best practices

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

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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.

 

Best Practices - Hot Topics

The On-Campus Intern: Real Work, Real Results

May 1, 2018 by 0 Comments

by Jenna Tucker, Clemson University

When I first started working with the UPIC Program at Clemson, I knew that experiential education was important; but now, I believe it should be a part of all students’ college experience in some way. Internships create career readiness, due not only to the technical expertise and area knowledge students encounter, but also because of the development of professional competencies. Though sites may range in projects and type of work, one thing remains the same: the importance of working well with others and learning how to interact professionally. These skills will be valuable to students long after the internships end, by first enabling them to feel confident while interviewing for industry jobs or graduate school, to years down the road, as they continue to develop as young professionals. UPIC provided over 900 experiences during the last school year, quite a change from our pilot semester in 2012 (in which we had roughly 20). Our rapid growth is due in part to the state of South Carolina, who generously provided us with recurring annual funding, as well as Clemson’s upper administration, who recognizes the significance of our work. The UPIC staff consists of dedicated professionals who truly believe in what we do. But the heart of the program remains the mentors and interns, who create the exceptional quality of our internships experiences. Our interns work alongside faculty and staff, applying theories learned in their classes to real-life work situations. For me, the most exciting part of working with an on-campus internship program is getting to see all of the amazing projects that they are involved in!

UPIC interns are engaged in every college (and most individual departments) across campus, participating in work that matters. They are adding to their resumes, but more importantly, developing relationships and gaining valuable skills that will enable their success, post-graduation and beyond. We have a group of interns who work with CCIT, Clemson’s in-house computing and information technology department; as well as at the Watt Family Innovation Center, a new facility on campus that hosts state-of-the-art technology in a collaborative, modern space. These opportunities enable interns to stay ahead of the curve in a world with constantly changing technology. There are interns in various research positions across campus, studying genetics, plant pathology, chemistry, etc. They participate in presentations and publications as undergrads, which often increases their chances for admission to medical or graduate school. For our interns in Cooperative Extension, work includes interacting with local farmers and land owners, collecting field data, and presenting workshops at schools and community centers. Many majors find it refreshing to have a hands-on internship experience outside of an office environment. We have student-athletes who work within various areas of Clemson’s athletic department, including recruiting, marketing and student development. They are intrigued to learn about what goes on behind the scenes and off the field. There are also interns working within Development, the Honors College, Study Abroad, Public Affairs, Human Resources, the Michelin Career Center, and Campus Life. These are just a few of the hundreds of internships sites that Clemson hosts, and each one provides interns with tools to excel. For those professionals in higher education thinking of starting a similar program, it may help to ask: Who are my existing campus partners? What are some departments that would benefit from student interns? In what ways can interns make a difference on campus? Even starting with a small number can create impact. UPIC truly prepares students to face the world of work with competence, and I feel blessed to be a part of such a meaningful program. GO TIGERS!!

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Jenna Tucker, M.Ed., began working in Clemson’s Center for Career and Professional Development in the fall of 2013 as a graduate assistant for the University Professional Internship and Co-op (UPIC) Program. She returned to graduate school at Clemson after working for three years at a Fortune 500 company in Greenville, SC. After completing her Master’s degree in Counselor Education in the spring of 2014, she took on a full-time role as an Internship Counselor for UPIC, before moving into the role of Assistant Director of the program in 2015. Jenna’s main area of focus is career and professional development, specifically by helping students gain valuable skills and real-world work experience through intentional and field-based internships.

Best Practices - Hot Topics - Jobs

Employer Vetting: Identifying Fraud and Educating Students

March 23, 2018 by 0 Comments

by Dia Buchanan, Belmont University

Meet Kerry – a 20-year-old college sophomore nursing major at a local institution. Kerry is a first-generation college student, eager to move into off-campus housing at the start of her junior year. In order to do that, Keri must find a part-time job to begin saving money. Kerry qualified for federal work study, however all the on-campus jobs are filled. A friend suggests that Kerry search the online job board of University Career Services for a position. She finds an opportunity that seems ‘too good to be true’, and that it is!

At the request of the employer, Kerry provides confidential personal information which results in a large withdrawal and loss of funds from her bank account. Devastated by this outcome, Kerry contacts University Career Services to investigate this listing and educate herself on fraudulent postings.

Fraudulent postings are a significant problem at universities of all types, sizes, and locations. While we would like to believe that all contacts made with our career centers are legitimate and trustworthy, this simply is not the case.

Due to the increasing number of fraudulent positions, phishing scams, and questionable employment opportunities; it’s extremely important to properly review positions that are sent to us.

Preventing Fraudulent Activity

  • Create detailed Job Posting/Recruiting Policy that verifies required information and types of opportunities not posted.
  • Have multiple staff within office check the posting. (i.e. Student Assistant and FT Staff)
  • Make employer vetting the priority
  • Require Complete Company Information
    • Valid website, commercial address, email with domain name, working phone number
    • Look for the geolocation to match, verify commercial address, validate website
    • Check company website to locate email domain
    • Search for companies on CareerShift
  • Require Complete Contact Information
    • First and Last Name- No generic name ( i.e. Recruitment Team)
      • Use LinkedIn to verify Contact
      • No Personal Email addresses (Gmail, yahoo, outlook)
  • Require Complete Job Profiles
    • Consider making required fields in the job description
  • Investigate Spam Reports

Educating Students on Fraudulent Postings

  • Be concise with wording to students
  • Ask students to sign agreement or ‘terms of use’ before using career services management system
  • Provide access to “Common SCAM Content” and “Protecting yourself from Fraud” documents via website
  • Put notification on website and in policies and procedures
  • Host Employer Panel or Workshop that discusses appropriate ways to job search
  • Have Coaches/Counselors mention tips in one on one appointments
  • Communicate policy and educate faculty via newsletter
  • Work with international students to educate this population/incorporate into OPT/OPT workshop
  • Partner with Faculty and include content in presentations in the classes
  • Create Marketing campaign around Preventing Fraud
    • Include a “Tip of the Day” on Social Media
    • Display poster outside of Career Services office
    • Post article in school newspaper on fraud jobs
    • Create Podcast on dangers of fraud jobs

Follow-up and Follow Through

If a Fraud Position is approved and posted…follow these suggestions

  • Communicate via phone or in person with the informant
  • Close the Job. Remove listing from website or system
  • Maintain database of known scams; do a regular check/swipe within Career Services system
  • Contact the legitimate company so they are able to inform their partners
    • Example- Biogen- Victim Employer of Fraud
  • Send note to career colleagues, consortium members, LinkedIn/NACE message boards and listservs
  • Notify the Following:
    • All students who viewed the job as well as the searchable student database
    • (Send an email to) career colleagues, consortium members, LinkedIn/NACE message boards and listservs
    • Campus police and/or legal if they would like to be involved
    • Job board software provider (e.g.,Handshake, GradLeaders, Symplicity, etc.)

 

Talk it over:

  • Does your institution have a standard posting policy?
  • What proactive (not reactive) steps is your team taking to prevent fraud activity?
  • Are you currently communicating best practices with students?
  • What suggestions can you take from this article and implement today?

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This article was adapted from a 2017 Employer Relations Summit session created and presented by Dia Buchanan. Recognition and kudos are given to Summit participants that provided suggestions, content and feedback. See what great resources, knowledge and professional development opportunities are gained at our annual Employer Relations Summit? Register today (hyperlink: http://www.soace.org/employer-relations-summit) for this year’s event.