throughout the country, if I have a question about a certain aspect of the profession.  It is an invaluable resource.  The more you are involved, the more opportunities will be presented to you.

What about you?  What experiences have you had?  What are you trying to accomplish? 

Mentorship seems to be chic now.  What are celebrities and industry executives saying?

“As they say, friendship is essential to the soul.  Find out where people are that you want to meet.  Share advice, talk about having further conversations.  Develop friendships with like minds.  Put yourself out there and share your personal thoughts.” – Steve Harvey

When seeking a mentor, we have to be genuinely curious about the other person’s path and be interested in them.
Former NFL and Super Bowl Head Coach, Tony Dugee, says [we should] think of others before ourselves.

Boeing Executive, Elizabeth Lund, says “as I’ve progressed throughout my career, I think I’ve learned that the key to success is people – your peers, your friends, and your colleagues.”  She tells about a mentor who helped her to be selected to attend MIT on the company to receive her master’s degree in engineering.  This mentor also sponsored her and when she returned, she was asked to take on top assignments and get noticed by leadership.

Who are the individuals who can help you?  Who can you help?  Care and be a friend.  Just ask…informational interviewing, job shadowing, make connections, grab lunch and coffee.

My Mentor’s Story

I asked my current mentor about his experience with mentorship and he shared that a professor saw something in him.  The professor believed in him and encouraged him to pursue a PhD.  He didn’t have any ideas about a research topic and the professor shared that he could help.  He shared that an association that he was involved in could use some specific data and that he would help him throughout the process.  This data was used for his dissertation.  This was a powerful relationship.  He also shared some guidance from Kuz and Posner’s Leadership Challenge.  Mentors share a vision and think about how they can help.  They provide encouragement, but also challenge the process.  They help to breakdown barriers and ask hard questions.  They also empower you to act.

In terms of peer-to-peer relationships, these relationships can be just as powerful as formal mentorships.  Let’s call them frentors.  We often discount these relationships, but they are legitimate learning opportunities.

  • Most of us with a higher education and student affairs background know the value of peer leadership and mentoring. In a recent University 101 workshop, I was reminded of how effective peer mentoring is in the University 101 classroom environment.  This concept also works for professionals.  We can learn a significant amount from our peers who are going through similar experiences.  They can be peers who work in the same field or different fields.  For example, a former colleague put together a monthly lunch for like-minded women. It is so valuable to have this outlet to connect personally and professionally.  Additionally, a former staff member of mine gives me advice on educational goals that I have set.  Relationships evolve and it’s important to keep the lines of communication open because roles can often reverse.
  • During one of my listening tours, in which I sought advice from leaders whom I admire, a leader suggested that I develop my own personal board of directors.  These are individuals who can advise on various topics, and will call you on your BS. I’ve been able to do that primarily through colleagues that I met at the NACE Management Leadership Institute in 2013. These women don’t work or live near me, but we connect a few times a year in person, by phone and online.  These relationships are important.
  • Be sure to get involved in associations and meet people.  It’s so important to have people you can call for advice.  It may be related to a new job or learning from others based on your personal and professional goals.  Some of the people I’ve met have asked me to be involved in regional and national committees. There are people that you may meet that can help you to progress into volunteer roles with boards after you get involved.  The sky is the limit!

Which colleagues and friends could you agree to serve as a sounding board for one another?

 

Frentors at NACE 2016
SoACE 2017

Short-term interactions

  • Someone once recommended that I never eat alone. Although it can be costly, meet people for coffee and lunch.  Consider it an investment.  Go to your colleagues’ offices for meetings to learn about them and make personal connections.
  • At various points in my career, I have interviewed people in leadership roles and asked for feedback and their opinions on career-related topics. Although it may be a little awkward, no one has ever said no.  Even if we don’t establish a relationship, at least they know who I am and what I’m trying to accomplish.  It makes an impression.
At the CEIA Conference 2018 I made new connections and received valuable advice from a new mentor.

 Which events or activities can you capitalize on to build meaningful connections and relationships?

Go up and chat after a panel or formal presentation.  Make a comment about something that stood out to you during the talk and ask if you can connect on LinkedIn etc.  Keep the conversation going!

Social media Utilize LinkedIn and social to make connections.  Comment on articles and share the stories that inspire you. Create digital tribes.  Be interested in what others are doing both in person and online.  Learn from others and share your experiences.

Give back One of my mentors gave me great advice.   Get involved. Give Back. Let’s share with one another.  She told me that she appreciated our friendship.  How awesome is that?

Volunteer event in which I mentored students

How can we mentor our students and help others?

