September 20, 2023 • 37 mins
Dr. Mailhiot explores the importance of networking, career prep and experiential learning, which are the backbone of building business relationships and assist students in putting their classroom to career experience into action. Erica Franklin and Debra Klokis from RCBC’s Office of Career Preparation and Experiential Learning provide insight, tips and tricks and new innovative tools that RCBC’s students, staff and community partners can explore and connect with internship and employment opportunities.
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Episode Transcript
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Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (00:01):
Welcome to Rowan College of Burlington
County's Baroness Podcast. I'mDr. Brooke Mailhiot program
chair and assistant professor ofour entertainment technologies
department. I am the co chair ofthe Women's Advocacy Group a
subcommittee of the President'sAdvisory Council on diversity,
(00:22):
equity and inclusion. Thismonthly series highlights women
in leadership, while encouraginglisteners to build their skills,
connect with the community andvisualize the opportunities
available to women in variousprofessions. Tune in for a
female perspective on theBurlington County community. We
(00:44):
are here to listen to theseamazing women. And if you want
to hear from women who lead andinspire this podcast is for you.
Well, welcome back listeners. Itis September. We are back on
campus here at rcbc. And we arein full swing. And one of the
things that I want to say is,it's been busy. And we have two
(01:07):
very busy women who are in oneof the busiest offices here at
rcbc. Today joining us is EricaFranklin, experiential learning
manager here at rcbc. AndDeborah quokkas. career
preparation manager and why Ibrought you two women on today
is because there has beensignage, events, emails,
(01:28):
lectures, students are I hearcoming to your office in droves,
because you guys are where it'sat. So instead of me introducing
what you do at your office, I'mgoing to have you guys tell me
what you're doing here oncampus. First, someone that I
was actually thinking aboutthis, Erica, I don't even know
(01:51):
how long we've known each other.It's been a long time. We've
been here at rcbc. How long haveyou been here at rcbc?
Unknown (02:00):
So I started at rcbc in 2010. Oh, wow.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (02:03):
So I'm about a year before you. So we
have known each other probablysince the 2000s. At I know we've
been working together. So whydon't you tell us a little bit
about your job here at rcbcbeing the experiential learning
manager, which is one of myfavorite words is experiential
learning. Go ahead.
Unknown (02:24):
Sure. So as you said, I started here years ago, and my
role prior to my current role isservice learning specifically.
So I used to work with facultylike you to integrate relevant
service projects into theclasses that were being taught
here, coordinated differentcommunity facing events and
(02:45):
initiatives and taught a servicelearning practicum.
Historically, at the college,experiential learning, like
service learning was happening,but it was happening in
different places, and it wasn'tfully streamlined. So most
recently, the collegeestablished an office of career
preparation and experientiallearning. And so in my current
(03:07):
role as experiential learningmanager, I work with faculty,
students, employers andcommunity partners to offer high
quality hands on learningopportunities. Yeah, and
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (03:20):
I think that is the perfect role for
you. Because when we worktogether with service learning,
it's just a hand in hand withthe partnerships, that community
building, and now you're doingit with our own rcbc students in
the community. And we have a newlady on campus here, Baroness
with us, Deborah quokkas. Andyou're the career preparation
(03:42):
manager. And I know when I readyour bio, you have a lot of
experience in in this area. Sotell us what, what brought you
to rcbc here?
Unknown (03:51):
Sure. So I really came to rcbc because of the
opportunity to work withstudents who are at the start of
their college and academicexperience being added to your
college, helping students whowant to quickly get into the
workforce, whether that's rightafter their associate's degree
or if they're interested intransferring on to complete
(04:13):
their bachelor's degree. Sothat's what brought me here. And
I've been with the community forabout four months, and I'm very
excited to be starting the newacademic year with everyone.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (04:23):
Well, we're happy to have you here as a
baron. So thank you for joiningme and Erica today. One thing
that I will say is I was part ofan experiential learning program
in my undergrad. And when I camehere as a faculty, one of the
(04:43):
things that I knew was missingfrom my program was experiential
learning because I thinkbuilding that classroom to
career connection is huge. And Idon't think a lot of people
understand that. I think in myspecialty is in Video Production
and Sound Recording engineering.A lot of the partners and
(05:08):
producers and local businessowners are looking for that
connection of experientiallearning. Who wants to take why
experiential learning is soimportant. I just I don't think
a lot of people understand that.Who wants to take that off first
and then jump. You both
Unknown (05:29):
are so respectful of one another. I mean, for me, I
value experiential learning somuch, because it's what gives
students that connection fromwhat's happening in the
classroom, to apply it in thework that they will want to do
eventually, one day. So I thinkthat it is helpful for students
(05:50):
who are really trying tonavigate things, from scratch to
say, is this what I want to do?Or maybe this isn't what I
thought it was going to be. AndI have to change my path a
little bit, or look at adifferent option within what I'm
studying, you know, because wecan go in so many different
directions, with our academicbackground. So I think
(06:11):
experiential learning gives usthe opportunity and give
students the opportunity to say,Yes, this is it, or that's what
not quite what I thought it wasgoing to be. But it helps
everyone to develop their skillsand their tools in such a more
tangible way. So that they canapply it and what comes next in
(06:31):
their life.
And experiential learning looksdifferent for every single
student and for every program.Brooke, I know, you just said
that you participated whenyou're an undergrad, when I was
a student, I was heavilyinvolved with volunteering, I
studied abroad, I didundergraduate research, I went
to a technical high school whereeverything every single day was
(06:54):
hands on opportunities. So thoseare the types of things that
we're talking about when we'retalking about experiential
learning. It's learning by doingand it's very broad, it can be
those examples that I provided.But it can also be collaborative
assignments in the classroom,right? It can be these other
(07:16):
immersive experiences. Likeright now we have a group of
students who are serving asdelegates at they're doing
research for the UN's globalsustainability goals. And
they're going to be pitchingtheir ideas tomorrow at the UN
Global Assembly. So those aredifferent types of opportunities
(07:38):
that really get our students outthere and experiencing the real
world.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (07:42):
And what I think is really unique about
experiential learning is andbeing tied to a community
college, it's different. Why doyou think it's so different and
has almost like a closerconnection when you're working
at a community college?
Unknown (08:03):
I'm going to turn that question over to Deborah, since
she comes to us from a four yearinstitution,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (08:08):
it could take a break to think about it.
She's like, let me let me thinkabout my thought there. But I
was trying to tie like thetight, tight, tighter community.
Like I think a lot of partnerlike this is where you would
maybe,
Unknown (08:20):
yeah, so I mean, I know
over the years should take itsince I haven't seen it all in
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (08:27):
trying to bring like the former service
learning thing and come it tofruition. That's where I was
going with that. Sorry. Yeah,we're good. All right. So let's
pick it up in 321.
Unknown (08:38):
So working with the community for as many years, as
I have, I've seen a lot ofoverlap with our students. And
these organizations, maybe thestudents actually benefited from
some of the organizations in ourlocal community, and those
students and feel moreconnected. As a community
college, our students live here,they come from here, they spend
(09:04):
every day here. And so beingable to leave campus and see the
organizations that we're workingwith really makes an impact on
them.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (09:14):
So one of the things that I've been seeing
around campus here coming backare these giant posters
everywhere and emails about thisthing called handshake. What's
this all about? Let's talk aboutit.
