Pauline, this is great -- thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response. I'm going to synopsize parts of this, and it will be printed in a "CLP 7" folder that I use to work with all students, freshmen through senior. In addition, I make take larger excerpts and put them in my annual "wake up and smell the coffee!" email to current seniors.
Thanks for all you do for us... this is very cool stuff... and I WILL refer recent grads and current seniors to the your career page.
Gene
-----Original Message-----Subject: RE: From NEC: Help Us Teach!
Gene -
This is a terrific undertaking by NEC! I am happy to share my thoughts on turning students into successful Alumni. I would prefer to speak about my own experiences both what I feel has contributed to my success and some of the short comings I see in the Generation Y employees I have hired and work with at clients.
One of the keys to success in my role in sales and marketing is communication. The ability to write, speak via the phone and in front of groups are important skills. Entry level business professionals need to be able to understand their audience quickly and adjust the message to fit. I need to find many different ways to communicate the same information regardless of the forum or audience. In the past 24 hours, I have sent an email blast to my current customers, conducted a WebEX demonstration for Oracle Corporation Marketing executives, sat in a frustrating internal weekly meeting, updated two different forecasting spreadsheets, continuing to train a new sales person, and completed a host of cold calls to new business opportunities(both in French and English). All of this was accomplished from my home office. However, communication is certainly a two way street. Listening and understanding the needs and desires of your customers whether they be patients, internal staff, or paying customers is essential as well.
I think another thing I have seen lacking in graduating students is the understanding they probably won't have a management position directly out of college. Their first position will involve a lot of clerical tasks. They need to be ready to ask how can I help at any time. To summarize, I feel is important is simple flexibility and common manners. Dr. Sayce had a large clip on his desk that read, "Rigid Flexibility". I have quoted that more times than I care to mention. I find it also very beneficial for the understanding of professionalism and manners. What "is and is not" appropriate behavior in a professional setting is a useful skill for new alumni.
It is also important to make sure each graduate has the ability to use the common software packages to office, adobe, etc. I also think that a standard understanding of accounting and entrepreneurship is important. Whether you are a freelance artist or biologist, most professionals must be able to put together a budget or work within one.
All this being said, Generation Y has an incredible grasp of cutting edge technology and will drive the future of business with bringing the Facebooks and Myspaces to the business community. On a separate topic that might be interesting to you, my company is working with the Wharton School of Business and MIT Sloan School on a project about the future of business education and how the knowledge and power of a community is greater. In some respects, you reaching out to Alumni about your own project is a perfect example of using a community of people and experience to learn from the shared knowledge. Check out http://www.wearesmarter.org/. Gene, you may want to share your findings of using the NEC Alumni community to help prepare graduates for the expectations of today's employers. This research project is a book wiki being written by the masses. Your findings would be an excellent case study and great publicity for the college!
If you have more questions, let me know. Best on your quest to prepare students to be my employees and fellow alumni!
Cheers!
Pauline '91
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From NEC: Help Us Teach!
Dear NEC Alum and Career Advisory Network Member:
Greetings from NEC. You'd like it up here at this time of year... BRIGHT fall colors, crisp air. This is the time of the semester when people are suddenly realizing that the honeymoon is over and the work (classwork and our own full-time jobs) isn't going away, so there are some tired faces; but all is very well. And we all wish YOU well.
I'm writing with an interesting request. At the CLP office, we're getting much more focused and intentional about teaching students what skills they'll need in the workforce when they graduate. So rather than guessing, I've decided to ask YOU.
Can you email me back and tell me: what skills are essential for the kind of work you do? I mean, the absolutes? What people skills? What skills with information or numbers or computers? What kind of awareness? To help you out with this, I'm attaching two lists of skills that you can use (if you need it) to remember what is most essential to you in your job. But be brief -- could you give me three essentials?
So, if you can, I'd like a short email or simple list. I'll collect this information, and make sure EVERY STUDENT I TALK TO is aware of what they're going to need. Believe me, we're getting very systematic about this -- we want NEC grads and current students to be aware of their goals.
Thanks. Again, greetings from ALL of us at NEC.
Gene edurkee@nec.edu
