5 Traits of Authentic Leadership

Authentic leadership with its ability to create positive work outcomes and improve performance in the workplace has been shown in research to be a leadership style that can enhance job satisfaction for direct reports.

Just Another Day in the Life!

by Ben Heins, M.F.A. Internship Coordinator, Career Services, USF Sarasota-Manatee

The semester has been crazy busy but also crazy good. We launched a ton of new, fun initiatives – the most notable of which would be our very own version of USF Tampa’s leadership series (featured at FloridaACE 2016) wherein students are paid for completing a series of sessions presented by executive leadership at a prominent organization. Also, our employer outreach has been in overdrive lately thanks to our Career Advising team getting into a groove and working closer with the rest of Career Services. And the students! Goodness, they never cease to amaze me.  🙂  Just met a young gun who “retired” from playing chess at 18 because he won a national championship and “got bored.” Ha!

Picture of Ben and student Katie Ciemniecki taken on site at her internship with Gasparilla Inn & Club on Boca Grande.

Personal Branding

 

 

Lauren Apgar
Graduate Assistant, Florida State University

 

 

 

Pick three words to describe yourself.  Did you get stuck choosing words, or did you identify these words before you finished reading the sentence?  As professionals, personal branding is an important concept to utilize to help you connect and network with employers and other professionals in the field.  Personal branding is your trademark, your values and your story all wrapped into one term.  In other words, what can people expect from you in both personal and professional interactions?  When you can articulate your personal brand and and how to convey your values to others, you increase your chances of landing the position, supervisor and company culture that will help you thrive professionally and personally.

You may ask, how do I create a personal brand?  Think about your own personal story, because we all have one!  Are you still on the same path you started?  Did you take any detours?  Where do you want your journey to ultimately take you?  Start by answering these questions, and if you’re having a hard time answering them yourself, ask a trusted mentor or colleague for insight.

Thinking of strong brands in our culture can also assist you in answering these questions.  When you think of companies that have strong brands, which companies come to mind?  A good example would be the store Target.  Target’s slogan is “Expect more. Pay less” and prides itself on customer service, affordable prices and quality goods for sale.  Target’s brand demonstrates consistency and congruence between the values of the organization and the experiences of customers in the store.

As a professional, you can do this exact same thing.  When employers interact and communicate with you what kind of experience are you giving them?  Is it a high quality experience that reflects your values as a professional and person, or does it leave the client confused and asking what your brand truly represents?   Answers to these questions can serve as the foundation for your personal branding philosophy, which can help you at any point in your journey.

#TBT…E-Mail Communication…It Works!

Sarabeth Varriano & Rex Wade, University of West Florida Career Services

Higher Education institutions are under the microscope to demonstrate students’ return on investment for their  attained degrees. Included in that assessment is student success in realizing their career goals. Career Services offices rightfully focus on career education and job search strategies and preparations with their constituent students. The authors of this monograph rightfully remind us of the importance of strategic employer development that results in meaningful partnerships, sponsorships, and effective talent recruitment.

A helpful review of employer relations history and evolution over the past several decades provides a context for developing a comprehensive and effective employer development strategies that aligns with an ever changing world of work and economy that is in flux. A thoughtful treatment is provided for approaches, programs, marketing strategies, event coordination, fundraising, technological support, and program assessment no matter what the number of staff or size of the institution.

In just a few pages, the authors provide not just a approach to employer relations but practical examples that include sample job descriptions, event checklists, report charts, staff performance review forms, employer evaluation examples, miscellaneous printed and electronic ads, and much more that are a part of an information packed Appendix.

The authors stress the importance of having a dynamic program with a final chapter that provides insight into future employment relations issues and trends including topics such as accountability, internships, distance learning, recruiting trends and social media.

This monograph is a must for any new Career Services professional. As a veteran of over 20 years of Career Services experience, I also found it thought provoking and inspiring for new ideas, approaches, and strategies. As I add this book to my library, I am confident that I will often refer to it’s practical resources while developing and assessing an effective employer relations program.

We are looking forward to growing this communication process and are excited to explore new ways to measure its success.

 

#TBT…Email Etiquette: The Art of Writing in the 21st Century

Jairo R. Ledesma, Florida International University

For centuries the art of writing a letter was just that: an art.  Writing was reserved for scribes, whose job it was to draft carefully edited letters and books that would be read by the elite. Over time, with the advent of technology the scribe was replaced and the production of books and letters was accessible to many. That was a good thing I guess. The drawback, we could surmise, has been that we no longer pay attention to detail and the power that the written word has. Take for example the manner in which we communicate today. Electronic mail, or email, is perhaps the number one way we communicate (I do believe this is changing, and how you communicate has to do with the age bracket you fall under) and it is perhaps the only way we have to get our point across in great detail, since the days of actually writing a letter by hand are all but gone.

Email in its purest form is a representation of who we are. It allows the reader to infer our character, mood and overall mental well being. IF I WRITE TO YOU IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, you will assume that I am either very angry at you or that I simply forgot to let go of the Caps Lock button. if i rite to u like this, u may think that i am younger and hip, or maybe you will think I am your friend or something. Or if I write to you like one my students did recently “Yo Ledesma,  I uploaded my resume go ahead and approve it because I needed ASAP” you may think I was a bit rude.

So, where have all the etiquette and manners gone? Over the course of my almost 13 years in higher education, I have noticed that etiquette as it pertains to writing has diminished and seems to be spiraling downwards. Gone are the days of paying attention to detail, to the tone and to our audience.

The internet/information revolution perhaps has made us go a bit faster than we were previously accustomed to. In our haste to keep up, perhaps we have neglected the details, or is it that in our early educational experience, the emphasis on writing and grammar has shifted? Could it be perhaps that these deficiencies were always there, but is it only now when the written word is more important than ever, that we notice this? Whatever the case may be I find myself having an internal battle of whether or not I should take the time to “school” a student on proper email etiquette. I think about whether the student will actually take into consideration what I just wrote to them. I contemplate whether I now will get into a back and forth with a student who may take offense to a “teaching moment.” In the end, the educator in me always wins out. In my line of work, every moment is a teaching moment, an opportunity to share information and/or an opportunity to make students reflect and think.

Alas, there is hope; I think, I hope. Just browsing the Linkedin website, I come across hundreds of professionals who profess knowledge of email decorum. A quick Google search finds a plethora of articles on the subject. But in the end, I am convinced that it will be the educator in all of us to let our students, our future professionals, know how important communication is and how vital email etiquette is to their professional development and future. I usually do my best in the most polite fashion to let the   student know first what the mistakes were, and then next how it can be done better. More importantly, I let them know why it matters so much that they get this figured out before they reach the professional world. I sometimes provide links to articles (such as this one from inc.com) so that students do not just hear it from me. Lastly, remember that as Career Services professionals, if we don’t take the time then someone else may.  BECAUSE if u dont…some1 will,  butt it May be 2 LATE!!!!!!!