UNIBusiness - Professional Readiness Program

It's not what you say, but how you say it!

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:13:00 -0500

When recruiters complain, one of the most frequent issues is the way applicants talk. They'll tell stories of the candidate with a 3.5 GPA, but sounded childish or couldn't manage a full sentence without "like" or "you know" or a couple of "um's". No hire!

A recent WSJ article, "Is This How You Really Talk?" tackles the topic. There are a few scary statistics (the vocal pitch really does make a difference in annual salary!) There are also a few good suggestions....and if you think you need a vocal coach, the Professional Readines Program staff can help!

Alumni thoughts

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:29:00 -0500

The annual panel of Alumni in Residence is always a highlight of the Graduation Celebration. This year's advice seemed to focus on soft skills--the elements of professionalism that make a real difference in a career. Here's the final "most important thing" from each of the five:

Jeff Bjustrom, Minneapolis tax market leader, PwC (Acctg '88): "Don't get buried in the details. Keep the big picture in mind."

Derek Thoms, Manager of inside sales, ESP International (Econ '02): "Your ability to make a positive first impression; you never get a second chance."

Rochelle Dotzenrod, Vice president, Wells Fargo (Finance & Real Estate '04): "You won't screw anything up. Take the step. There are enough checks and balances to keep the organization from breaking."

Mark Walter, Independent management advisor (Management '85): "Sell yourself. The biggest mistake is being timid. You have to act the role to convince others of your value."

John Hall, Founder, Goose Island Beer Company (Marketing '65): "Be engaged, and respect your co-workers. Every little thing adds up.

Check out the full story, including all the student, club, and faculty awards at the UNIBusiness website.

Great Books to Read

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:15:00 -0500

Bob Sutton's blog is one of those feeds any business professional can use. He's updated his list of 11 books every leader should read. For anyone interested in personal development these are great picks. For current PRP participants looking for outside activities, don't forget that reading a book is a traditional---and still very useful---method of learning!

Ordered your business cards yet?

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 12:37:43 -0500

As most of you know, Principal Financial Group is one of our very best (and biggest) employers, and one of that company's recruiters sent some advice after attending several career fairs last month.

She says, "At the career fairs, PFG employees do not collect resumes since we want students to register and apply for jobs online. But, without the resumes in hand, it’s hard for me to connect with students if they do not contact me personally after getting my business card.

"After spending some networking time at [another Iowa university!], I would recommend your students design and purchase business cards. I am finding a distinct advantage in students giving me a card, and we can connect on LinkedIn. The [other university's] students have done a thoughtful job in preparing, networking, and following up with me after each event.

"I recognize that there is some competition between the universities in recruiting, graduating, and placing college students. Please consider me an interested third party (and UNIBusiness alumni) to help UNI students with their job placement efforts."

***

Did you know that you can order business cards with the UNI logo? These will cost a bit more than designing your own and having them printed at Copyworks or Staples, but they do have a the advantage of a very professional design that includes the UNI logo. You can order them on line at this link!

Attend a Workshop in South Africa!

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 15:46:00 -0500

The Professional Readiness Program continues to expand its technology options. Next week, Level 3 and 4 participants will be able to attend a webinar hosted by Global Trade students on a Spring Break study abroad in South Africa.

Corporate and alumni partners continue to lead workshops, seminars, and presentations on campus, providing professional skill development along with outstanding networking opportunities for our students.

In addition, participants can take advantage of on-line learning modules through the UNI eLearning system, participate in phone, email, or skype mentoring relationships, develop networking relationships in a Professional Readiness Program Facebook Group, and of course, comment or contribute to this blog.

This semester, the program introduced its first virtual workshops. In January, a group learned time management skills over a week of participation in an on-line forum, and this month we try our first webinar. Next fall, the PRP offices will be fully skype enabled, allowing more flexibility for meetings with our Executives in Residence.

Mini Internship Opportunities

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:27:00 -0500

No time to take a semester long internship? Don't ignore the value of short term projects, shadowing opportunities, and community service. These can get you some important job-related experience, and they look just fine on a resume.

The Spring Break in the Cedar Valley program is a great example. As an intern with a business in the Cedar Valley you'll spend one intensive week shadowing company executives, putting your professional skills to practice, and building your network. It's a great resume builder without the expense of travel or out-of-town living arrangements.

