Category Archives: Career Development

Business Administration Alumna Shares Professional Roadmap

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Students listening to Michelle Smith '15 speak.
Students listening to Michelle Smith '15 speak.

Students listening to Michelle Smith ’15 speak.

Full circle moments happen a lot here at the School of Business! It is not uncommon for alumni to return to campus to speak to students as they cultivate connections and build their personal board of advisors. We recently welcomed back Michelle Smith ’15 (Honors Business Administration) to share her journey post-graduation.

Professor Lancie Affonso introducing Michelle Smith '15

On Feb. 25, Michelle (right) joined Professor Lancie Affonso’s (left) International Management class for “FanFare Friday” at the Stern Center Gardens.

Smith is currently entrepreneur-in-residence at Let’s Talk About Skills, Baby — an online media company founded by alumna Kelly Ryan Bailey ’01 — and program manager for Amazon’s Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship program.

During her time at the College, Smith studied abroad during her freshmen year and participated in Project Okurase in Ghana. She also served as a Charleston 40 Tour Guide and was a Schottland Scholar. After graduation, Smith landed a management consulting position in Washington D.C., where she gathered experience working with a broad range of industries. After being laid off during the pandemic, she took time to consider her next career phase. She hired a career coach to assist in finding a breakthrough industry, which led her to a learning and development role in with Amazon.

Highlights of her professional journey include:

  • Consulting: being a subject matter expert for clients to provide business recommendations, design presentations and work on special projects
  • TED Tech: continuous education and upscaling/learning and development at the corporate level
  • Let’s Talk Skills, Baby: Helping job seekers with entry-level career and career transition
  • Amazon: one year logistics role, pinpointing new buildings and delivery stations
  • Amazon Robotics: learning and developing role, onboarding and training new engineers for robotic automation

Smith also opened the floor for questions related to resume and interview prep, personal financial planning and career direction. Here are some useful tips she provided to the class:

  • Practice visualizing your future with visioning exercises.
  • Include considerations for locations, interests, and cost of living in your job search.
  • Understand that “skills” are not limited to technical skills. Negotiation and life skills are just as valuable to employers!

Listen to Smith speak with Cory Werkheiser on the latest episode of Biz e-Werk on the future of work!

School of Business Launches Mobile App to Bolster Student Engagement, Success

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Don’t be alarmed if you see business students on their phones now more than ever. Despite the delayed start to in-person classes, the College of Charleston School of Business is still meeting students right where they are — on their cell phones.

On Tuesday, Aug. 25 — the first day of the fall 2020 semester — the School of Business went live with QUEST, the student engagement and professional development mobile application powered by Suitable.

“We’ve been working behind the scenes for two years to implement this new program that will provide the next level of student engagement opportunities for our business students,” says Cory Werkheiser, assistant director of career and professional development for the School of Business Student Success Center.

Read more at The College Today.

School of Business Announces Strategic Partnership with GM Advisory Group, Barron’s in Education Program

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The College of Charleston School of Business has entered a two-year partnership with GM Advisory Group (GMAG), a New York-based independent wealth management firm, and Barron’s Group, a financial news publisher owned by Dow Jones & Company, to provide students and faculty with a suite of resources to supplement their studies and professional development.

As part of the program, students and faculty at the School of Business will receive digital access to Barron’s online content, weekly newsletters and webinars. Representatives of GMAG will also make campus visits to speak about financial planning, investment management and other topics related to students’ courses of study and interests.

“In today’s fast-paced economic environment, it’s important to stay current with the latest trends and developments in wealth management such as estate and tax planning, asset and risk management, financial planning, and accounting,” said Frank Marzano, managing principal of GM Advisory Group. “We’re excited to be collaborating with Barron’s to enrich the educational experience at the School of Business with news and insights from our team of experienced professionals.”

Over the next two years, select groups of students will be invited to visit the New York headquarters of Dow Jones for tours of the Barron’s and Wall Street Journal newsrooms and to participate in workshop sessions. The dean of the School of Business will also nominate three students to serve as program ambassadors — a distinction that carries additional mentorship benefits.