  • In the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, we are thinking about ways to connect our students with mentors and help them to reach their goals.
  • I am currently coaching one of our students who wants to move to DC, Nashville or Atlanta to do event planning. She invited me to coffee.  I shared my network and we’ve been emailing about her progress.  I want her to succeed and I was happy to help.  Additionally, others were also happy to help… You have to ASK.
  • As you mentor students, I’d encourage you to use the framework of the NACE Career Readiness Competencies. Think about how we can advise students to gain these meaningful experiences.
  • Now I’m thinking about additional ways to encourage our internship supervisors to serve as mentors for our students during their work experiences.
  • Check out the 8 key areas that students need to master to reach their career goals.  These are great topics to discuss in mentorship conversations.


The National Association of Colleges and Employers Career Competencies are:

  • Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
  • Oral/Written Communications
  • Teamwork/Collaboration
  • Digital Technology
  • Leadership
  • Professionalism/Work Ethic
  • Career Management.
  • Global/Intercultural Fluency

In the words of the African proverb, it takes a village.  Let’s build our tribe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdOL5DwVveA

__________

Erica Lake is the director of the Center for Corporate Engagement in the USC College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management. The majority of her 15-year career at USC has been spent building corporate relationships to connect employers with students for internships and full-time positions. Through career fairs, on-campus interviews and specialized networking events, she’s worked diligently to facilitate professional connections.
Lake serves on the 2017-2018 board of directors for the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE) as the director for targeted knowledge groups.

Lake is a 2013 graduate of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Management Leadership Institute and a 2014 graduate of Leadership Columbia. A two-time graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (public relations) and a Master of Science in Counselor Education (student affairs), Lake has presented on best practices in employer relations at both the NACE annual meeting and the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers annual conference. Lake enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her husband and three children. She is an avid SEC basketball and football enthusiast.

 

Works Cited

  • Levinson, Darrow, Klein, McKee, (1978). Levinson’s Eras Model of Adult Development
  • Jara-Pazmino, (2018). Mentorship as a socialization tactic in the sport industry. University of South Carolina Sport and Entertainment Venues of Tomorrow Conference Presentation.
  • Heimann and Pittenger, (1996). The Impact of Formal Mentorship on Socialization and Commitment of Newcomers.
  • Saks and Ashford, (1997). Organizational Socialization: Making Sense of the Past and Present as a Prologue for the Future.
  • Sandberg, (2016). Women Need to Mentor Each Other.
  • Hansford, Brian C. and Ehrich, Lisa C. and Tennent, Lee (2004). Formal Mentoring Programs in Education and other Professions: A Review of the Literature. Educational Administration Quarterly 40(4):pp. 518-540.

 

Award Recipients

Nancy Bernard, 2017 Honorary Lifetime Membership Award Recipient

May 11, 2018 by 1 Comment

Honorary Lifetime Membership is awarded to individuals who have made notable and significant contributions to the Association over the course of their active membership in SoACE, SACE or SWACE. In order to be considered for Honorary Life Membership, an individual must have been active in SoACE, SACE or SWACE for at least five years, and must no longer be eligible for active membership in the association because of retirement, job transition, or other similar reasons. Nancy Bernard, Director of the Career Center at Auburn University and newly retired, was one of two recipients of this prestigious honor at the 2017 Annual Conference in San Antonio.

Katie Mantooth, Assistant Director, Career Planning & Development at The University of Tennessee at Martin, shared these words:

With 37 years of service to Auburn University, 22 of which were as director of the Career Center, many of you likely know Nancy Bernard well. Not only has she served as president of what was then SACE, Nancy has continued to present on various topics at professional meetings, serve on many committees, including chairing the Administration Knowledge Group for the past five years, and contribute as a consultant on the SoACE consulting services teams for eight different schools. She is also a certified etiquette consultant and holds certifications in administering and interpreting the MBTI and CliftonStrengths. If you’ve spent any time with Nancy, you know she is full of joy and laughter, and if you’ve ever collaborated with her on a project, you also know she will get the job done. And now…Nancy is retiring from Auburn on April 1, 2018.

All of her service to the field makes Nancy quite worthy of this award – and she has received many others for her professional contributions. However, it isn’t all of the accolades or titles she has held that make me so very humbled and proud to be up here speaking to you today. It is the fact that Nancy is a mentor to so many and how she has a unique ability to infuse both fun and purpose into work.

I began working for Nancy as a newlywed just a year out of graduate school. I was pretty sure I had “arrived.” Luckily, Nancy saw my potential because I had not “arrived.” Not only did she push me to grow professionally, she also helped me learn how to attempt balancing life as a working mom. She would hear out my crazy ideas like, “I think the Career Center needs a Facebook page – that might be a real thing,” and let me run with them. And she tactfully called me out when I didn’t reach goals.