Spring Break internships are available with three companies this year.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance (GCVA) focuses on expanding and diversifying the economic base of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa metropolitan area. Learn the ropes of economic development from the staff of the GCVA. A student with interest in marketing, sales or communications is preferred.

Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., a Wolsely company, is the largest wholesale distributor of plumbing supplies in North America. At the company’s Waterloo distribution center you'll gain experience in inventory management, supply chain, or warehousing/distribution. Supply Chain majors are preferred.

At the Target Distribution Center you'll work alongside a group leader on the front lines of a critical supply chain network, leveraging cutting-edge logistics technologies to help drive sales profitably and deliver on the brand promise. Freshman or sophomore preferred.

To apply, send your resume to Katie.Hillyer@uni.edu with a brief explanation of which organization you would like to spend your week with and why by February 28, 2013

Dan Moore Returning!

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:18:00 -0500

More than once a PRP participant has told me how great it was to hear

"that speaker from Tennessee or somewhere" or

"that guy who talked about treating school like a full time job" or

"the speaker who made me realize I COULD speak Portuguese... I just hadn't learned how yet."

That guy from Tennessee is Dan Moore, President of the Southwestern Company, and he'll be on the Level 3/4 calendar next week:

Thursday, Feb 28, 5:00 - 6:00 pm, CBB 109 (The John Deere Auditorium)

We don't normally put our speakers in such a large room, but those of you who've heard him before will probably want to come back for another dose, so we decided to make sure there was plenty of room!

Whether you're still in the PRP or not, you might enjoy the chance to hear Dan's thoughts on a new topic: Assuring your Future in an Uncertain World. If you're starting your career in the next year or two, he'll have some useful advice...and make you happy you came to hear him speak.

If you're only in Level 1 or Level 2, you are welcome to attend! We were sad not to be able to work out a date for Dan to speak to you this year, but this way you won't miss out on hearing this attitude-changing speaker.

Career Fair Crowds

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 07:31:00 -0500

The record number of employers at the UNI Career Fair last week made the news. This is great sign of the returning health of the Iowa economy.

Here's the story from the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. We were pleased to see that four UNIBusiness majors were quoted in the story, and check out the photos of Brandon Honeyman and Erin Schon!

Of course, I like sophomore Paige Snyder's comment the best: "I was a lot more nervous last time. This time, I know the ropes, and it's not as nerve-wracking."

She didn't mention that she was required to go as a freshman, which is probably a good thing considering she was talking to a newspaper reporter, but that is exactly the result we're hoping for!

Post-Career Fair tips: It's never wrong to send a thank you to a recruiter for the time he or she took to talk to you. Email is fine, and you should refer to something specific or personal about the conversation you had. You might have a follow-up question or some additional information to send.

Career Fair: Best Impressions!

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:14:00 -0500

Monday's Career Fair promises to be LARGE and thus exciting.

Once again, we have more employers coming, and we've already heard that they feel they aren't getting enough applications. This is shaping up to be a great year for job hunting, but don't think that means you can ignore the Career Fair.

This is where the employers are, and now is when they are making decisions. Don't waltz in next May and expect to get anything but leftovers and crumbs!

*** Name Tags ***

***A brand new service from the Professional Readiness Program***

To go along with your spiffy coat and tie, elegant blouse, tasteful pumps, or classy haircut, we have made arrangements to provide UNIBusiness students with professional, printed name tags. If you are currently enrolled in Business 1000 or Business 2000, you don't need to do anything else. A name tag will be waiting for you at the PRP Table.

If you are in Level 3 or 4 (or beyond), you may contact us by FRIDAY, and we'll add a tag for you. (Reply to me, or send email to prp@uni.edu; give your full name and major.)

A few useful refreshers:

~where to wear that great name tag: Click here

~proper attire refresher: Click here

~planning your tour around the Fair: Click here for a list of employers with booth locations

~When and Where: McLeod Center, Monday 2/18, 11 am to 3pm. Be there!!

Courier Highlights PRP

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:09:00 -0500

The Professional Readiness Program is making a difference in the Cedar Valley! This week the Courier highlighted the efforts of UNIBusiness to make graduates READY for the professional world. Take a look at the Courier article here.

Facebook Group is OPEN!

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:27:00 -0500

If you're a Facebook fan, you might be interested in a (sort of) new tool for networking with your UNIBusiness (soon to be) alumni associates.