Unknown (09:29):
Sure. So handshake is our online platform for students
to use for job search forresources that we offer in our
office, and also to scheduleappointments with our staff
members. So it's a really end tocomplete their experiential
learning components within theacademic classroom. So it's a
(09:49):
real nice, like, one stop forthem to come in and get their
career development elements. Sowhat also a nice benefit of
handshake is that many collegesand universities across the
country use it. So it gives ourstudents access to so many
employers. And on the reverseside, it gives employers so much
(10:13):
access to our students, becausethey're able to come in as
employers and connect withmultiple schools in one account.
So it's really nice benefit foreveryone to interact and make
those connections to find outabout career fairs that are
happening, events that may betaking place on campus or off
campus, because many employershost events virtually, even
(10:38):
before the pandemic, but so muchmore sense. So students are able
to connect with these reallylarge corporations that they
might not have had access tootherwise. And so they could be
corporations that are herelocally, in Philadelphia, New
Jersey, or if they're thinking,you know, I might branch out
from New Jersey and BurlingtonCounty, at some point in my
life, they can get some earlyexposure to what those companies
(10:59):
have to offer. But additionally,they can connect with our staff
by going into handshake andcreating appointments, and
therefore they can meet with us,in person. And then we have many
resources that are availablethere as well. So if a student
is awake at two o'clock in themorning contemplating life, and
where they're going, and whatthey want to do, they can log in
(11:22):
and shake is their handshake isthere at all hours of the day.
So it's a really nice way forstudents to stay connected with
us even when the office may beclosed.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (11:31):
So when a corporation or a local business
contacts you, you know, when Iwas looking for a job at the
students, you know, age must bedifferent from what an employer
is looking for today, right?Things change, trends change,
what are these businesses thatare contacting you? What are
(11:53):
they looking for?
Unknown (11:55):
So I would say that many of these organizations are
looking for students who areeager to learn, you know,
they're teachable, they'retrainable. It's I think that
what I often hear from employersis, wow, I didn't do this when I
was a freshman in college, or Iwas a first year in college,
actually, we neither know andthey're just very much impressed
(12:18):
by what the students have donethrough high school with that
part time job opportunity theymay have had, or school
leadership that they may havetaken advantage of. So I do
think that to an employer seeingthat they say, wow, there's a
strong baseline of working withpeople and the rest of it, I can
(12:38):
train because they've alreadyhad some exposure to a work
environment. So you know, ifthey can communicate with me,
effectively, whether that'sthrough email, or in an
interview, that's a great start,and I can help train on the
rest.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (12:54):
You know, I, I absolutely love that word,
communicate. And, and obviously,people skills and I think Erica,
you can also maybe kind of talkabout that, because when we work
together with service learningprojects, and building
partnerships, and really givingmy students a a job, right,
(13:16):
connecting them, connecting themwith some of these partners and
producing films and thingstogether. Communication is key.
What did you What do you feelwhen you when we when we saw
these students in action? And wewere talking with the partners?
What are some skills that youthink are kind of those skills
(13:41):
that the students really need tohave today?
Unknown (13:43):
I mean, it definitely, like you said communication. And
I think that the integratingexperiential learning into
classrooms as incitements, thatare supported by the faculty
member, really give the studentsa supportive environment to
break out of their shells, totry to learn new communication
(14:05):
skills. Maybe they never in yourexample, brought maybe they've
never had to work with a clientbefore. And so this gives them
that opportunity. They're therein front of a client with other
students who may never, neverhave ever worked with a client
either. And so they're in thistogether, they're supported by
you as the instructor. And theorganization that you're working
(14:25):
with also understands that thisis a learning environment. So
it's a safe environment for thestudents who really again, like
I said, come out of their shellgain that skill and develop it
throughout the rest of thesemester.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (14:38):
Can you talk about any other unique
assignments that you've seenthat the students are doing
around campus?
Unknown (14:46):
Sure. So we have human services students who are in a
couple of different classes,actually who complete agency
interviews so they are leavingthe classroom they are engaging
with professionals in theirfield of study and learning what
their jobs are on a day to daybasis. What does that facility
(15:07):
look like? Who are the clientsthat they're working with? The
students are also given theoption to do a few hours of
service learning. And so ifthey're volunteering with an
organization, rather than doingan agency interview, they're
engaged in the actual activitiesthat that organization does day
to day to serve the folks in thecommunity.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (15:27):
I mean, that sounds amazing. Like if you
were a student, and I alreadyknew that I had access to do
like, trial interviews, or, youknow, go and test those kinds of
things. Like I didn't have thatin undergrad. That's pretty
amazing that I have thatopportunity to do that. And I
know it doesn't just start withhandshake, what are some other
(15:49):
things? And I know you saidabout that handshake offers all
these other specialties. When astudent walks in, how do they
apply for handshake? Is it easyas just going online? Do would
you prefer them to come to theoffice? I know you have some
other services you offer? tokind of get them prepped to then
(16:11):
go to the next step? Would youshare those other services that
your office has to offer forthem?
Unknown (16:16):
Sure. So every student that's enrolled at rcbc has an
account to handshake. So theydon't have to create one, it's
there for them. Yay, that isfree. And it is free, hashtag
free? Yes, exactly. So they goto their Baron one. And from
there, there's a tile that theycan click on and get right into
handshake. So we make it veryaccessible, very easy for them
(16:40):
to navigate. Before gettingconnected to those employers and
applying to those positions. Youknow, it's important that a
student meet with somebody inour office and talk to them
about resume development,because most often when you
start that conversation withemployer, they're gonna say,
Okay, where's your resume here?Where's
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (17:00):
your portfolio and resume? I have
lots of students that come to mesaying, Hey, can you help me
write a resume? And I go, Well,have you tried? Like, do you
write everything down? Maybe youwent to a Google Doc, start
looking at your skills andthings, but I can only tell them
so much, right? So that's when Isend them to you. So you, you
help them resume build? What aresome tips and tricks that you
(17:22):
give them for that?
Unknown (17:23):
Sure. So, you know, first and foremost, I think
what's important is for astudent to know that it needs to
stay on one page, we so oftensee that they go on to two
pages. And you know, there aresome tips and tricks of
formatting. You don't need tokeep a one to one and a quarter
inch margin. Like you're writinga paper that's nice to hear, you
(17:45):
know, the students are like,well, I can change the margin, I
say, yeah, you can use yourdocument. Sure. You know, and
then mainly, like, get the meatof it beyond just the formatting
of it. It's to identify what arethose transferable skills that
you've experienced? What kind ofresponsibilities might have you
been given? So you know, if youworked at Five Below or at
(18:06):
Target, were you training othernew staff members that were
coming in? And or were yousupervising anybody new? And so
to demonstrate that, to explainthat to quantify it, you know,
how many of those new people didyou help to train and ingratiate
into your department? That's sothat's so valuable for a student
(18:29):
to talk about, because that,again shows the level of trust
or responsibility that yourprevious manager had put on you,
for that new employer to say,Hmm, there's something there.
