Wentworth’s Partnership with ASPIRE

By: Chris McIntyre

Wentworth students have plenty of support when searching for their two required co-ops. Dedicated advisors are there to assist every step of the way through resume reviews, job searching, interviewing, and everything in between. But even with this support, securing a co-op is challenging. This is especially the case for students who have a great deal of stress, anxiety, or other factors that can impact their search.

Recently, CO-OPS + CAREERS began a partnership with MGH Aspire. Dubbed Aspire @ Wentworth, the joint venture between MGH Aspire and CO-OPS + CAREERS aims to give some students extra support through the co-op process.

Through over 25 years of serving the community, Aspire has cultivated relationships with some of the biggest and best names in Boston. This, combined with the in-depth knowledge of the advisors from CO-OPS + CAREERS, prepares Wentworth students for co-op and life after graduation.

What is Aspire @ Wentworth?

A student’s co-op is about more than getting the offer. It’s also about growing as a person and a professional. Aspire aims to develop the skills necessary for navigation of the workplace and social communication in a professional context. Aspire @ Wentworth creates a way for students to develop social skills and manage stress through the process.
Aspire provides a structured program that combines the usual support from their CO-OP + CAREER Advisor with coaching with in-depth reflective seminars. This means the students’ advisor will be available to help with things like resume writing and using WITworks.
But students also work closely with an Aspire job coach both before and during the co-op. The Aspire coach will meet with the student at the beginning of the program, getting to know the student and their strengths, needs, and goals. Sometimes the coach will even accompany the student to their interview to ensure the student is at ease and communication is clear.
Once the student is on co-op, an integral piece of Aspire @ Wentworth is the weekly seminars led by Aspire on Wentworth’s campus. Students use the meetings to discuss what happened that week at work with peers also enrolled in Aspire. Other topics covered include:

• Socializing on co-op/at work
• Organizational skills
• Time management
• Networking
• Managing anxiety and unexpected changes
• Prioritization

These seminars are crucial in developing lifelong skills to succeed in life as well as an outlet for students to meet and discuss shared experiences with peers. The common thread Aspire @ Wentworth focuses on is the 3Ss: Social Competency, Self-Awareness, and Stress Management.

Aspire @ Wentworth Goals

1. To help co-op students learn the social aspects needed to succeed in the workplace
2. To assist co-op students in identifying and managing their challenges while recognizing and developing their strengths
3. To empower co-op students to enhance their skill set and build their confidence to be independent in the workplace

Career readiness is a hallmark of Wentworth, and the Aspire program is another way CO-OPS + CAREERS prepares students for life after Wentworth.
For more information on Aspire @ Wentworth, contact coopsandcareers@wit.edu.

The benefits of volunteering and extracurricular activities

By: Chawney Weis

“It’s not about what you know, it’s about WHO you know.” But how do you get to know the right people? And how do you convince them that you’re the right person for the job?

You could possibly meet a connection in your Uber-pool, a coffee shop on the T or at a family/friend gathering; but volunteer work is one of the quickest ways to meet people and prove your knowledge and work ethic. Whether you choose to volunteer through an unpaid summer internship (in high school or college) or you opt to volunteer your time a couple nights or evenings each month, you will have the opportunity to build relationships with people who can potentially help you out, or at least provide you a good reference, during your co-op and/or job search. Similarly, extracurricular activities including sports, clubs, networking groups, volunteer activities, travel, etc., allow you to network and meet people while demonstrating your strengths, skill set, and how you work with others on a team and in different environments.

While both volunteer work and extracurricular activities allow you to make connections and prove your abilities, you are also building your resume in doing so. Choosing to spend your free-time doing something purposeful implies that you have interests in something beyond your school work; you like to seek challenges and learn about a variety of fields and lines of work. Employers appreciate seeing that an applicant is involved in their community and well-rounded in the activities they choose to participate in. Employers regularly request to speak specifically with students in different clubs and organizations. They want to see leadership positions and skills on your resumes as well as campus and community involvement. The projects you work on and the interactions you have will help you develop transferable skills that you will use in the classroom and in any job/work setting.

So, when you attend the Involvement Fair on the front lawn on September 7, 2017, consider what you can learn and how being involved (both on and off campus) can help you land your next co-op or job after graduation. If you are spending your summer off at home, consider volunteering part-time or finding other activities you can be involved in. Remember that your CO-OP + CAREER Advisor can assist in pulling transferable skills from any of these experiences to boost your resume and present your qualifications in your cover letters.

 

So, you want to go to graduate school…

By: Lauren Creamer

More and more students these days are telling me they want to go to graduate school. And they’re saying it earlier on in their collegiate careers. Before you jump on the grad school bandwagon, it’s important to a) ask yourself some critical questions, and b) have a plan of action. It’s a lot of work, but well worth it, if you know where you want to go next. Use the guide below to get started. And, as always, reach out to you CO-OP + CAREER Advisor for help!

Questions to Ask BEFORE You Begin:
• What do you want to go to grad school for? Master’s? PhD?
• Do you want to go into industry after OR do you want to teach?
• Why do you want to go to graduate school at all?
• Do you want to go immediately? Or work for a few years?
• How long do you want to be in school? One year? Two years? Five+ years?
• Where do you want to be? Does it matter?
• What schools offer your desired program(s) of study in your preferred location?