Several years ago, David Miller (Accounting '12) now at Target headquarters in Minneapolis, set up a Facebook group for participants in the PRP pilot program. We closed the group down after Facebook made some changes, but it's now back up and open to new members. There's not much to see right now, but if you step up, you'll be able to invite others to join you in whatever networking, socializing, or teambuilding you find useful.

Check it out!

Happy Holidays to you all. Be happy.....build a snowman!

Picking University Electives

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:24:33 -0500

Every semester, the lists of available classes go out at registration. Posters start to appear on the bulletin boards. Maybe you'll even see an email or twitter announcement. How do you choose?

For many business majors, the top reason is eventual employability. A skill (language, writing, communication, presentations) that can add something to the resume often rises to the top of the list. Today I heard from UNI's Professional Writing Program where writing projects are done for real clients...always a good resume item...and pre-requisites can be "easily waived." If you've got a professional skill area that you'd like to develop, be proactive about finding ways to get 'er done!

But, don't ignore other aspects of your personality. Global corporations also appreciate employees who actually understand world history, international politics, and non-Western cultures. Manufacturers like to hire folks who have a basic understanding of the science that goes into making their products. A sales professional will certainly be more successful with a grasp of principles taught in basic psychology, sociology, and cultural anthropology courses.

In fact, a course in personal wellness that teaches stress reduction or healthful nutrition might make a big difference in your professional attitude!

Officially Approved!

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 18:00:00 -0500

Happy Homecoming everyone! How about those panthers?? I have some great news… I’M APPROVED! I met with my manager counselor a couple weeks ago. I wanted to make sure I was following all of the policies regarding independence/social networking and asked him what he thought. He inquired of HR about my blog. I ended up having to go through a local and national approval process! In the end, I was able to continue blogging! My temporary hold was lifted J It was a close call too!

That is why it has been so long since my last entry. In the meantime, I heard I hit the news. Did you see my on the tv? A few friends of mine sent pictures of it. After returning to UNI for homecoming weekend, I found that I actually do have a few followers! My sister went to a pre-interview event in Des Moines with her firm and even heard about my blog. This has made me even more excited to blog, but was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to anymore.

Back to blogging! I hope your post-career fair activities are going well! I know our office has been busy with candidates coming in and out. I even got to take a couple of students out to lunch today! I am sure most of you are hearing back either good news, bad news, or in the middle of the long wait between. I just want two things. If you got an offer, congrats! It is something to really be proud of. If you didn’t, don’t get too down on yourself. I was rejected when I went through the recruiting process from the majority of the firms I looked at. Rejection is hard, but keep trying and something will come up.

As for me – I am a working girl now! These last few weeks I spent out at a client. Everyone there was really nice and helpful. They had great coffee too, which always helps (can you tell I love coffee?). I experienced driving in rush hour traffic daily for the first time. Since I live downtown, I am always headed in the opposite direction of the real rush hour. It helped make the commute easy. The work was overwhelming at first considering it was the first time actually putting all my training and education to practice. In the end it went pretty well… that is until I got my review notes back. Looking back, I wonder what I was thinking. A lot of rookie mistakes were made and obvious points overlooked. It is all a learning experience though and really wasn’t too bad!

After these last few weeks actually on a client working, what stands out most in my mind is accountability. I am not at a part time job anymore. I don’t clock in as soon as I walk in the door. My little breaks throughout the day like walking around, getting coffee, or surfing the web are not chargeable. For those of you who are interested in client services, you become very conscious of your time because it is being billed to your client. & at a high rate!

For instance, today I got into the office a littler after 7:30. If I were back at my part time job in college, I would leave at 4:30 (assuming 1 hour lunch). Not anymore. By the time I settled in, turned on my computer, got my coffee and really started work it was nearly 8. That being said, my workday really started at 8.

I also realize how important it is to be accountable for your work. Being a first year, and a newly first year at that, I know I am making a lot of mistakes. It is a part of the learning experience. I find it very important to be responsible for my actions and my work as well as to communicate this to my seniors and managers.

I find that joining this so-called real world is not that far off from my life in college. Big differences are I don’t get to wear sweats everyday and my friends aren’t here. I always have more things on my to-do list than I can knock off in a night, but for the majority of my college experience it was the same way. I have a lot to do at work, but hey who doesn’t have a lot to do in school? For the record, I could probably easily make the argument of how different it is!

Please feel free to leave comments or reach out to me via e-mail. I am open to suggestions about what you want to know about moving to a new city or starting a career. My UNI e-mail is still active covert@uni.edu.

BC.

