Game of Careers Boot Camp

Apr 5, 2017

$51-100

Byline

Kellie Sparks, Reference Librarian, University of West Florida Libraries, Pensacola, Fla.

The University of West Florida Libraries’ Career Boot Camp is a two-session workshop in which students receive expert assistance on career-related topics such as social media professionalism, resume writing and interviewing.

As a result of a successful partnership with UWF's Career Services department, we also provide students with personalized LinkedIn profile assistance and the chance to observe a live mock interview with a local hiring professional and student volunteer.

This year, the sessions took place from 1:30 to 3 p.m. on consecutive weekdays.

Advanced Planning

The goals of the Career Boot Camp workshops are to engage students with workforce readiness activities and to provide a safe space for students to discuss how they can improve their interviewing and resume-writing skills.

We plan the entire Career Boot Camp program in three or four months. A member of our Career Services department presents on social media professionalism and also coordinates the presentation and mock interview with the hiring official. Career Services also provides two or more student volunteers who are willing to participate in the mock interview.

The library provides the classroom space, recommended resources and light refreshments for the event. The library also creates the marketing materials, as well as materials needed to keep track of attendance and participant feedback on the day of the event.

Marketing

Marketing is key to a successful event. By partnering with Career Services, we have an additional advocate for the program, with marketing channels that reach beyond our current outlets.We decided on the name “Game of Careers” — a play on “Game of Thrones” — to add interest.

We begin by contacting a variety of campus units, such as academic departments, Fraternity and Sorority Life, and Student Government. Three weeks prior to the event we advertise with print fliers — and on our social media channels — throughout the campus and library.

One strategy that has worked well is to contact the academic advising department, as well as any campus leadership programs that require student attendance at professional development workshops. These partners have proven to be incredibly helpful with spreading the word to students in need of required workshop hours.

We believe these strategies are reaching students, as workshop participants have provided feedback that they saw the event on a flier, heard about it from a course professor, or saw it on a university social media outlet.

Budgeting

A small budget of $75 allows us to purchase light refreshments, like soda and cookies. We also use the funds to purchase thank-you cards for our speakers and event volunteers.

Day-of-event Activity

An hour before the event, the library coordinator sets up a refreshment table at the back of the library classroom, along with a sign-in and feedback sheet for participants. We also test technology to make sure everything is working properly before the presentations.

Only one library staff member is needed to set up, and a minimum of two library staff members are needed to assist in one-on-one LinkedIn profile help during the first day. Computer availability is helpful during the LinkedIn profile help, which typically happens during the last hour of the workshop.

For the second workshop day, it is recommended to have a minimum of two student volunteers for the live mock interview. The live mock interview also happens during the last hour of the second workshop, with time for feedback from the audience. This feedback assists in sparking insights and discussion about the interview process.

Program Execution

The Career Boot Camp takes place over two days, with a 90-minute session on each day.

The first day of the workshop consists of a brief welcome and introduction to career-related library resources, followed by a 45-minute presentation by Career Services on social media professionalism. We end with 30 minutes of hands-on help with students’ LinkedIn profiles.

The second day’s workshop begins with a 30-minute interactive presentation by a local hiring representative about interviewing and resumes. That is followed by a one-hour session with a live mock interview between each student volunteer and the hiring representative. This final hour also includes mock interview critiques from the audience, a question-and-answer session with the hiring representative, and the collection of workshop feedback.

During the two years that we have presented this program, we have had an average of 16 people attend each workshop day. Participants have given positive feedback on the social media professionalism presentation, indicating that they have learned valuable tips on how to conduct themselves online — where potential employers may find them. Past participants, some being first-time users, have also indicated that the hands-on assistance with LinkedIn was helpful. The live mock interview critiques from the participants and hiring official have also been consistently considered to be an insightful and valuable experience for participants.