That's, that's good to know,somebody else found value in
your work ethic and how you werepart of the team. And I
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (18:46):
think a lot of students don't realize the
amount of skills that they dohave. So just like you said,
they might work at Target orStarbucks, I know, half of my
students work at Target orStarbucks. But I always say
like, think about the thingsthat you don't really think
about that you're doing on adaily basis. And that's just a
(19:06):
great example. Like, did youtrain somebody? How many people
have you trained? And what? Whatare your other job
responsibilities, and then howto write that in a professional
format. Right? It's verydifficult,
Unknown (19:19):
right? To that point, I think it's the best starting
point is to just get out a blankpiece of paper or a tablet and
just brainstorm and put it alldown on paper. Do not worry
about that format. I think whenstudents look at those
templates, or start to, youknow, fill in the blank of that
template, there's a lot ofpressure and stress that comes
in that gosh,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (19:39):
so much anxiety, I'm sure because they
don't know what to write what tofill in or what might not
Unknown (19:44):
how to write. Yeah, oh, I'm supposed to make this sound
so professional andsophisticated, but I was just,
you know, filling coffee orders.Well, right. Let's pull back
from that, like what else washappening
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (19:56):
or they're over or the overuse of the
thesaurus for Words and you'relike, I actually don't even know
what that word means. But I likeit. Right. Exactly, exactly. So
I totally understand that. Andthat's really a wonderful, you
know, product that you providethe students, what are some
other things that you do over inyour office?
Unknown (20:17):
Sure. And, you know, I'll joke and say close your
ears because you're a facultymember. But not every student
always likes what they're comingin to study. And so they're
thinking it's the right fit, orthey may like what they're
studying in the classroom, butthey don't really know what
that's going to translate oncethey're out of rcbc. And so we
(20:39):
have another system that we usein our office called Focus two,
which has some careerassessments associated with it.
So we guide the student to takethose assessments and then meet
with them afterward to reviewthe results and help them
understand what do you do withthis information. And then
there's another piece to thatproduct that helps students
(21:00):
navigate and understandoccupations. So you can search
all different types of jobtitles. It goes through an a
synopsis of what that is, itprovides video links, it
provides professionalassociation links, it talks
about What are potentialearnings, what other advanced
degree might you need to go forif you want to continue in this
(21:21):
type of occupation. So it's agreat resource for somebody
that's just exploring and tryingto navigate what they may be
good at in the future.
And to Deborah's point about thestudents not knowing what their
major might translate into whenthey leave our CBC or step into
the career field, we are tryingvery hard to get to the students
(21:45):
as early as possible, not onlyto have completed a career
assessment, but to engage, thenin an experience related to that
field. We want the students tobe able to have that exposure
early so that they know whetherthey enjoy that what we're
(22:05):
trying to prevent. And I thinkhas happened so many times, so
many students, and maybe evensome of us in the room, you
start with one major and thenyou end up with a different
major. And then you end up witha different major. And you think
that you love that major, andthen you graduate with your
degree, you go on to get anotherdegree, you might go on to get
yet another degree, but you'venever actually had experience in
that field. And so you gothrough all of this education
(22:26):
all of these years, and then youfor the first time step foot
into that career. And you don'tlove it.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (22:33):
Oh, yeah, no, I've heard that story. Many
times. It's like I went toschool for X, Y, and Z. But I'm
in completely A, B, and C,because I went and got a job.
And I did slight, you know,right? Oh, yeah, definitely. And
what's great about that, isthat, like you said, you're
getting in early, so they're notthen spending more time in a
(22:54):
classroom, not enjoying, let'ssay, a class, but then get
focusing them no pun intended onyour focus, focusing them,
right, focusing them into reallya love a loved relationship. You
know, how many people we know islike, I hate my job, I don't
love my job. And, and this isreally to help those students
(23:16):
and get them in there early. AndI think that's a wonderful thing
that you're doing. So the localcommunity and partnerships, how
are you getting? You know, howare you obtaining these local
businesses to come specificallyto rcbc and login handshake,
(23:37):
because that is a big job here.And I know Erica is one of the
people here that rallies some ofthose with a lot of her
partnerships. But how do you getthese businesses to come
specifically to rcbc? And why dothey come to rcbc?
Unknown (23:54):
Sure. So I think we take various approaches to
getting some of these anddeveloping some of these
partnerships. Like you said,Brooke, because I've been here
for years, and I've developedsome partnerships already. It's,
it's utilizing networking,right? It's talking to
organizations that we mightalready have a relationship
with, and seeing theirconnections are and I can't tell
(24:19):
you how many times I'm workingwith an organization and then
they talk about anotherorganization that they're
working with where there's aneed or their friend or their
mother, or a classmate who isengaged in an activity and is
looking to recruit rightassistants, whether it's a short
whether it's interns orvolunteers, so really utilizing
(24:42):
some of our existingpartnerships to build and grow
new ones. But also handshake hasjust been a huge help in this
area, as well. And so I thinkDeborah can speak a little bit
to that.
Sure. So I'll I'll say you know,a lot of the organizations that
companies in the area have beenon handshake because they're
(25:03):
using it at other campuses. Soit's really just introducing
them to rcbc as well, and thatwe're on the platform, and they
can connect with our students.So when they go to post a
position, an internship or apart time job, they can then
select us as an option as well.So it's just doing some
additional outreach that way,again, leaning on some of our
(25:25):
campus partners, Stacy hunt overat workforce development we work
with closely, we also work withour partners in the Foundation
office to say, you know, whereare there some overlaps? Where
can we, you know, say, Oh,you've already been talking to
this person will come to campusand meet our students, you know,
and giving them that opportunityin that doorway to come into
(25:46):
campus, whether it's for anetworking event, a panel
discussion, or the fallopportunities fair, that's
coming up for the spring, onethat will take place. They just
the employers, I think like tohave that opportunity to meet
people in person. And it notjust always be this transaction
that's happening on handshake.And so it is using our
(26:07):
resources, whether it's theconnections that Erica has made
over the years, or thepartnerships that other people
on our campus have had as well.
And many of the partnerships arewith faculty, right. And so
faculty have been huge inidentifying some of these
opportunities to get in front ofstudents. So I don't want to
(26:28):
forget to mention that. Becausereally, you're in that field,
you as the instructor, you're inthat industry, you have the
connections, you know, what'sgoing to be a good learning
environment for the students.And so that's been a huge help
in fostering relationships.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (26:46):
Well, you both said, my huge word is
networking, especially in myindustry. And I'd love to expand
on that. Because I feel likethere's been like this
disconnect with networking, nowthat we have all these online
tools that are not amazing. Weall now see how awesome it is to
(27:08):
connect. And many of us areusing all these tools on a daily
basis. But the face to facenetworking, I just don't want to
leave it off the table. Howimportant is still that face to
face that networking, thatconnection for students to
learn?
Unknown (27:29):
So I'll say because we just talked about how important
that is within our work Deborahand mine. For me, I am not the
kind of person who lovesLinkedIn, I'm not the kind of
person who loves usingtechnology for that networking.
And I think that like. Okay, soyeah, it's different in our line
of work normally, like in careerservices, you're all about that
(27:51):
you know how to utilize it youreally like live in that space.
But for me, it's always beenabout the face to face. It's
always been about these inperson conversations, doing
events together, being engagedin the moment where we are. And
(28:12):
so for me, I really I wouldn'thave a job. If that wasn't a
skill that I was able to developover the years.