The Training Begins

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 21:36:00 -0500

Hey Y'all - Training is over! Well, at least the official part is. I have a feeling the real training is about to start. It is hard to describe what training was like. My emotions ranged from being nervous and anxious to excited then pretty scared while continuously feeling overwhelmed.

The first week I spent in the Minneapolis office. Then, we traveled to Dallas for the second week for National Training (hence the y'all). My total start class consists of 40 new hires. For training, we split into two groups. It is amazing to look back on the first day and see how much our friendships have grown in just two weeks. That first week consisted of a Welcome to Deloitte series, HR issues, administrative items, and then audit presentations/eLearnings. The first day we all were excited about Deloitte and what was to come. The second day, we all were pretty frightened. Basically, we were all afraid to use IM, browse the web, get a business phone, or do anything fun at national training. Don’t want to be that girl (or boy)!

By the end of the week, we were all overwhelmed and not really sure what we were doing. But hey, I still like to think I made it successfully through that first week. I had interacted with multiple managers, senior managers, partners, and other staff assistants. Two panel discussions were lead during the week. The first was a group of second years. We were told it was going to be only us in the room. We were supposed to have them all to our selves to ask anything we wanted!! When it came time, the managers and facilitators didn't leave the room. I can attest to that fact not as many questions were asked with an audience present. The other panel was a lunch with the partners. I was able to sit with the managing audit partner. One thing I love about Deloitte is how welcoming everyone is. I was not nervous at all to be speaking to the head of the practice!

Although I do not have any more homework, I did have to go into the office on Saturday. It was only for a few hours to finish up some required eLearnigns. The view is amazing though! I like to think it is just an upgrade from the 4^th floor of Rod Library.

Sunday we took off for Dallas. There would be about 400 audit new hires, 150 consulting new hires, then 200 new seniors. The facility is called Deloitte University, which is basically comparable to the best hotel you have ever stayed at with even more to offer! Our “Dean” was the managing partner from Minneapolis. We were so lucky to have him down there with us. We were able to use that time to network with him and get to know him on a more personal level. Also for karaoke night, he also bought about 20 cowboy hats for us all to wear! Let me just say, we were a hit.

The highlights of the week: free Starbucks, state of the art facility, warm weather, meeting new people, different accents, learning more about Deloitte/auditing, getting to know the Minneapolis team more, best pillows ever, “real life” audit simulations, and did I mention the free Starbucks? Okay, okay, while I did enjoy the Starbucks, it wasn’t the best part. I did average about three lattes a day. One morning, I told the barista I would have soymilk... because I could afford it here! Her response was "you can afford anything here"!

It was so great to get hands on experience and meet so many great people. I was luckier than some others on my team. By the end of the week, I was hugging my team goodbye. Some others in my group had to mediate tension at their tables and one of my friends was even called a prick! I had a diverse set of people at my table. They were from New Jersey, DC, Charlotte, and New Orleans. They are the first addition to my Deloitte network!

Deloitte covered a lot of networking during the two weeks of training. Create your networking plan. It is all about the people. People, people, people. Use what you have and don’t be afraid to go after what you want. At national training, my break our group was very interested in the Management Development Program and Global Development Program. Every leader always said the same thing. Start looking now! If you are interested in participating in a program like that, you should plan ahead. The program you want may be client or industry specific. It will be your fault if it doesn’t work out and could have been prevented. I will relate this back to you. Plan ahead in your course of study to ensure you can reach your own goals! If you want to study abroad, participate in NSE, or do an internship, then make sure you can.

One of my fellow colleagues and UNI alumna remarked this week "time goes by faster when you are old." At the time we laughed. Yet, a bit of truth was said. Since I have started work, I am usually surprised at how late in the day it is or in the week. So far it feels like the opposite of looking up at the clock in class, then again what feels like half an hour later to find it has only been five minutes.

Have a great week - enjoy this time of year - good luck at your interviews - & GO CATS!

Brittany.

Good News from the Career Fair

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:16:00 -0500

By all accounts, last week's Career Fair was a huge success. As always, the Professional Readiness Program staff enjoyed meeting everyone one-on-one, and we thought you looked great.

Here's the great news though. First, there were almost forty new employers recruiting this year, which is a very good sign for those of you looking for internships and jobs. Second, several of the returning employers commented on how sharp the business majors looked and how polished they sounded when introducing themselves.

For those of you who practiced your pitch and made the effort to dress up---it worked!