College vs. Real World

By Marianne Brigola, Career Fellow 2011-2012

I was doing some research for an upcoming student organization presentation and came across this great infographic:

from: http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/07/19/college-life-vs-real-life-which-is-the-better-deal/

Words of Wisdom

Saw this pop-up on my social media feed today and just had to share–how often do we tell students this when we’re talking about “dressing for success.”

Facebook and Job Interviews

By Marianne Brigola, Career Fellow 2011-2012

Last week I attended a NCACE Coffee and Conversation session with several university career development counselors from the Triad area, as well as several recruiters. One of the topics that came up was this recent Associated Press article regarding employers asking for Facebook passwords during job interviews: “Employers Ask Job Seekers for Facebook Passwords“

Over the past few days I’ve fielded questions from students about how to handle such a situation as they are preparing to interview for internships and jobs. I came across this link from a person submitting a resignation letter because of Facebook-password related concerns. While I’m not sure if it’s true or not, it does raise some interesting HR concerns for employers who are considering using this technique in their interview process. Check out the link here: “I hereby resign“

Managing Your Future

By Marianne Brigola, Career Fellow 2011-2012

This past Saturday  I had the opportunity to present at the “‘Managing Your Future” conference hosted by Sigma Iota Epsilon, the honor and professional fraternity for management. The student organized conference featured a variety of topics including negotiating salaries, social media, and panel discussions.

Panelists included representatives from LabCorp and Lockheed Martin and two Elon alums

 

I presented on creating strategic resumes. I was very impressed with the turnout for the event overall, especially considering it was held on a Saturday. Over 50 students attended, including management and non-management majors.  Congratulations to Sigma Iota Epsilon for such a successful event!

Hotlanta!

By Marianne Brigola, Career Fellow 2011-2012

Like Ashley, I had the opportunity to accompany of group of students on an Alternative Spring Break group through the Elon Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement. My group traveled to Atlanta, GA to work on three different project related to urban poverty. The entire trip was student-led and organized; my primary role was just to serve as a faculty representative in case of an emergency.

One of projects was working with the Cool Girls organization in Atlanta, a non-profit after-school mentoring program for girls, aimed at mentorship and increasing positive self-image. We had the opportunity to tour their cool, pink downtown office where the students learned more about the organization and their task for the week. The students went to three different elementary schools, where they tutored students and then performed a skit on healthy family relationships for the students, followed by leading discussion groups.

Elon students performing their skit for elementary students!

I could tell the Elon students had a great time interacting with the girls and the girls seemed to really enjoy talking with them as well!

Elon students tutoring

We also worked with the Atlantic Community Food Bank in their community garden, Product Rescue Center and Kids in Need programs as well as with a homeless men’s shelter.

Stone Mountain

 

In addition to the various service projects, we had the opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of Atlantic with  a hike on Stone Mountain one day.

Atlanta Spring Break Participants

 

Our trip coordinators Carling A. and Kim L. did a great job organizing the trip: from the logistics of where we stayed to our daily schedules, to leading our reflection sessions. I was really impressed with their coordination and planning skills. It was great getting to know students outside of the Elon campus and I’m so thankful to the students, the Kernodle Center and the SPDC for allowing me to participate in such a wonderful experience!

School House Rock!

By Marianne Brigola, Career Fellow 2011-2012

Today the SPDC is hosting the Teacher Fair on campus, bringing over 25 school districts, independent schools and charter schools to campus to meet with future educators.

This fair is a little different from our other career fairs in that the school districts host a info session at the start of the fair for an hour. The rest of the day is actually set up for structured interviews.

The students submit their resumes and sign up for interview slots in the weeks prior to the fair. On the day of the fair, the students have an interview schedule, and have the opportunity to meet with different districts and interview on the spot.

Follow the link to learn more about Elon’s Education program: Education Department

No more Resumes!

I came across this interesting article from the Wall Street Journal this week entitled “No more resumes, say some firms.”

Inundated by traditional cover letters and resumes, some companies are requesting links to potential employees’ web blogs, social media outlets and even videos and other creative, non-traditional medias that can reflect a person’s professional accomplishments. Just another reason for students and professional to stay up to date with new social media technology and creative ways to market one’s self!

Career vs. Calling

by Marianne Brigola, Career Fellow 2011-2012

This week, the Student Professional Development Center is sponsoring Professional Discovery Week–a week full of career and graduate-school themed programs, ranging from Life after Elon, to A Day in the Life of a Graduate Student to themed sessions for specific majors.

Ashley and I also had the opportunity to collaborate with faculty and campus student affairs professionals on a session that was the brainchild of our amazing supervisor, Ross Wade. Our session, Career vs. Calling: Spiritual Influences in Career Decision-Making, looked at the roles of spiritual beliefs and personal values when it comes to deciding on a profession. Our interdisciplinary panel included Jan Fuller, University Chaplain, L.D. Russell, professor in the Religious Studies department, and Nancy Luberoff, campus director of Hillel.

Panelists and Students in the Elingburg Room

The last time this type of session was attempted a few years ago only one student showed up! Needless to say, Ashley and I were a little worried about our turn out. We reached out and invited different student organizations and faculty members in relevant departments, inviting them and their students to attend. In the end, we had nothing to worry about–we had over 25 students attend! Our panelists had a lot to do with that–they are all engaging, personal speakers who had some great stories and advice for our students. Ashley and I both learned as much from that session as our students!

Thanks again to Nancy, Jan and L.D. for a great session!

Bridges to LA and NYC

By Marianne Brigola, Career Fellow 2011-2012

This summer, Ashley and I are coordinating a new pilot program called bridges: LA & NYC. We’ve been in the planning stages for this program for the past few months and we are so excited to launch it this month with an extensive marketing campaign!

bridges is for graduating seniors who are interested in launching their careers in LA and NYC. As a part of the program, they’ll participate in a week-long transition seminar series on topics including the job search, relocation information, personal finance, and networking. They’ll also have housing for 9-weeks in the city, and be connect to a professional network.

Me and Ashley are hosting information sessions and promoting the program throughout campus using digital posters, going into classrooms, etc. For the inaugural year, we’re accepting 8 students for each city, but we hope to have many applicants! For more information, check out the link to our webpage here: bridges

The Legacy Project

By Marianne Brigola, Career Fellow 2011-2012

Professor Karl Pillemer of Cornell University has been working on a fascinating project over the past few years entitled The Legacy Project.  He has been interviewing and talking to over 1,500 people across the country over the age of 70 to answer the question “What are the most important lessons you have learned over the course of your life?”

New book that is based on the Legacy Project research

From love and marriage, to work and career, and even values to live by, the responses and advice given by these participants is amazing! From a former athlete who ended up in a career as a coach and recruiter: “The most important thing is to be involved in a profession that you absolutely love, and that you look forward to going to work everyday.”

Check it out on the link above. Great words of wisdom for all of us! Be prepared to get sucked in by all the amazing stories!