No, and I think LinkedIn has itsplace. I definitely do. But I
think it's all a balance, youknow, there's so much about
(28:34):
balance and everything. Butdefinitely when it comes to
networking, you know, it's goodto make that connection on
LinkedIn. Because you can findpeople that way that they might
not be coming to those events.But then, you know, support it
by saying, can we go grab a cupof coffee? Or could I, you know,
(28:54):
meet up with you to ask a fewquestions, or thanks for coming
to that campus class that youspoke at the other day, I just
wanted to reach out on LinkedInto stay in touch with each
other, because I'd be interestedin internship that you may be
offering in the future. So ithas its place. But I don't think
that it's exclusive. Like Idon't think that a student or
(29:15):
anyone should rely on LinkedInsolely. Because the in person is
so valuable. It makes that pieceof paper you're handing
somebody, like tangible to who'sbehind it. Yeah, so I definitely
am somebody that's like, itshould be in person. It doesn't
have to solely be in personbecause it's hard to get in
(29:37):
touch with people sometimes inperson. But if you're doing the
LinkedIn outreach, don't justsend a message and not add a
note. Always add a note becausesomebody's going to have a
little more context as to whyyou pick them to connect with.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (29:53):
Yeah, be a little personable. Exactly. And
I love that and I also likedthat you both shared link din,
but, you know, differentgenerations, a lot of these
students don't even have aLinkedIn, we're talking, they
have an Instagram, they have aFacebook, they have a tick tock.
Their social presence isdifferent on some of these other
(30:13):
social media platforms. And aspeople in the career services,
area of expertise, what would besome things that you would share
the do's and do nots of studentsand these social media channels,
because you know, theseemployers are are going to
(30:36):
Google, you are going to look,look just at your resume, you're
going to put your Instagram upthere, you're going to maybe put
a Vimeo or a YouTube page orthings especially my students
have YouTube and Vimeo channels,what are those do's and don'ts
that you tell those studentsshould be on there shouldn't be
on there?
Unknown (30:57):
Well, if they haven't learned by now, because they are
the generation that has had thistheir whole existence. I'll be
surprised if they haven'tlearned it by now. Right. So
either make your accountprivate, and check on it.
Because we know that theseplatforms love to update their
settings. And then it's all of asudden, one day you go in and
(31:18):
you're like, Well, I thoughtthat was a private account. And
now it's not. So doing somecheck ins, on your account
settings, doing some check insby googling your own name to see
what appears. But also always bemindful that someone can find
this. And so if you wouldn'twant an employer to find it,
(31:39):
like I won't even say agrandmother, I feel like when I
was younger, people would belike, if you don't want your
grandmother to see it. Well,like some people are like, Yeah,
my grandmother was there withme.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (31:49):
You know, if you'd Okay, granny, if
Unknown (31:52):
you don't want your employer seeing it, and you
don't think that this would besomething that would be seen as
a positive to you joining thatorganization, then think twice
before you post it and put itout there. But then, you know,
some who are in the creative,they feel they want it out
there. And they want to havethat all looking very polished.
(32:15):
And it's a way to expressthemselves visually. And that's
great. So they use it to whatit's there for. But on the flip
side, like all theseorganizations, most of them are
on all the different socialplatforms. So for you to then as
a potential candidate, or personthat may work there, like follow
(32:36):
them to be sure that this is thetype of environment and culture
that you would want to be a partof.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (32:42):
Yeah, I mean, I think I think it works
both ways. And I love that youbrought it up, it's like,
sometimes there's so studentsare so wanting the job, but then
they don't really know theemployer. And it's like you
said, if you're following whatthey're doing, and then you're
saying, this might not be forme, exactly kind of what the
(33:04):
whole idea is behind theexperiential part of learning.
Is that just as much as you wantthe job, it might not be the
right fit for you. And I think alot of people get lost in that.
Do you see that a lot.
Unknown (33:20):
I think sometimes. And I think you know, I can attest
to this, too, you're so hungryfor the opportunity, or just to
be able to get that offer or getthat. Yes, we want you and that
feels so great. It's kind oflike dating. Yes, you're
listening, that you kind offorget how you're supposed to be
(33:42):
evaluating them as much asthey're evaluating you. And then
I think once a person gets intoa position, it can then say, Oh,
maybe I didn't look at this ascritically as I should have. Or
maybe I forgot to ask a questionthat I wrote. So I do think that
even for anybody at any stage ofthe process, not to just blindly
(34:02):
send out their resume, but toreally, and not to overthink it
either. But you know, ask thecritical questions in the
interview, don't just be sogracious that they want to meet
with you. And be prepared forthem to ask you the questions
prepared to ask them thequestions in return.
And I'd also say to be openminded when even looking at
(34:24):
those opportunities in the firstplace. Right? So a lot of times
students have this dream, thisvision, and that's amazing. When
they're looking at aninternship, let's say they want
something that's very specificto what that dream and vision
is, but maybe that's notavailable at this stage and they
(34:47):
have to start somewhere and sobeing flexible with the types of
opportunities that they'relooking for still
responsibilities within thatexperience aligning with their
field, but it can look a bitThey're friends. And there needs
to be some flexibility becausethat might be that student's
foot in the door to get themultimately where they want to be
(35:08):
where that big dream is.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (35:11):
Well, ladies, we have been talking
about some really interestingthings. And throughout each
podcast, I write down keywordsthat we've been talking about,
and I use them as hashtags. So Iwanted to list some of these
words and then I'm going to askyou what your personal hashtag
(35:31):
is. Okay, so here we go. Hashtagfree, hashtag opportunity,
hashtag benefits, connected,handshake, learn, teachable,
impressed leadership, peoplebreak out of their skills,
interview, transferable skills,training, responsibility,
(35:52):
career, engage, networking, andthe last one that I loved
flexibility. So who wants to gofirst?
Unknown (36:03):
I think my hashtag would be hashtag get experience.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (36:07):
I love it. Deborah.
Unknown (36:10):
Eric and I are very similar. Anyway, anyways, mine
would be hashtag opportunity. Soeven though I'm on the career,
you know, focus, I mean, it'sall it's all. It's all hand in
hand, if you don't have theopportunity. If you don't have
the experience, if you don'thave like the trial part of it.
How do you build a resume? Howdo you know where you're gonna
(36:33):
go in your career
like it? You have to have that?
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (36:36):
Well, I think we have done a really
great job today. And I want tothank both of you for coming on
the Baroness podcast. where canstudents find you websites?
physical location, what do wegot?
Unknown (36:49):
So our physical location we are over in the
Student Success Center on thefirst floor, we are down the
hallway that is adjacent to thepublic safety desk.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (36:57):
Excellent. And where can we find you
online?
Unknown (37:00):
Our cbc.edu/careers And we have such great social
support from our marketingdepartment. So you can just
follow updates from rcbc,Instagram and other social
platforms.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (37:13):
Thank you so much for joining us on The
bareness podcast. We will seeyou next time. Take care.
