Rising and graduating seniors heard career advice from numerous professionals, including Elon alumni, during Transition Tactics, a seminar hosted by the Elon Career Center Wednesday, May 18. Details...
The innovative one-day program helps students polish their job skills through a variety of sessions on topics including business etiquette, financial planning, networking and other strategies.
During a morning discussion, students heard from a panel of four Elon alums about their personal experience in the business world. Robyn Fleck ’04, an accountant at the Washington, DC, offices of BDO Seidman, LLP, a national accounting and consulting firm, said students need to be persistent in their job search.
“You need to submit your resume early and then be persistent about it,” Fleck said. She was honest about the sometimes stark contrast between college life and the professional world.
“It’s difficult to go from where you have one or two classes a day, and maybe have Friday off, to the work world, where you have 8 or 10 hour days,” Fleck said.
Don Owens ’95, senior communications manager at Pre-K Now in Washington, DC, an advocacy group for preschool programs, encouraged students to put a lot into their studies and their careers.
“I like Elon, because it’s like the real world. It’s what you make of it,” said Owens, who has also worked in N.C. state government and as a communications specialist with the Teamsters. “Remember that the things that are going to teach you the most in your life aren’t your successes, but your failures. Don’t dwell on them, but reflect on them and learn from them.”
Greensboro attorney/sports agent Jason Knight ’96 advised newcomers to find a job that they could be passionate about. “You have to ask yourself if this job is something you can be motivated to get out of bed for every morning,” Knight said.
The keynote speaker was Ann Marie Sabath, president of At Ease, Inc. Sabbath’s firm specializes in domestic and international business etiquette programs. Sabath’s concepts on business etiquette have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Delta Airlines’ Sky Magazine.
Other guest speakers included Audrey Abron, executive recruiter with Belk Department Stores; Britt Carter, senior vice president and general manager of Fleishman-Hillard in Raleigh; Allison Hart ’98, who works with the product innovation group at Bank of America’s Card Services division in Charlotte; and Luisa Rodriguez Tolsma, a recruiter with the U.S. State Department’s Civil Service.
Junior Emily Infanger, a leisure and sport management major from Jackson Hole, Wyo., said that the workshop helped her learn what to pay attention to in the professional world.
“It gives insight on the little things that will put you above and beyond your competition when you’re in the workplace,” she said. “It’s important to put your best face forward because a lot of times you only get one shot to show yourself.”
The Elon Career Center has offered the Transition Tactics workshop in a variety of formats for 12 years. The program won a national best program award from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in 1998.