Business Career Services Overview

ANNUAL REPORT 2019-2020

NOTES FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Normally, I would take this opportunity to highlight the many ways Business Career Services at Appalachian State has served future leaders through programs which engage, develop and connect these students with self-awareness, professionalism and ultimately the world of business. But since you will find this information and more in the following pages, right now, I simply want to say: thank you.

Our dedication to providing quality growth experiences remains at the core of who we are. It drives us to work harder, improve our programs and deepen our relationships with students. As I look back on this past academic year, I am proud of the giant leaps forward we have taken to improve virtual access to quality professional development experiences - I hope you feel equally as proud. Because of generous support and leadership with professionals, we continue to help students develop the leadership skills necessary to confidently write their own futures in these uncertain times.

Thank you for making this possible. We couldn’t do it without you.

All the best, Michelle Boisclair

PROFESSIONAL AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL SKILLS RESOURCES STEP Program - When our campus moved to a virtual plan there was a dramatic decrease in student participation with our services. The team kicked into gear and focused on our seniors to help them continue developing their professional skills in the virtual world.

They created the STEP- Student Track Employment Plan which outlines a six-step process to develop students’ resumes, polish their online professional presence on LinkedIn and Handshake, navigate the internship/job application process and develop strong interview skills. Completion of each step is designed to prepare students to land their preferred professional opportunity.

Virtual and Remote Professionalism - In addition, we developed and published a threepart online learning module for all level students and recent alumni on how to navigate a virtual job search and enter the remote workplace professionally. The Virtual and Remote Professionalism modules include content about commonly used technology, job search tips, hiring practices from recruiters’ perspectives, and tips on working remotely from recent WCOB alumni.

What’s Next Leadership Podcast- While we work to help students develop the skills necessary to secure a position in the professional world, resources have been limited to help with the transition.Staff member Annie Love developed a podcast to help demystify next steps. On the podcast, called What’s After This?

Podcast

with

Business

Career

Services,

Annie

interviews a variety of professional leaders to offer insight to students about the job search, hiring processes, and starting a first job.

PROFESSIONAL AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL SKILLS RESOURCES Professional Development Series - Each semester we host workshops on various professional and career development topics for WCOB students to attend.

The

Professional Development Series covers a variety of topics tailored to address professional skills such as Applied Leadership, Virtual Interviews, How to Work a Virtual Career Fair, Digital Networking, Online Etiquette and more. All workshops are recorded and saved to the BB&T Student Leadership Center YouTube Channel for those who can not attend synchronously.

Virtual Town Hall Hosted - The center hosted our first Employer Town Hall to educate employers on how to use our virtual

career

Employer

Town

fair

platform.

Hall

report

The and

recording are easily accessible on the center’s website.

Flipbook for employers - Center staff also worked to develop tools and strategies to help employers maximize their engagement with students in a remote

recruitment

environment.

We

have

designed the Remote Recruitment Resource Guide to help professionals navigate recruiting in a remote environment.

The interactive flip guide showcases the power of Handshake,

App

State’s

career

management

system and helped employers increase their online presence with our students.

PROFESSIONAL AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT EMERGING LEADERS CERTIFICATION Truist’s Emerging Leaders Certification (ELC) has become an integral part of leadership development for Appalachian Students. This year, the ELC was used to address systemic issues within a group of student leaders who struggled to establish relationships, build trust, and collaborate on common goals.

This group of 22 students devoted an entire day to the ELC program.

As VIA

Character Strengths Inventory were assessed, they mapped out their strengths in the group as a whole and represented those strengths in bar graph form as pictured. The VIA Character Strengths inventory is a psychometrically validated personality test that measures an individual's character strengths which helps students discover existing strengths to utilize when tackling professional goals and challenges.

They were able to identify areas of weakness within the group as well as build a better understanding of themselves and their peers. There was an awakening, both on that day and in the weeks to follow that quite frankly saved the group from a year of dysfunctional and distressful interactions. As a direct result of this training, this group of young leaders were able to address systemic problems within the group, propose a reorganization of the group and ultimately earn the respect and gratitude of their peers and the administration.

INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS WALKER BUSINESS CONNECTIONS & WALKER SPRING CONNECT

Walker Business Connections in Fall 2019 was the largest career fair hosted by our team to date. A record number of students (1221) attended the

fair,

and

more

than

300

recruiters from 128 companies were on hand to engage them with career and internship opportunities. The event was the seventh consecutive fall fair in the Walker College of Business.

In addition to the career fair, a networking social was hosted the night before and featured 219 participants including sponsor employers and top WCOB students.

The day after the career fair 202 formal interviews were conducted across 32 companies.

Walker Spring Connect plans were made and up until the week before the event our team was working hard to execute a successful event. Unfortunately, the pandemic struck and we canceled the gathering and refunded or credited the 100 companies registered.