Thanks. You've been
Jason Varga (37:20):
listening to the rcbc bareness podcast, which
highlights women in leadershipwhile encouraging listeners to
build their skills, connect withthe community and visualize the
opportunities available to womenin various professions. For more
information about this podcastor other podcasts available on
the rcbc Podcast Network, visitrcbc.edu/podcast And be sure to
subscribe to the rcbc barenesspodcast available on all
(37:41):
streaming platforms.
Welcome to Rowan College of Burlington
County's Baroness Podcast. I'mDr. Brooke Mailhiot program
chair and assistant professor ofour entertainment technologies
department. I am the co chair ofthe Women's Advocacy Group a
subcommittee of the President'sAdvisory Council on diversity,
(00:22):
equity and inclusion. Thismonthly series highlights women
in leadership, while encouraginglisteners to build their skills,
connect with the community andvisualize the opportunities
available to women in variousprofessions. Tune in for a
female perspective on theBurlington County community. We
(00:44):
are here to listen to theseamazing women. And if you want
to hear from women who lead andinspire this podcast is for you.
Well, welcome back listeners. Itis September. We are back on
campus here at rcbc. And we arein full swing. And one of the
things that I want to say is,it's been busy. And we have two
(01:07):
very busy women who are in oneof the busiest offices here at
rcbc. Today joining us is EricaFranklin, experiential learning
manager here at rcbc. AndDeborah quokkas. career
preparation manager and why Ibrought you two women on today
is because there has beensignage, events, emails,
(01:28):
lectures, students are I hearcoming to your office in droves,
because you guys are where it'sat. So instead of me introducing
what you do at your office, I'mgoing to have you guys tell me
what you're doing here oncampus. First, someone that I
was actually thinking aboutthis, Erica, I don't even know
(01:51):
how long we've known each other.It's been a long time. We've
been here at rcbc. How long haveyou been here at rcbc?
Unknown (02:00):
So I started at rcbc in 2010. Oh, wow.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (02:03):
So I'm about a year before you. So we
have known each other probablysince the 2000s. At I know we've
been working together. So whydon't you tell us a little bit
about your job here at rcbcbeing the experiential learning
manager, which is one of myfavorite words is experiential
learning. Go ahead.
Unknown (02:24):
Sure. So as you said, I started here years ago, and my
role prior to my current role isservice learning specifically.
So I used to work with facultylike you to integrate relevant
service projects into theclasses that were being taught
here, coordinated differentcommunity facing events and
(02:45):
initiatives and taught a servicelearning practicum.
Historically, at the college,experiential learning, like
service learning was happening,but it was happening in
different places, and it wasn'tfully streamlined. So most
recently, the collegeestablished an office of career
preparation and experientiallearning. And so in my current
(03:07):
role as experiential learningmanager, I work with faculty,
students, employers andcommunity partners to offer high
quality hands on learningopportunities. Yeah, and
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (03:20):
I think that is the perfect role for
you. Because when we worktogether with service learning,
it's just a hand in hand withthe partnerships, that community
building, and now you're doingit with our own rcbc students in
the community. And we have a newlady on campus here, Baroness
with us, Deborah quokkas. Andyou're the career preparation
(03:42):
manager. And I know when I readyour bio, you have a lot of
experience in in this area. Sotell us what, what brought you
to rcbc here?
Unknown (03:51):
Sure. So I really came to rcbc because of the
opportunity to work withstudents who are at the start of
their college and academicexperience being added to your
college, helping students whowant to quickly get into the
workforce, whether that's rightafter their associate's degree
or if they're interested intransferring on to complete
(04:13):
their bachelor's degree. Sothat's what brought me here. And
I've been with the community forabout four months, and I'm very
excited to be starting the newacademic year with everyone.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (04:23):
Well, we're happy to have you here as a
baron. So thank you for joiningme and Erica today. One thing
that I will say is I was part ofan experiential learning program
in my undergrad. And when I camehere as a faculty, one of the
(04:43):
things that I knew was missingfrom my program was experiential
learning because I thinkbuilding that classroom to
career connection is huge. And Idon't think a lot of people
understand that. I think in myspecialty is in Video Production
and Sound Recording engineering.A lot of the partners and
(05:08):
producers and local businessowners are looking for that
connection of experientiallearning. Who wants to take why
experiential learning is soimportant. I just I don't think
a lot of people understand that.Who wants to take that off first
and then jump. You both
Unknown (05:29):
are so respectful of one another. I mean, for me, I
value experiential learning somuch, because it's what gives
students that connection fromwhat's happening in the
classroom, to apply it in thework that they will want to do
eventually, one day. So I thinkthat it is helpful for students
(05:50):
who are really trying tonavigate things, from scratch to
say, is this what I want to do?Or maybe this isn't what I
thought it was going to be. AndI have to change my path a
little bit, or look at adifferent option within what I'm
studying, you know, because wecan go in so many different
directions, with our academicbackground. So I think
(06:11):
experiential learning gives usthe opportunity and give
students the opportunity to say,Yes, this is it, or that's what
not quite what I thought it wasgoing to be. But it helps
everyone to develop their skillsand their tools in such a more
tangible way. So that they canapply it and what comes next in
(06:31):
their life.
And experiential learning looksdifferent for every single
student and for every program.Brooke, I know, you just said
that you participated whenyou're an undergrad, when I was
a student, I was heavilyinvolved with volunteering, I
studied abroad, I didundergraduate research, I went
to a technical high school whereeverything every single day was
(06:54):
hands on opportunities. So thoseare the types of things that
we're talking about when we'retalking about experiential
learning. It's learning by doingand it's very broad, it can be
those examples that I provided.But it can also be collaborative
assignments in the classroom,right? It can be these other
(07:16):
immersive experiences. Likeright now we have a group of
students who are serving asdelegates at they're doing
research for the UN's globalsustainability goals. And
they're going to be pitchingtheir ideas tomorrow at the UN
Global Assembly. So those aredifferent types of opportunities
(07:38):
that really get our students outthere and experiencing the real
world.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (07:42):
And what I think is really unique about
experiential learning is andbeing tied to a community
college, it's different. Why doyou think it's so different and
has almost like a closerconnection when you're working
at a community college?
Unknown (08:03):
I'm going to turn that question over to Deborah, since
she comes to us from a four yearinstitution,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (08:08):
it could take a break to think about it.
She's like, let me let me thinkabout my thought there. But I
was trying to tie like thetight, tight, tighter community.
Like I think a lot of partnerlike this is where you would
maybe,
Unknown (08:20):
yeah, so I mean, I know
over the years should take itsince I haven't seen it all in
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (08:27):
trying to bring like the former service
learning thing and come it tofruition. That's where I was
going with that. Sorry. Yeah,we're good. All right. So let's
pick it up in 321.
Unknown (08:38):
So working with the community for as many years, as
I have, I've seen a lot ofoverlap with our students. And
these organizations, maybe thestudents actually benefited from
some of the organizations in ourlocal community, and those
students and feel moreconnected. As a community
college, our students live here,they come from here, they spend
(09:04):
every day here. And so beingable to leave campus and see the
organizations that we're workingwith really makes an impact on
them.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (09:14):
So one of the things that I've been seeing
around campus here coming backare these giant posters
everywhere and emails about thisthing called handshake. What's
this all about? Let's talk aboutit.