Nancy, thank you for all that you have done in service to SCPA/SACE/SoACE. Thank you for all that you did to contribute to my “growing up” process. When we go back to Auburn, it’s always a whirlwind trip, and we don’t have time to visit many people. But my three kids always ask to see Mrs. Nancy, and that speaks volumes to the legacy of your influence.

Upon graduating from Auburn University in December 1980 with a Bachelor of Education, Nancy Bernard began working in the Placement Office at Auburn in January 1981 in what she thought was a “temporary” position until she could land a “real” job.  With a degree in education but not much enthusiasm for being a teacher, she really did not know what her next step should be.  As she began interacting and working with employers and students, Nancy discovered a profession that she knew nothing about.  As opportunities presented themselves to move up in the organization, Nancy made the decision to further her education in order to continue working in the field of higher education, specifically in career services. She received her Master of Education in Counseling/College Student Development in 1984 and from that point progressively moved into leadership roles within Career Development Services at Auburn University.  In 1995 she assumed the role of Director and has been in that position since that time in what is now the Auburn University Career Center.

As Nancy’s administrative role expanded, she had the opportunity to become involved in professional associations in the field.  By connecting with individuals who shared common career interests and similar jobs, she formed lasting relationships with professionals who not only served as strong mentors but became lifelong friends.  With the support and guidance of the people who were leaders in these organizations, she was able to learn and grow into the professional she is today.  She joined the Southern College Placement Association (SCPA) in 1982 and attended her first SCPA conference in Orlando that year.  She has served the organization as Summer Workshop Business Manager (1990), Summer Workshop Chair (1991), Conference Registration Chair (1992 & 2007), Conference Program Co-chair (1993), Vice President of Finance (1994-1996), Conference Co-chair (1997), President-elect (2001-2002), President (2002-2003), Past President (2003-2004), and most recently, Chair of the Administration Knowledge Group for SoACE for the past five years.  Nancy was a member of the 1994-95 SCPA Strategic Planning Team that designed, developed, and implemented a new organizational structure and five year strategic plan for the organization.  During her term as VP of Finance the organization changed its name to the Southern Association of Colleges & Employers (SACE) and realigned its fiscal year to coincide with NACE and the other regional ACEs. Nancy received the SACE President’s Award in 2003, the SACE STAR Award for notable and sustained contributions to the profession in 2004, and the AACE Success Award for Outstanding Placement Professional from the Alabama Association of Colleges and Employers in 2001.

In addition to her leadership experience, Nancy serves as a consultant for SoACE Consulting Services and has conducted and chaired external reviews for career services at the University of Tulsa, Austin Peay State University, University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University, Louisiana State University, Spelman College, University of South Carolina, and University of Kentucky.  An active participant in the annual SEACnet meetings each year, Nancy worked with other directors in the SEC and ACC to establish this group that has been meeting regularly since the early 1990’s.

Active in other associations, including the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the Alabama Association of Colleges and Employers, the National Career Development Association, and others, Nancy has served on committees and volunteered in various capacities through the years.  As a regular presenter at professional meetings, Nancy has made presentations on various topics related to career and student development as well as employer relations. On campus Nancy conducts dining etiquette training sessions for students and employees and teaches other professional development classes through the AU Human Resources Development department.

Nancy holds a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Education in Counseling, College Student Development from Auburn University.  She is a certified etiquette consultant and holds certifications in administering and interpreting the MBTI and StrengthsFinder.

Nancy has an intense love for all things Auburn and as unhealthy as it may sound, orange and blue runs through her veins. She is thankful for the opportunity she has had to work at a wonderful university for her entire career and to be a part of such a strong organization like SoACE.  With 37 years of service, Nancy retired from Auburn University on April 1, 2018.

 

Award Recipients - PD Scholarship Winners - Professional Development

Congratulations to the 2018 SoACE Professional Development Scholarship Winners!

May 8, 2018 by 0 Comments
Dia Buchanan
Elizabeth Enck

Each year, SoACE offers scholarships to our career service professional and employer members. These scholarships provide a maximum of $2000 for a professional development program, event, certification, resources, or tuition toward the activity of the recipient’s choice. Every year the number of applicants continues to grow. This year the committee received a large number of strong applications, making our decision very difficult. We enjoyed reading about all of the different opportunities our SoACE members have to continue growing and learning and are excited to announce this year’s winners.

Congratulations to this year’s recipients:

Dia Buchanan, Belmont University
Elizabeth Enck, University of Central Oklahoma

Stay tuned and later this year, we will hear more from our recipients about the exciting opportunities that resulted from this year’s scholarships! Interested in applying for the scholarship next year? Applications will open again in early 2019!