Action Steps to Take:
• Make a list of those schools, including program directors/coordinators and contact info.
• Make an outreach plan and conduct outreach – ask thoughtful questions, show interest.
• Rank programs. Know their requirements. Work backwards from their deadlines.
• Prepare for and take the GRE. (Or whatever other standardized test the program(s) require).
• Connect with faculty mentors to get their advice on selecting schools and the application process. (They once went through the same process!).
• Connect with your CO-OP + CAREER Advisor re: logistics for applying and writing your personal statement. (This is often more work than you might think!).
• Do you need to submit a skill-based resume or a CV? Don’t know the difference? See your CO-OP + CAREER Advisor!
• Begin applications and submit materials by deadlines.
• Prepare for program interviews. (This is a great time to loop back around with your faculty mentor).
• Review offers and accept at the program which is the best fit for you!
• OR defer acceptance until you are ready. (You never know, plans could change!).

Choosing An Employer

By: Jason Gregoricus

A corporate employer or start up? Which is the right fit?

Larger corporations typically offer stability, regular hours, better pay, clearly defined roles and well-established support. Start-ups, on the other hand, tend to be more flexible about work hours, often require their employees to wear multiple hats and usually demand more creativity as a result.

Which one fits best for you is an important question. Let’s look at each in kind.

Large Corporations: They’re large because they’ve figured out what works in the marketplace and have grown because of it. So, when a company grows it usually compartmentalizes the work of various departments with clearly defined roles within them. Therefore, when you’re hired, you’ll know what is expected of you and how to grow within the company. (Relatedly, there are usually robus benefit packages – health, retirement, etc. – as well.)

Additionally, larger corporations usually prefer to hire from within – it’s convenient and less expensive than taking the administrative time to recruit/interview/hire. In the end, it’s all about relationships. People hire other people they know and like. Therefore, if you work for a company and would like to try something new, the chances of advancement and change are greater.

However, there are downsides. First, large corporations are usually not nimble. Change moves slowly – if at all – and when it does happen the process can be maddeningly slow. In larger organizations there are usually many stakeholders for every decision and idea. Therefore, the time it takes to implement those changes/ideas is exponentially proportional to the number of people it will affect. So, if you’re an impatient person, then the corporate atmosphere may not be right.
Start Ups: Conversely, working for a start up does have its perks.

First, start-ups are typically very exciting places to work. They often have a dynamic workforce and a swashbuckling energy that makes every day go by quickly. As a result you may find yourself taking on several different (read “seemingly unrelated”) aspects of the business. It is not uncommon with a small start up for a recent hire to handle shipping, sales and market research all in one week. The benefit of such a situation is that it allows a person to explore what they’re good at, and what they enjoy less.

Concurrently, in a small organization it is much easier to shine as all your contributions are obvious to everyone. Therefore, a start up could help you gain confidence, self-knowledge and a strong reputation. Conversely, however, the challenges at a small start up can be numerous.

First, the benefits may not be all that great. Start ups may allow you flexible hours – but incredibly long ones as well. Also, with some exceptions, they are operating with razor thin margins. Therefore retirement packages, vacation times, health insurance options all may be less than ideal – or not on offer at all. This can be compounded by the fact that many start up don’t have anyone working in human resources. So your options for support become even that much more limited.

Second, if you make a big mistake at a company it can have huge repercussions. Everyone knowing you did great is, well, great – but the other side of the coin is the public recognition of mistakes. It never feels good when the majority of your coworkers all know when you’ve made one.

So, in the end, where you choose to work will be decided by where you feel the most comfortable. But keep this in mind! Everything is fixable. Everyone who has worked long enough in the world has a story about a bad job or workplace situation. Just because you don’t fit in, or a job is not what you wanted or thought going in, there will always be another chance on the horizon.

So keep your head up and soldier on! Big or small, comfortable or nimble. Over time you will learn what works for you and that will be the right thing

Meet the Staff – Sara Dell

Originally Sara Dell, Associate Director of CO-OPS + CAREERS at Wentworth, planned to be a Professor of Anthropology.  She earned two degrees before learning that she liked to work in teams and preferred seeing immediate results from her work.  So, she left her PhD program and instead, having come from a family of small business people, went to work in industry.  First in large corporate banking (in Foreign Exchange – the cowboys of banking, where 20 million dollars is traded into Yen in less than a minute) and then in a series of small startups and emerging growth companies in various industries including Buzz marketing, entertainment, and green technology.

Starting in operations and finding she liked working with people, Sara’s mentors encouraged her to specialize in Human Resources.  She found herself hired as employee number ten and the only operations person working for the 6-foot redhead CEO, and University of Cincinnati DAAP program alum.  She wanted her creative company to have co-ops.  The company had two interns the summer before Sara arrived and she grew the program to where there were co-op students in almost every department.  At one point, the ratio of co-ops and interns to staff was 1:3.

Working with co-op students became her favorite part of her job and so she decided to shift to Career Services in Higher Education.  Through a series of informational interviews, Sara landed an Assistant Director role at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago where she advised students’ full-time on their careers and finding co-ops and internships.   She found she loved working with engineering and technology students, appreciated being part of a team and was energized when a student would come in with a co-op, internship or a full-time offer.

A few years later, having lived 20 years in Chicago, Sara wanted to return home to New England.  She missed the region and her family.   When she saw the open position at Wentworth Institute of Technology, the school reminded her of her current school, but with the added benefit of a co-op program.  She applied and got the offer.  Hired as a CO-OP + CAREER Advisor, Sara is now the Associate Director, running the co-op program.  A career that started with building a co-op program in industry has grown into overseeing the co-op program here at Wentworth.   Sara’s journey has come full circle and she is back in Higher Education on a team who works with students’ full time. Sara celebrates every time a Wentworth student lands a co-op!