Unknown (09:29):
Sure. So handshake is our online platform for students
to use for job search forresources that we offer in our
office, and also to scheduleappointments with our staff
members. So it's a really end tocomplete their experiential
learning components within theacademic classroom. So it's a
(09:49):
real nice, like, one stop forthem to come in and get their
career development elements. Sowhat also a nice benefit of
handshake is that many collegesand universities across the
country use it. So it gives ourstudents access to so many
employers. And on the reverseside, it gives employers so much
(10:13):
access to our students, becausethey're able to come in as
employers and connect withmultiple schools in one account.
So it's really nice benefit foreveryone to interact and make
those connections to find outabout career fairs that are
happening, events that may betaking place on campus or off
campus, because many employershost events virtually, even
(10:38):
before the pandemic, but so muchmore sense. So students are able
to connect with these reallylarge corporations that they
might not have had access tootherwise. And so they could be
corporations that are herelocally, in Philadelphia, New
Jersey, or if they're thinking,you know, I might branch out
from New Jersey and BurlingtonCounty, at some point in my
life, they can get some earlyexposure to what those companies
(10:59):
have to offer. But additionally,they can connect with our staff
by going into handshake andcreating appointments, and
therefore they can meet with us,in person. And then we have many
resources that are availablethere as well. So if a student
is awake at two o'clock in themorning contemplating life, and
where they're going, and whatthey want to do, they can log in
(11:22):
and shake is their handshake isthere at all hours of the day.
So it's a really nice way forstudents to stay connected with
us even when the office may beclosed.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (11:31):
So when a corporation or a local business
contacts you, you know, when Iwas looking for a job at the
students, you know, age must bedifferent from what an employer
is looking for today, right?Things change, trends change,
what are these businesses thatare contacting you? What are
(11:53):
they looking for?
Unknown (11:55):
So I would say that many of these organizations are
looking for students who areeager to learn, you know,
they're teachable, they'retrainable. It's I think that
what I often hear from employersis, wow, I didn't do this when I
was a freshman in college, or Iwas a first year in college,
actually, we neither know andthey're just very much impressed
(12:18):
by what the students have donethrough high school with that
part time job opportunity theymay have had, or school
leadership that they may havetaken advantage of. So I do
think that to an employer seeingthat they say, wow, there's a
strong baseline of working withpeople and the rest of it, I can
(12:38):
train because they've alreadyhad some exposure to a work
environment. So you know, ifthey can communicate with me,
effectively, whether that'sthrough email, or in an
interview, that's a great start,and I can help train on the
rest.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (12:54):
You know, I, I absolutely love that word,
communicate. And, and obviously,people skills and I think Erica,
you can also maybe kind of talkabout that, because when we work
together with service learningprojects, and building
partnerships, and really givingmy students a a job, right,
(13:16):
connecting them, connecting themwith some of these partners and
producing films and thingstogether. Communication is key.
What did you What do you feelwhen you when we when we saw
these students in action? And wewere talking with the partners?
What are some skills that youthink are kind of those skills
(13:41):
that the students really need tohave today?
Unknown (13:43):
I mean, it definitely, like you said communication. And
I think that the integratingexperiential learning into
classrooms as incitements, thatare supported by the faculty
member, really give the studentsa supportive environment to
break out of their shells, totry to learn new communication
(14:05):
skills. Maybe they never in yourexample, brought maybe they've
never had to work with a clientbefore. And so this gives them
that opportunity. They're therein front of a client with other
students who may never, neverhave ever worked with a client
either. And so they're in thistogether, they're supported by
you as the instructor. And theorganization that you're working
(14:25):
with also understands that thisis a learning environment. So
it's a safe environment for thestudents who really again, like
I said, come out of their shellgain that skill and develop it
throughout the rest of thesemester.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (14:38):
Can you talk about any other unique
assignments that you've seenthat the students are doing
around campus?
Unknown (14:46):
Sure. So we have human services students who are in a
couple of different classes,actually who complete agency
interviews so they are leavingthe classroom they are engaging
with professionals in theirfield of study and learning what
their jobs are on a day to daybasis. What does that facility
(15:07):
look like? Who are the clientsthat they're working with? The
students are also given theoption to do a few hours of
service learning. And so ifthey're volunteering with an
organization, rather than doingan agency interview, they're
engaged in the actual activitiesthat that organization does day
to day to serve the folks in thecommunity.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (15:27):
I mean, that sounds amazing. Like if you
were a student, and I alreadyknew that I had access to do
like, trial interviews, or, youknow, go and test those kinds of
things. Like I didn't have thatin undergrad. That's pretty
amazing that I have thatopportunity to do that. And I
know it doesn't just start withhandshake, what are some other
(15:49):
things? And I know you saidabout that handshake offers all
these other specialties. When astudent walks in, how do they
apply for handshake? Is it easyas just going online? Do would
you prefer them to come to theoffice? I know you have some
other services you offer? tokind of get them prepped to then
(16:11):
go to the next step? Would youshare those other services that
your office has to offer forthem?
Unknown (16:16):
Sure. So every student that's enrolled at rcbc has an
account to handshake. So theydon't have to create one, it's
there for them. Yay, that isfree. And it is free, hashtag
free? Yes, exactly. So they goto their Baron one. And from
there, there's a tile that theycan click on and get right into
handshake. So we make it veryaccessible, very easy for them
(16:40):
to navigate. Before gettingconnected to those employers and
applying to those positions. Youknow, it's important that a
student meet with somebody inour office and talk to them
about resume development,because most often when you
start that conversation withemployer, they're gonna say,
Okay, where's your resume here?Where's
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (17:00):
your portfolio and resume? I have
lots of students that come to mesaying, Hey, can you help me
write a resume? And I go, Well,have you tried? Like, do you
write everything down? Maybe youwent to a Google Doc, start
looking at your skills andthings, but I can only tell them
so much, right? So that's when Isend them to you. So you, you
help them resume build? What aresome tips and tricks that you
(17:22):
give them for that?
Unknown (17:23):
Sure. So, you know, first and foremost, I think
what's important is for astudent to know that it needs to
stay on one page, we so oftensee that they go on to two
pages. And you know, there aresome tips and tricks of
formatting. You don't need tokeep a one to one and a quarter
inch margin. Like you're writinga paper that's nice to hear, you
(17:45):
know, the students are like,well, I can change the margin, I
say, yeah, you can use yourdocument. Sure. You know, and
then mainly, like, get the meatof it beyond just the formatting
of it. It's to identify what arethose transferable skills that
you've experienced? What kind ofresponsibilities might have you
been given? So you know, if youworked at Five Below or at
(18:06):
Target, were you training othernew staff members that were
coming in? And or were yousupervising anybody new? And so
to demonstrate that, to explainthat to quantify it, you know,
how many of those new people didyou help to train and ingratiate
into your department? That's sothat's so valuable for a student
(18:29):
to talk about, because that,again shows the level of trust
or responsibility that yourprevious manager had put on you,
for that new employer to say,Hmm, there's something there.
