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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.

 

Advising KG - Best Practices

Students with Disabilities and Career Counseling

March 6, 2018 by 2 Comments

by Caroline Oncken, Operations and Program Coordinator, Malone Center for Career Engagement, Furman University

A few months ago, as I approached the front of a classroom for a presentation, I noticed a visually impaired student sitting in the front row ready to learn about job search strategies. In the seconds leading up to the start of the presentation, it occurred to me that I brought materials that would not accommodate the student’s disability. When I passed out handouts, nearby classmates did not know if they should hand the student the piece of paper or place it on the desk. Unfortunately, my oversight caused the student to miss important information. However, that moment allowed me to learn from my mistake and bettered me as a proactive educator.

The next day I coordinated a training session for my office to meet with the director of accessibility resources. The training session provided my team insightful information and facilitated discussions about our campus’ disabled population, accessible materials and how to make on- and off-campus programs more accommodating.

We discussed several strategies for presenting career information to visually impaired students and deaf or hard of hearing students during presentations and/or individual advising sessions:

  • Read aloud what is being written on a classroom chalk/whiteboard
  • Describe the website you are referencing and what is being pictured
  • Address students by name when calling on them, and provide spatial directions from the student’s perspective
  • If applicable, allow the student to be seated in the front of the classroom to better hear what is being said during the presentation
  • Allow students to submit resumes, cover letters and other career-related materials electronically to allow students to use screen readers
  • Remember the student’s left and right are opposite when you are facing the student
  • If you provide the class with handouts, ask the student how best to communicate the information
  • Avoid using phrases like “take a look at the handout in front of you” or “what do you notice from this picture”
  • Ensure documents are accessible to students online (check ADA compliance)
    • Avoid scanned PDFs, as those documents are images and cannot be used by a screen reader
    • If you cannot open a PDF in a Word Document, the document is not accessible
    • Provide Alt Text for images and objects
    • Ensure screen readers can identify headers and text boxes

In addition to this particular experience with a student on my campus, I was inspired to write this post by some helpful resources and strategies I learned about at the 2017 SoACE conference.

I attended the “Challenges and Champions: Developing Employability” session, which aimed at identifying the types of skills individuals with ability differences offer future employers. I noticed I wrote in my notes, “each individual has their own spot of genius” and a quote from an advocate for students with disabilities: “being disabled does not mean un-abled, just different abled.” Both of those quotes are great reminders about our promise to provide every student the chance to learn, grow and succeed. Let’s put to bed the standardized set of requirements that society places on “qualified” job seeking individuals. It’s an individual’s ABILITY to be a successful employee!

I discussed several advising strategies with professionals at the 2017 SoACE conference, which may also help you:

  • Encourage students to apply for on-campus positions before moving to an off-campus role
  • Focus on the individual’s strengths, skills and abilities
  • Encourage students to highlight their disability in a positive, impactful way on resumes, cover letters, applications and in interviews
    • Allow the student to use their cover letter as an opportunity to tell an employer their story; allowing this moment to captivate the reader by giving them a glimpse into how goals, success and skills were achieved
  • Break larger tasks into smaller tasks to avoid overstimulating the student
  • Give students time to complete tasks; be mindful it might take several sessions to unpack a resume and prepare for interviews

Employers are going to have fears about interviewing and hiring individuals with disabilities. There are going to be questions the employer is afraid to ask. It’s our responsibility as educators to ensure that disabled students don’t feel less abled than their peers to find employment.

I hope you find these strategies helpful, and can incorporate them into your advising.

__________

Caroline Oncken received a B.A. in Psychology from Clemson University and an M.Ed. in Counselor Education from The Citadel Graduate College in Charleston, S.C. She is currently the Operations and Program Coordinator in the Malone Center for Career Engagement at Furman University. Connect with Caroline at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolineoncken/

Professional Development

Failure… It’s Not Fatal

January 12, 2018 by 0 Comments

by Dia Buchanan, Recruitment Coordinator, Belmont University

As the Spring semester begins, we begin to reflect on this past semester and set goals for the New Year. I encourage you to reflect on lessons learned from 2017, particularly your failures.

As a child, I adored the film The Wiz. The 1978 rendition of the Wizard of Oz is a story about four strangers-turned friends and their journey of seeking character traits which they unknowingly already possess. I used to watch this movie multiple times each day almost every day. My favorite scene was when Dorothy and the Scarecrow searched to find the yellow brick road. As the music and dancing began, I would pretend I was Dorothy and I would force my Nana to act like the Scarecrow and carry me on her back down the yellow brick road-also known as the hallway between our kitchen and living room. It was not until I was an adult that I recognized the principles and teachable moments that were evident throughout the movie. Each character’s journey illustrates a life lesson that captures the spirit of service, courage, and celebration.

My personal experiences relate mostly to the Cowardly Lion because he is able to put aside his own fears to help his friends. In The Wiz, the song, Be a Lion is sung by Diana Ross and Ted Ross. The lyrics recite the following:

If on courage you must call,
Then keep on tryin’ and tryin’ and tryin’,
You’re a lion.
In your own way, be a lion.

Keep on Tryin’.

These lyrics, along with the essence of the Cowardly Lion’s character, relate directly to the experiences of failure. When we are faced with obstacles, challenges, and failures, we have to keep on tryin’ and face them head on, as each new day brings new opportunities. The “tomorrow” of our career paths has finally offer us a golden opportunity. Although we have encountered obstacles in getting ‘here’, the journey has made us who we are as professionals. Have a courageous spirit, and never give up. Do not be discouraged by your failures, look at them as learning opportunities.

We are not connected by atoms, we are connected by our stories.

From my experiences, I learned that when things go wrong, we cannot go with them. Delays should never be seen as denials. My experiences of trial, tribulation, and failure within my personal career path relate directly to my passion for encouraging young people in their career development plans. We will all fail at some point in our lives, but when we share our stories, we help others achieve.

Embrace growth and foster growth within others.

Facing setback allows failure to become an opportunity for personal strength and character building. By being honest and sharing our stories, we inspire others to focus on the process of achieving their professional goals and the positive lessons taught in every situation they may encounter along the way. Courage is recognizing the small wins and the continuation of pursuing the big ones.

Talk It Over:

What small wins did you and your team accomplish in 2017?
What challenges have you learned from?
How will you share your story and help others achieve?

Happy Reflection and Goal Setting! Remember, you don’t have to wait until your summer retreat, one-on-ones, or the new year to set new goals. Reflect and renew on today.

__________

Dia Buchanan enjoys employer engagement and fostering collaborative relationships among employers, university representatives and students. She has 5 years of experience, exclusively focused in higher education administration with an emphasis on recruitment and relationship building. Her work has encompassed many aspects of student development, ranging from college admissions counseling to job search and career exploration advising. This experience has been obtained through undergraduate admissions and career services. Dia currently serves as Recruitment Coordinator in the Office of Career & Professional Development at Belmont University.

Dia holds a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration and a B.S. in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University. Her credentials include Global Career Development Facilitation and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Certification. She presently serves within SoACE as co-chair of the Employer Relations Summit and Assistant Program Coordinator of Tweet Chats and Social Media for the Employer Relations Knowledge Group (ERKG). Connect with her on LinkedIn for collaboration.