(Ball State Access Only)
You’ve heard the saying that getting a job is about “who you know.” Well, lucky for you, it’s never been easier to know people, thanks to sites like LinkedIn and Ball State’s alumni networking platform, Cardinals Connect. We’ll talk about what goes into a good LinkedIn profile and how to approach alumni for mentoring opportunities. Approximately 300 Ball State humanities alumni have signed up already for Cardinals Connect and indicated they want to help current students.
Takeaway Resources
College Student LinkedIn Checklist
How to Join Cardinals Connect and the Compass Group
Find Your Mentors
Mentors are people who:
- take an interest in developing another person’s career and well-being;
- have an interpersonal as well as a professional relationship with those whom they mentor
- advance the person’s academic and professional goals in directions most desired by the individual
- tailor mentoring styles and content to the individual, including adjustments due to differences in culture, ethnicity, gender and so on.
Note: You won’t find all you need from a single person.
Where do we find mentors?
If we don’t go to college
Family
School classmates
Friends
Co-workers
Employers
Social Contacts
If we do go to college, add:
Professors
College classmates
Campus employers
Internship/Immersive Learning supervisors
Career counselors, academic advisors, resident assistants, etc.
Alumni
Guest speakers, writers, lecturers
Activity
Make a list of the people you consider actual mentors
Make a list of the people you consider potential mentors
Consider Passive vs. Active mentoring
Can you do more informational interviews?
Meet with professors to talk about your goals?
Who will speak on your behalf on LinkedIn? For jobs? For grad school?
How will you know when someone at your first job is trying to mentor you?
If you’re not assigned a mentor, how will you find one?
Building Authentic Relationships
Stephen J. Aguilar, “Networking and Mentoring”
Bedelia Nicola Richards, “How to Network Effectively Even if You’d Rather Avoid It”
Five Practices to Build Authentic Relationships
The Milestone Approach to Building Authentic Relationships
The saying goes, “Getting a job is a full-time job.”
Breaking down a big goal into tasks, scheduling them into your week/month/semester
Passion Planner—gamechanger goals and mind maps
Four types of work in this class:
- Reflecting and Drafting (activity)
- Community Building (activity)
- Book Review (project)
- Informational Interview (project)
How can you continue reflecting? drafting? building an online community?
What’s your next new Milestone project?
Read: Burnette and Evans, Designing Your Life
Note: We did many of the activities from their workbook in this class: Work View and Life View.
Design Thinking Approach
- You design your life. It is not designed for you.
- Stop thinking about it and start doing it.