That's, that's good to know,somebody else found value in
your work ethic and how you werepart of the team. And I
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (18:46):
think a lot of students don't realize the
amount of skills that they dohave. So just like you said,
they might work at Target orStarbucks, I know, half of my
students work at Target orStarbucks. But I always say
like, think about the thingsthat you don't really think
about that you're doing on adaily basis. And that's just a
(19:06):
great example. Like, did youtrain somebody? How many people
have you trained? And what? Whatare your other job
responsibilities, and then howto write that in a professional
format. Right? It's verydifficult,
Unknown (19:19):
right? To that point, I think it's the best starting
point is to just get out a blankpiece of paper or a tablet and
just brainstorm and put it alldown on paper. Do not worry
about that format. I think whenstudents look at those
templates, or start to, youknow, fill in the blank of that
template, there's a lot ofpressure and stress that comes
in that gosh,
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (19:39):
so much anxiety, I'm sure because they
don't know what to write what tofill in or what might not
Unknown (19:44):
how to write. Yeah, oh, I'm supposed to make this sound
so professional andsophisticated, but I was just,
you know, filling coffee orders.Well, right. Let's pull back
from that, like what else washappening
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (19:56):
or they're over or the overuse of the
thesaurus for Words and you'relike, I actually don't even know
what that word means. But I likeit. Right. Exactly, exactly. So
I totally understand that. Andthat's really a wonderful, you
know, product that you providethe students, what are some
other things that you do over inyour office?
Unknown (20:17):
Sure. And, you know, I'll joke and say close your
ears because you're a facultymember. But not every student
always likes what they're comingin to study. And so they're
thinking it's the right fit, orthey may like what they're
studying in the classroom, butthey don't really know what
that's going to translate oncethey're out of rcbc. And so we
(20:39):
have another system that we usein our office called Focus two,
which has some careerassessments associated with it.
So we guide the student to takethose assessments and then meet
with them afterward to reviewthe results and help them
understand what do you do withthis information. And then
there's another piece to thatproduct that helps students
(21:00):
navigate and understandoccupations. So you can search
all different types of jobtitles. It goes through an a
synopsis of what that is, itprovides video links, it
provides professionalassociation links, it talks
about What are potentialearnings, what other advanced
degree might you need to go forif you want to continue in this
(21:21):
type of occupation. So it's agreat resource for somebody
that's just exploring and tryingto navigate what they may be
good at in the future.
And to Deborah's point about thestudents not knowing what their
major might translate into whenthey leave our CBC or step into
the career field, we are tryingvery hard to get to the students
(21:45):
as early as possible, not onlyto have completed a career
assessment, but to engage, thenin an experience related to that
field. We want the students tobe able to have that exposure
early so that they know whetherthey enjoy that what we're
(22:05):
trying to prevent. And I thinkhas happened so many times, so
many students, and maybe evensome of us in the room, you
start with one major and thenyou end up with a different
major. And then you end up witha different major. And you think
that you love that major, andthen you graduate with your
degree, you go on to get anotherdegree, you might go on to get
yet another degree, but you'venever actually had experience in
that field. And so you gothrough all of this education
(22:26):
all of these years, and then youfor the first time step foot
into that career. And you don'tlove it.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (22:33):
Oh, yeah, no, I've heard that story. Many
times. It's like I went toschool for X, Y, and Z. But I'm
in completely A, B, and C,because I went and got a job.
And I did slight, you know,right? Oh, yeah, definitely. And
what's great about that, isthat, like you said, you're
getting in early, so they're notthen spending more time in a
(22:54):
classroom, not enjoying, let'ssay, a class, but then get
focusing them no pun intended onyour focus, focusing them,
right, focusing them into reallya love a loved relationship. You
know, how many people we know islike, I hate my job, I don't
love my job. And, and this isreally to help those students
(23:16):
and get them in there early. AndI think that's a wonderful thing
that you're doing. So the localcommunity and partnerships, how
are you getting? You know, howare you obtaining these local
businesses to come specificallyto rcbc and login handshake,
(23:37):
because that is a big job here.And I know Erica is one of the
people here that rallies some ofthose with a lot of her
partnerships. But how do you getthese businesses to come
specifically to rcbc? And why dothey come to rcbc?
Unknown (23:54):
Sure. So I think we take various approaches to
getting some of these anddeveloping some of these
partnerships. Like you said,Brooke, because I've been here
for years, and I've developedsome partnerships already. It's,
it's utilizing networking,right? It's talking to
organizations that we mightalready have a relationship
with, and seeing theirconnections are and I can't tell
(24:19):
you how many times I'm workingwith an organization and then
they talk about anotherorganization that they're
working with where there's aneed or their friend or their
mother, or a classmate who isengaged in an activity and is
looking to recruit rightassistants, whether it's a short
whether it's interns orvolunteers, so really utilizing
(24:42):
some of our existingpartnerships to build and grow
new ones. But also handshake hasjust been a huge help in this
area, as well. And so I thinkDeborah can speak a little bit
to that.
Sure. So I'll I'll say you know,a lot of the organizations that
companies in the area have beenon handshake because they're
(25:03):
using it at other campuses. Soit's really just introducing
them to rcbc as well, and thatwe're on the platform, and they
can connect with our students.So when they go to post a
position, an internship or apart time job, they can then
select us as an option as well.So it's just doing some
additional outreach that way,again, leaning on some of our
(25:25):
campus partners, Stacy hunt overat workforce development we work
with closely, we also work withour partners in the Foundation
office to say, you know, whereare there some overlaps? Where
can we, you know, say, Oh,you've already been talking to
this person will come to campusand meet our students, you know,
and giving them that opportunityin that doorway to come into
(25:46):
campus, whether it's for anetworking event, a panel
discussion, or the fallopportunities fair, that's
coming up for the spring, onethat will take place. They just
the employers, I think like tohave that opportunity to meet
people in person. And it notjust always be this transaction
that's happening on handshake.And so it is using our
(26:07):
resources, whether it's theconnections that Erica has made
over the years, or thepartnerships that other people
on our campus have had as well.
And many of the partnerships arewith faculty, right. And so
faculty have been huge inidentifying some of these
opportunities to get in front ofstudents. So I don't want to
(26:28):
forget to mention that. Becausereally, you're in that field,
you as the instructor, you're inthat industry, you have the
connections, you know, what'sgoing to be a good learning
environment for the students.And so that's been a huge help
in fostering relationships.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (26:46):
Well, you both said, my huge word is
networking, especially in myindustry. And I'd love to expand
on that. Because I feel likethere's been like this
disconnect with networking, nowthat we have all these online
tools that are not amazing. Weall now see how awesome it is to
(27:08):
connect. And many of us areusing all these tools on a daily
basis. But the face to facenetworking, I just don't want to
leave it off the table. Howimportant is still that face to
face that networking, thatconnection for students to
learn?
Unknown (27:29):
So I'll say because we just talked about how important
that is within our work Deborahand mine. For me, I am not the
kind of person who lovesLinkedIn, I'm not the kind of
person who loves usingtechnology for that networking.
And I think that like. Okay, soyeah, it's different in our line
of work normally, like in careerservices, you're all about that
(27:51):
you know how to utilize it youreally like live in that space.
But for me, it's always beenabout the face to face. It's
always been about these inperson conversations, doing
events together, being engagedin the moment where we are. And
(28:12):
so for me, I really I wouldn'thave a job. If that wasn't a
skill that I was able to developover the years.