Determined to find a way to connect our WCOB students with employers, we offered employers registered the option of a custom resume book.

Students

electronically dropped their resumes for employers of interest and resume books specific to each employer were shared. Employers were delighted with the added benefit and commented, “this is amazing” and “incredibly helpful.” Additionally, we created a map of all the companies registered with links to recruiting videos, career pages, and recruitment preferences for students to research and apply.

INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS WOMEN OF WALKER Women of Walker is a student program designed to accelerate professional development, personal growth, and leadership abilities for diverse female business majors at Appalachian State University through networking, career exploration, travel, and professional development workshops and seminars.

The year 2020 has upended most events due to the pandemic and Women of Walker was equally impacted. What is typically an experiential based program that is centered on the power of personal connections, travel and hands-on workshops came to screeching halt due to COVID-19. Although all in-person events and travel were banned, the program pivoted and continued to interact virtually with the members and industry professionals.

All 33 members completed the Women of Walker program, graduating four seniors in May 2020. All four graduates were placed immediately in full time professional roles despite the pandemic. In addition, eight members

completed

virtual

internships over the summer.

Over 200 female business students have been positively served through the Women of Walker program since its inception in 2014. Despite the continued disruption of the pandemic, Women of Walker will operate in the spring of 2021 and has welcomed 25 new members to the program.

STUDENT SUCCESS ZOE HUFFINES Zosephine Huffines first engaged with Business Career Services as a freshman, when she joined the Women of Walker mentoring program. In addition to participating

in

networking

and

professional

development activities through Women of Walker for her entire academic career, Zoe was hired to work in the Center, first as a Employer Relations and Marketing Assistant, and then as a Director of Employer Relations through the Walker Fellows organization.

She is a first generation college student and an orphan who has been homeless and has experienced more trauma that most people see in a lifetime. She is an ACCESS scholar who understands the value and importance of higher education and supports those in need who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Zoe is a Management major and minor in Sustainable Business and Experiential, Integrative Learning and will graduate in Spring 2021. She is actively applying to attend the Higher Education Graduate Program at Appalachian State University.

WENDELL ADDY Wendell Addy was a transfer student who earned his Associate of Arts with certificates in finance and accounting at Wake Technical Community College.

Raised by his grandparents, he had limited financial support and community college was his most accessible option. A high achieving student who maintained a 4.0 GPA over his entire academic career, Wendell was awarded enough merit based scholarships to cover over 75% of his tuition.

STUDENT SUCCESS WENDELL ADDY Wendell first engaged with Business Career Services when he attended a Professional Development Series workshop. He connected with his career coach and used the office multiple times a semester to review his professional documents and prepare for internship and job opportunities. In spite of COVID-19, Wendell was able to complete a virtual, summer internship with RSM as a Technology Risk Consultant, as well as two additional virtual internships with Deloitte and ANZ Cyber-Security. He had multiple job offers and has accepted a position as a Technical Analyst with Citrix when he graduates in December 2020.

ARNOLD MARTINEZ Arnold Martinez, a native Spanish speaker, became involved with the Business Career Services as a freshman. He was a double major in Supply Chain and Computer Information Systems and was a highly engaged, motivated student.

Starting with activities for his professional skills course, he participated in Walker College of Business career fairs, as well as the Business Club Expo. Arnold joined the Appalachian Supply Chain Club and took on a leadership role. He utilized the BB&T Student Leadership Center often throughout his academic career, where he received help with his resume, cover letters and internship search.

Through a center employer contact, he learned about a last-minute Supply Chain internship with Lowe's Companies, applied and was offered and accepted the internship. As a senior, Arnold participated in our Professional Development series as a panelist to give other students advice about internships. His internship experience led to his current full time role as a Logistics Senior Specialist with Lowes upon graduation.

STUDENT TESTIMONIALS “ Thanks so much to you guys in Business Career Services who are providing such great opportunities for us students, I and all of the other fellow business mountaineers appreciate you” Kaylee Combs, Marketing major

“As a whole, Business Careers has been a constant resource to me as a student throughout my time at ASU. I have done practice interviews, interviews, resume workshops, professional development workshops, and career coaching. I believe any student that takes advantage of this program will find themselves very well positioned to find a career upon graduating."

Sam Cheatham, Marketing & Management major

“I have utilized Business Career Services for help with my resume, cover letters, applying for internships, and drop ins.

I was also a student employee of (the Center) and had looked forward to coming into work everyday; knowing that I was going to learn something new and exciting. Every employee of Business Career Services has been such an amazing mentor to me."

Hannah Ross, Management major

““The wonderful staff in Business Career Services deserve a massive thank you for putting in the time and effort to invest in students like me to help set us up for success (…) as well as providing resources and support so students can stand out in a competitive job market.”

Arnoldo Martinez, Supply Chain Management major