The Porter Family Professional Development Center helps students with exploring career choices, developing their brand, job and internship strategies, and much more.
The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business’ main resource for student professional development is the Porter Family Professional Development Center, which was established in 2011 by a gift from Elon trustee Dave Porter P’11 and his family.
The primary goal of the Porter Center is to assist business students with self-assessment (exploring interests, abilities, values and personality style), academic majors career exploration, job and internship searches, graduate program searches, networking, and creating and executing an action plan to secure a job, internship or admission into a graduate program.
Housed in the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center, the Porter Center is staffed by Jan Pagoria, director of internships and Jane Mehringer, associate director of career services. Lauren Duffy, associate director of corporate and employer relations also works closely with the Porter Center and on behalf of the business school to develop and manage strategic employer relationships.
They provided the following information for students:
What can the center help students with?
- Job & Internship Strategy Development – From resume preparation to employer outreach, we coach you through the recruiting process and prepare you for your career.
- Creating Your Brand – Developing your entire presentation online, through various communications, and in person.
- Resource Generation – Providing guidance and direction on trending resources and networking platforms.
- Don’t know what you want to do? We can help guide you through the discovery process.
What can Jane Mehringer, associate director of career services, help students with?
- Career & Internship Exploration
- Resumes
- Cover Letters
- Social Media Strategies
- Interview Preparation/Mock Interviews
- Networking
- Elon Job Network Navigation
- Internship Search Strategies
- Job Search Strategies
- Choosing a major
- Graduate School Strategies
- Personal Statements for Graduate School
- Self-Exploration/Assessments
- Researching Target Organizations
- Professional Etiquette/Do’s and Don’ts of the Job Search
What can Jan Pagoria, director of internships, help students with?
- Career Exploration
- Choosing a major
- Cover Letters
- Graduate School Strategies
- Internship Opportunities
- Interview Preparation/Mock Interviews
- Job Search Strategies
- Networking
- Personal Statements for Graduate School
- Professional Etiquette/Do’s and Don’ts of the Job Search
- Researching Target Organizations
- Resumes
How can students make an appointment to meet with a career advisor?
Call the Porter Center at (336) 278-6064 or stop by room 106 in the Koury Business Center. The center also holds express drop-in hours on Mondays through Thursdays, 1:00-3:00 p.m.
What upcoming events does the center have planned?
- The Porter Center will host the LSB Connect Conference for sophomores on September 27. More information.
- Porter Center Food Blitzes – Be ready for them!
- The career advisors hold express drop-in hours Mondays through Thursdays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
- Employer events are already in full swing! Stay updated on the latest on-campus interviews, employer information sessions and career fairs by logging on to the Elon Job Network.
For more information on the center, visit www.elon.edu/portercenter.