Additionally, GMAG will engage with the School of Business’s career services team to communicate about internship and job opportunities.

“We are excited to team up with GM Advisory Group and the Barron’s in Education Program for this opportunity to enhance the student experience,” said Alan T. Shao, dean of the College of Charleston’s School of Business. “This partnership will not only reinforce our mission to prepare students to effectively and responsibly address business challenges, but it will also be valuable for our dedicated faculty.”

The Barron’s in Education program engages with business schools nationally, with programs at other universities  — such as Penn State, the University of Chicago, Duke, NYU and the University of Virginia — having taken part in recent years.

“We are so pleased to bring the Barron’s in Education Program to the College of Charleston School of Business with support from GM Advisory Group,” said Joe Lanza, director of Financial Education at Barron’s Group. “All business school students and faculty will have access to Barron’s digital content along with experiential learning elements designed to help promote financial proficiency for the next generation of business leaders.”

“For us, supporting a school based in Charleston was a natural choice,” Marzano said. “Charleston has become a second home to us over the years: we serve a number of clients in the area, and we’re looking forward to spending more time there in the coming months to deepen our relationship with the community.”

Internship Spotlight: Logistics Intern at Mercedes-Benz Vans

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Ruben Urquiza

Ruben UrquizaRuben Urquiza is an efficient guy. Or rather, he likes executing tasks in a logistical manner so that the end goal is met in an efficient and effective way. This summer, the international business major from Westminster, South Carolina, is fine tuning his logistics and efficiency skills with an internship at Mercedes-Bens Vans in North Charleston, S.C. Read full story here »

SB Resume Month: Q&A with Student Success Center’s Cory Werkheiser

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Studies show that companies do most of their hiring during the first two months of the year. With businesses eager to bring on new talent, there’s no better time to spruce up your resume than now. That’s why the College of Charleston School of Business Student Success Center (SSC) is launching Resume Month this February.

Enter SSC’s Cory Werkheiser: assistant director of career and professional development and the man who’s making Resume Month happen. Poised to take students’ professional skills to the next level, Werkheiser wants to make sure all resumes from our business students are blunder-proof.

We sat down with the career guru to talk a little about the do’s (and don’ts) of a well-done resume.

 

Q: Being the assistant director of career and professional development, I’m sure you’ve seen a ton of resumes — the good and the bad. Is there anything you wish students would leave off of their resumes?

A: Coffee stains. Actually, most of the time I assist students with adding things they never thought of including — like volunteer experience or details about study abroad programs.

Q: What’s the best funky font to include on your resume?

A: If you are using the word funky to describe your resume font — you’ve already failed… Keep it simple — Calibri or Arial. Times New Roman if you insist on having letters with serifs.

Q: Some students are discouraged by the brevity of their resumes. What advice do you have for Cougars with less professional experience?

A: Get involved! Join clubs and professional organizations related to your major/minor. Volunteer with organizations that support your interests or hobbies. Look for opportunities to job shadow or intern to gain experience, and seek out leadership positions whenever possible. All of this enhances your resume and expands your professional network.

Q: We all want to secure our dream job. What’s a major resume DON’T? On the flip-side, what’s one thing students should never leave off of their resume?

A: Don’t add any kind of picture or clip art. Always include accurate, up-to-date contact information.

Q: Is it okay to include jobs and extracurricular activities from high school?

A: Rarely, but I review that with the student on a case-by-case basis.

Q: So, your killer resume just got you an interview. What should you never leave home without when meeting with a potential employer for the first time?

A: A hard copy list (don’t trust your phone!) of the following details: When you are meeting, where the interview is located, and with whom you are meeting. And a breath mint!

Q: Any last words?

A: Using statistical data that I just made up, 98.3% of resumes have something that needs to be corrected, added, or removed. Simple spelling or grammar errors can be the single factor that removes you from consideration. Get the resume reviewed, reviewed, and reviewed!

 

Stop by the Student Success Center (Beatty Center, Suite 100) anytime this month to  have your resume revamped for success. And, be sure to follow the SSC on Instagram, at @cofc_sb_ssc!