We sure are starting the Fall 2018 semester off with a (crash) bang! I am still optimistic that the changes to our seminars and the introduction of Handshake to the office will make your (our) job easier. For those of you that are new to the CDC, this is our staff blog. I know you all receive 100 emails a day, so our staff blog is our solution to deliver updates and training aids to refer back to during your shift. I will always alert you when I write a new post, but you should check at the beginning of your shift. You never know when I may give you a little homework. 😉 Let's begin by checking out the updates I've made to the blog during the summer. For our CDC returners the first thing you have noticed is a different design, but you have hopefully spotted that I have added some emergency resources. Hopefully we will never need to use any of these procedures, but you should review what to do during an emergency situation. I have also included some of the common tasks that you will need to know for Handshake. Please use your downtime during (your shift or at home) to read through the resources I have included. I want to recap our training thus far. Please use this as a reference during your shift: Scheduling Appointments For Students in HandshakeEventually students will schedule their appointments through their own Handshake accounts, similar to scheduling advising appointments on OrangeSUccess. I am hoping by next semester students will catch on, but in the meantime I want you to be well versed on Handshake to assist students until they get the hang of Handshake. When a student makes an appointment in the CDC, you will have to "feel them out" to assure you schedule them for the correct appointment type. Begin by asking the student what their year and major/program is. This will not only confirm if they are a Newhouse student or minor, but it will also help you decipher what their needs will be. Newhouse undergrad majors and their abbreviations:
Newhouse graduate programs and their abbreviations:
Communications@Syracuse is our online master's program through 2U (you may hear us refer to the program as 2U). Online students receive a MA in Communications specializing in Advertising, Public Relations or Journalism Innovation. 2U students do a have a different process of career development through their program. If you do have an online student call the front desk, please let me know. After asking the student their year and major/program. Ask what the student would like to talk about during their appointment (appointment type). Newhouse appointment types for Handshake:
If the student has fulfilled their seminar requirement, you will begin the appointment process in Handshake. From the home screen (dashboard) of Handshake, make an appointment by clicking:
Handshake will then bring you to an Appointment Request Details page. Confirm the start and end date and time, but DO NOT CHANGE UNLESS YOU HAVE ACCIDENTALLY CLICKED ON THE WRONG TIME. Select S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications as the office location. Ask the student their name and type it next to Student. If multiple names appear, you can confirm by asking for the student's syr.edu email address. DO NOT CHANGE THE STATUS OR APPOINTMENT MEDIUM. All student appointments will be in person. Give any details the student may give in and INCLUDE THAT THE STUDENT HAS FULFILLED THE PREREQUISITE REQUIREMENT in Help Requested. For example, you may add a note that the student is planning to apply to Creative Artist Agency at the end of the week and the student has attended the Résumé & Cover Letter Writing Seminar. This will help the counselor prep for the appointment. When finished click Create. An appointment confirmation page will appear and you can inform the student that they will be emailed by Handshake. You may also offer an appointment reminder card. If you scheduled an appointment to review student materials, be sure they bring HARD COPIES TO THEIR APPOINTMENT. They will NOT be able to print in the CDC. Let's say the student has not fulfilled the seminar requirement for their requested appointment type. What do you do? How to Suggest to Students to Attend The SeminarsOur seminar series has changed, but for the better. Whereas Finding an Internship has not changed, it is NOT a required seminar for students to schedule an internship appointment. Of course we strongly suggest that all students looking for an internship should attend the seminar, you should really "push" the seminar to students that seem "lost in the sauce". These students may request an internship appointment by saying something along the lines of "I need to find an internship, but I don't know where to start". In an upbeat manner, open the seminar schedule and suggest that the student attends a Finding an Internship session. You can "sell it" by highlighting that the student will learn a six step-by-step process of finding an internship, along with learning about resources the student can access on and off campus. As a bonus, you may reveal to them that students in attendance will receive the access code to CareerShift. CareerShift is an awesome subscription service (it costs money) provided by the CDC that offers job and internship listings, company contact information for networking and other handy tools to assist students in boosting their career search. Students interested in résumé or cover letter assistance are suggested to attend the Résumé & Cover Letter Writing Seminar. Although the seminar IS a prerequisite to scheduling a résumé or cover letter appointment, that is NOT how we want to market it. Instead, suggest to the student that attending the seminar is the best use of their time to learn how to create a one page communications résumé. When students give pushback to attending the seminar, I always assure them that scheduling an appointment AFTER attending the seminar and making the changes to their materials will be beneficial because instead of correcting the basics, like layout, the counselor can focus more on content. I may also suggest that without the seminar, students will have to make several appointments to complete their materials and our appointments can book about two weeks out. Nine out of ten times, a student is satisfied with this suggestion. If the student is still not happy with the process, please grab my attention and I will speak with the student. Students that have taken VIS 207/607 or GRA 217, can fulfill the cover letter requirement by attending the second half of a Résumé & Cover Letter Seminar. VIS 207/607 is usually a requirement for PR, Graphic Design, Photo, Magazine, Newspaper and Online Journalism and some Advertising students. We also have a video that will suffice as the Résumé & Cover Letter Seminar. I only offer this to students if the student is adamant that none of the times will work with their schedule. I do suggest that they try to make the seminar work with their schedule because it is more in-depth and the student will be able to ask questions. If the student still wants to watch the video please do the following:
The Job Hunt Series is open to graduating seniors and graduate students. To schedule a senior or grad student for a career or networking related appointment, they must attend sessions 1 and 2 of the Job Hunt Series first. Of course we do not want to seem restrictive with the term prerequisite, so when I inform students of the Job Hunt Series I use a process approach, I will usually begin by saying that they begin the job hunt process by attending the Job Hunt Series. If students are informed that it is a process, in my experience they are more likely to be receptive to the idea. Break down each seminar session. Session 1 will cover how to conduct a proactive, self-directed job search. Session 2 will cover the best methods and practices of networking. Inform the student that completion of sessions 1 and 2 will give them access to our alumni database, the Newhouse Network. Session 3 is a not a requirement to receive access to the Newhouse Network or make an appointment, but it is strongly encouraged. Describe session 3 as a career study hall. Students will put to work the skills they learned in sessions 1 and 2 with the help of CDC staff. STUDENTS ARE ALSO STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND THE JOB HUNT SERIES IN ORDER BEGINNING WITH SESSION 1. There is no make-up for the Job Hunt Series. Students must find a time and make arrangements to attend sessions 1 and 2 of the Job Hunt. Please make note to students that they are required to register for ALL seminars using bit.ly/cdcseminars. When to offer the drop box and quick counselThere will be times when we will be booked two to three weeks out. If a student would like to make an appointment but is in a bit of a time crunch, the student may drop off their résumé and/or cover letter to our drop box service. The drop box is HARD COPY ONLY. Student staff members will keep a log of the drop box use by logging student information in our common folder > Seminars > Attendance > Drop Box '18-'19. Students may NOT print their materials in the CDC, they will have to go to a lab. To be eligible to use the drop box, students must have:
Quick Counsel is for QUICK 10-MINUTE questions. Quick Counsel are drop-ins, meaning students may NOT schedule a time. Quick Counsel days rotate between the first and second Tuesdays and third and fourth Fridays of the month. Quick Counsel dates for the 2018 fall semester: Tuesdays: 9/4; 9/11; 10/2; 10/9; 11/6; 11/13; 12/4; 12/11 Fridays: 9/28; 10/19; 10/26; 11/23; 11/30 Student MUST have attend the required seminars (Résumé & Cover Letter Writing Seminar and Job Hunt Sessions 1 and 2) to participate in Quick Counsel. Please ensure that all students have HARD COPIES of their materials they would like reviewed. Students may NOT sign-up for Quick Counsel and then leave the room. Their spot will not be saved and will have to sign-in again. We Never Want to Say NoThe CDC wants to help ALL Newhouse students that walk through our door. Students have required legwork to do on their own, but we are a small office serving many students and alumni. Attending seminars will give students the foundations and tools needed for a successful career in the communications industry and will always make more progress during their scheduled appointments. If a student seems resistant towards seminars, there are other ways we can help them: Students are available to make internship appointments without attending the Finding an Internship Seminar. Of course we will try to sell it but if students are not taking the "bait", we do have the Finding an Internship podcast. You should use this as a last resort, in situations where there is a time restraint or as a refresher. THE SEMINARS SHOULD ALWAYS BE SUGGESTED FIRST. You can stock the student up with all the blue internship handouts that go hand-in-hand with the podcast. The podcast can be found at: newhouse.syr.edu > Career Development > Students > Resources > Click here for podcast episodes > Podcast #5. You may find that a student looking for résumé and cover letter help want a more immediate solution than attending the seminar or watching the video. You may offer them the orange résumé or grey cover letter handouts. We will be unable to review their materials via appointment or drop box until they fulfill the prerequisite. If you have any pushback on this policy, please let me know. A common spur of the moment issue that will happen during your shift: A student will run into the CDC in a panic because the student just got off the phone with a company and the company scheduled an interview for the next day. It happens every year. We can help, though! If the student has an upcoming interview and we do NOT have an available appointment or an upcoming Quick Counsel, give the student the green interview handouts and instruct them to listen to the Interview Prep podcast. The podcast can be found at: newhouse.syr.edu > Career Development > Students > Resources > Click here for podcast episodes > Podcast #4. Big Interview is another resource that students have access to as a Syracuse University student. Big Interview allows you to learn about interviewing by watching instructional videos. After learning about interviewing, you can then practice by recording yourself answering questions. These recordings will help you to learn what you're doing well and what you need to improve before your interview day. You can find Big Interview at: career services.syr.edu > Networking & Interviews > Before the Interview > Big Interview. MAking Appointments For AlumniThis may be where we get a bit clunky. We may change the process but for now, we will be scheduling appointment in Outlook (nhcdc email). Using Handshake as reference and GOING BY THE PRESENT COUNSELORS (counselors that are in the office at that very moment):
Try not to schedule more than one alumni appointment in a counselor's appointment block!!! Wrapping upFor the majority of the student staff, this is about where we left off. You will have a quiz on this material because it is imperative that you know this. Be sure to ask questions! I rather have you ask than guess. Also, review our seminar registration page at bit.ly/cdcseminars and the seminar schedule. To help students, you have to know the materials! Avoid me having to make this face at you three months down the road... I will be covering a different training topic in the blog for the next several weeks. Please use the blog as a reference while on shift. I will be transparent with any changes that are made. This new process for our office will be a "trial and error" period.
Lastly, I have a slew of students that WANT YOUR JOB. I cannot afford to keep around student staff members that are consistently absent minded. Even if you are a returner, we have changed almost all of how the CDC operates. Whereas some has remained the same, returners will also need to absorb our new procedures. I promise to be patient while you are learning the ropes, but there will come a point where I feel like you should on it. YOU NEED TO STUDY THIS NEW MATERIAL! The rules I outlined for you at Monday's meeting apply to EVERYONE no matter how much I like you. You were all hired because I felt like you were a good fit for this job. Keep me thinking that way. Let's finish the first week of class out strong! <- Hint, study this material!
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