No, and I think LinkedIn has itsplace. I definitely do. But I
think it's all a balance, youknow, there's so much about
(28:34):
balance and everything. Butdefinitely when it comes to
networking, you know, it's goodto make that connection on
LinkedIn. Because you can findpeople that way that they might
not be coming to those events.But then, you know, support it
by saying, can we go grab a cupof coffee? Or could I, you know,
(28:54):
meet up with you to ask a fewquestions, or thanks for coming
to that campus class that youspoke at the other day, I just
wanted to reach out on LinkedInto stay in touch with each
other, because I'd be interestedin internship that you may be
offering in the future. So ithas its place. But I don't think
that it's exclusive. Like Idon't think that a student or
(29:15):
anyone should rely on LinkedInsolely. Because the in person is
so valuable. It makes that pieceof paper you're handing
somebody, like tangible to who'sbehind it. Yeah, so I definitely
am somebody that's like, itshould be in person. It doesn't
have to solely be in personbecause it's hard to get in
(29:37):
touch with people sometimes inperson. But if you're doing the
LinkedIn outreach, don't justsend a message and not add a
note. Always add a note becausesomebody's going to have a
little more context as to whyyou pick them to connect with.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (29:53):
Yeah, be a little personable. Exactly. And
I love that and I also likedthat you both shared link din,
but, you know, differentgenerations, a lot of these
students don't even have aLinkedIn, we're talking, they
have an Instagram, they have aFacebook, they have a tick tock.
Their social presence isdifferent on some of these other
(30:13):
social media platforms. And aspeople in the career services,
area of expertise, what would besome things that you would share
the do's and do nots of studentsand these social media channels,
because you know, theseemployers are are going to
(30:36):
Google, you are going to look,look just at your resume, you're
going to put your Instagram upthere, you're going to maybe put
a Vimeo or a YouTube page orthings especially my students
have YouTube and Vimeo channels,what are those do's and don'ts
that you tell those studentsshould be on there shouldn't be
on there?
Unknown (30:57):
Well, if they haven't learned by now, because they are
the generation that has had thistheir whole existence. I'll be
surprised if they haven'tlearned it by now. Right. So
either make your accountprivate, and check on it.
Because we know that theseplatforms love to update their
settings. And then it's all of asudden, one day you go in and
(31:18):
you're like, Well, I thoughtthat was a private account. And
now it's not. So doing somecheck ins, on your account
settings, doing some check insby googling your own name to see
what appears. But also always bemindful that someone can find
this. And so if you wouldn'twant an employer to find it,
(31:39):
like I won't even say agrandmother, I feel like when I
was younger, people would belike, if you don't want your
grandmother to see it. Well,like some people are like, Yeah,
my grandmother was there withme.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (31:49):
You know, if you'd Okay, granny, if
Unknown (31:52):
you don't want your employer seeing it, and you
don't think that this would besomething that would be seen as
a positive to you joining thatorganization, then think twice
before you post it and put itout there. But then, you know,
some who are in the creative,they feel they want it out
there. And they want to havethat all looking very polished.
(32:15):
And it's a way to expressthemselves visually. And that's
great. So they use it to whatit's there for. But on the flip
side, like all theseorganizations, most of them are
on all the different socialplatforms. So for you to then as
a potential candidate, or personthat may work there, like follow
(32:36):
them to be sure that this is thetype of environment and culture
that you would want to be a partof.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (32:42):
Yeah, I mean, I think I think it works
both ways. And I love that youbrought it up, it's like,
sometimes there's so studentsare so wanting the job, but then
they don't really know theemployer. And it's like you
said, if you're following whatthey're doing, and then you're
saying, this might not be forme, exactly kind of what the
(33:04):
whole idea is behind theexperiential part of learning.
Is that just as much as you wantthe job, it might not be the
right fit for you. And I think alot of people get lost in that.
Do you see that a lot.
Unknown (33:20):
I think sometimes. And I think you know, I can attest
to this, too, you're so hungryfor the opportunity, or just to
be able to get that offer or getthat. Yes, we want you and that
feels so great. It's kind oflike dating. Yes, you're
listening, that you kind offorget how you're supposed to be
(33:42):
evaluating them as much asthey're evaluating you. And then
I think once a person gets intoa position, it can then say, Oh,
maybe I didn't look at this ascritically as I should have. Or
maybe I forgot to ask a questionthat I wrote. So I do think that
even for anybody at any stage ofthe process, not to just blindly
(34:02):
send out their resume, but toreally, and not to overthink it
either. But you know, ask thecritical questions in the
interview, don't just be sogracious that they want to meet
with you. And be prepared forthem to ask you the questions
prepared to ask them thequestions in return.
And I'd also say to be openminded when even looking at
(34:24):
those opportunities in the firstplace. Right? So a lot of times
students have this dream, thisvision, and that's amazing. When
they're looking at aninternship, let's say they want
something that's very specificto what that dream and vision
is, but maybe that's notavailable at this stage and they
(34:47):
have to start somewhere and sobeing flexible with the types of
opportunities that they'relooking for still
responsibilities within thatexperience aligning with their
field, but it can look a bitThey're friends. And there needs
to be some flexibility becausethat might be that student's
foot in the door to get themultimately where they want to be
(35:08):
where that big dream is.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (35:11):
Well, ladies, we have been talking
about some really interestingthings. And throughout each
podcast, I write down keywordsthat we've been talking about,
and I use them as hashtags. So Iwanted to list some of these
words and then I'm going to askyou what your personal hashtag
(35:31):
is. Okay, so here we go. Hashtagfree, hashtag opportunity,
hashtag benefits, connected,handshake, learn, teachable,
impressed leadership, peoplebreak out of their skills,
interview, transferable skills,training, responsibility,
(35:52):
career, engage, networking, andthe last one that I loved
flexibility. So who wants to gofirst?
Unknown (36:03):
I think my hashtag would be hashtag get experience.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (36:07):
I love it. Deborah.
Unknown (36:10):
Eric and I are very similar. Anyway, anyways, mine
would be hashtag opportunity. Soeven though I'm on the career,
you know, focus, I mean, it'sall it's all. It's all hand in
hand, if you don't have theopportunity. If you don't have
the experience, if you don'thave like the trial part of it.
How do you build a resume? Howdo you know where you're gonna
(36:33):
go in your career
like it? You have to have that?
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (36:36):
Well, I think we have done a really
great job today. And I want tothank both of you for coming on
the Baroness podcast. where canstudents find you websites?
physical location, what do wegot?
Unknown (36:49):
So our physical location we are over in the
Student Success Center on thefirst floor, we are down the
hallway that is adjacent to thepublic safety desk.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (36:57):
Excellent. And where can we find you
online?
Unknown (37:00):
Our cbc.edu/careers And we have such great social
support from our marketingdepartment. So you can just
follow updates from rcbc,Instagram and other social
platforms.
Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (37:13):
Thank you so much for joining us on The
bareness podcast. We will seeyou next time. Take care.
Thanks. You've been
Jason Varga (37:20):
listening to the rcbc bareness podcast, which
highlights women in leadershipwhile encouraging listeners to
build their skills, connect withthe community and visualize the
opportunities available to womenin various professions. For more
information about this podcastor other podcasts available on
the rcbc Podcast Network, visitrcbc.edu/podcast And be sure to
subscribe to the rcbc barenesspodcast available on all
(37:41):
streaming platforms.
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