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Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
Implementing a Course-Embedded Résumé and
Professional Employment Action Plan Preparation
Program for College of Business Juniors
Robert E. Pritchard , Gregory C. Potter , Joanne Damminger & Betsy Wriggins
To cite this article: Robert E. Pritchard , Gregory C. Potter , Joanne Damminger & Betsy Wriggins (2004) Implementing a Course-Embedded Résumé and Professional Employment Action Plan Preparation Program for College of Business Juniors, Journal of Education for Business, 79:6, 348-353, DOI: 10.3200/JOEB.79.6.348-353
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.79.6.348-353
Published online: 07 Aug 2010.
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comparison analysis indicated decreas-ing student satisfaction at the COB with respect to all four questions from 1998 to 2002. The overall 3.75 rating in 2002 was slightly lower than the 1998 rating of 3.85 and considerably lower than the 2000 rating of 4.13. This COB rating decrease from 2000 to 2002 was consis-tent with the decrease for all business schools participating in the Survey.
Finally, the 3.75 COB rating for “placement and career services” in 2002 was lower than that for any of the other 13 areas surveyed by the COB; the other ratings ranged from a low of 4.29 to a high of 5.54. This lowest rating for “placement and career services” obtained at the COB is consistent, again, with the AACSB/EBI Survey results for all partic-ipating colleges of business.
Interestingly, as in previous years, the results of the fall 2002 Cooperative Institution Research Program (CIRP) Survey2show that most (88.6%) of the incoming COB students viewed finding a better job as a very important reason for their decision to go to college. Despite a history of COB students’ indi-cating a high level of interest in better
ABSTRACT.When the AACSB/EBI Undergraduate Business Exit Survey (Survey)1 is administered to graduating
business students, the results tend to be similar for all participating institutions. Of the 14 areas measured through the Survey, “placement and career ser-vices” receives the lowest ratings from students. Because the Survey ratings for graduating College of Business (COB) students at one regional univer-sity were significantly lower than those from the other colleges of business, the authors of this article developed a pro-gram to help COB students have more positive career planning and placement experiences.
hen the AACSB/EBI Under-graduate Business Exit Survey (Survey)1 is administered to graduating college of business seniors, they give the lowest ratings to “placement and career services.” Furthermore, AACSB/ EBI Survey results indicate that student satisfaction with career services for all participating college of business stu-dents declined dramatically from 2000 to 2002. On a 7-point Likert-type scale including the anchor points 1.0 (very dissatisfied), 4.0 (neutral), and 7.0 (very satisfied), the mean rating for participat-ing institutions was 4.15 in 2002—a level below the satisfied level of at least 5. Clearly, graduating seniors attending colleges of business at many institutions are dissatisfied with placement and career services.
The rating for the category “place-ment and career services” represents a combination of the scores of four spe-cific AACSB/EBI survey questions (factors). In Table 1, we provide these four questions, along with the survey ratings obtained from the graduating College of Business (COB) seniors, spring 2002, at the regional university
where we developed the Course-Embedded Résumé and Professional Employment Action Plan Preparation Program (Program). The COB began using the survey in 1998 and has used it every 2 years since then.
In spring 2002, the COB’s graduating senior rating for “placement and career services” was 3.75 on the scale of 1.0 to 7.0, significantly under the 4.15 rating for all business colleges participating in the Survey. Furthermore, with the exception of the response to question no. 62, a longitudinal multiyear factor
Implementing a Course-Embedded
Résumé and Professional
Employment Action Plan
Preparation Program for College
of Business Juniors
ROBERT E. PRITCHARD GREGORY C. POTTER JOANNE DAMMINGER
BETSY WRIGGINS
Rowan University Glassboro, New Jersey
W
faculty members to align their skills with the requirements of the rapidly changing business environment. Ap-proaches to meet this need are included in the “Outcomes Assessment and Con-tinuous Improvement” statement pre-pared by the College of Business at William Paterson University (William Paterson University, 2004). The state-ment identifies an “Annual Stakehold-ers’ Conference” to provide dialogue among business leaders, alumni, and faculty members regarding learning goals and objectives. Similarly, Colum-bia University’s business school pro-vides outreach activities that engage student teams with firms on consulting projects “to advance our understanding of commerce as it exists today and how it may evolve in the future” (Fraiman, 2002).
Paralleling such efforts to align the business curriculum with the changing world of commerce and work, aca-demic support services such as place-ment and counseling also recognize the need for collaboration and articulation among teachers, community organiza-tions, and businesses (Banta & Kuh, 1998; Korschgen & Hageseth, 1997; Letourneau, 2002; Schuh, 1999). Such collaborative efforts ensure that students have a “full range of information about themselves, exploration of all careers, and a knowledge of the job market” (Maddy-Bernstein, 2004).
This perspective represents a shift in the view of the placement center from a “job dispensary” (Miller, 2004) to an integral part of the undergraduate expe-rience (Korschgen & Hageseth, 1997; Schuh, 1999). This integration involves recognition of student psychology and culture, including factors such as the stu-dents’ abilities, family and friends, and vocational interests, as well as the cul-ture itself (Akers & Porter, 2003; Kim, Markham, & Cangelosi, 2002; Lewis, 2001; Simmerling & Wilcox, 1995).
Forging relationships among faculty members, students, and service agen-cies under the umbrella of student ser-vices is an ongoing, seamless process (Schuh, 1999). Lumsden, Garis, Rear-don, Unger, and Arkin (2001) stressed that career preparation takes place throughout the undergraduate experi-ence, not through “one visit” to the employment opportunities, many COB
seniors had not been registering for or attending interviewing and recruitment events, career fairs, and similar activi-ties. As a consequence, interviewers from a number of regional and national employers cancelled such events, which resulted in fewer interviewing opportu-nities for those students who did attend. This situation posed a serious problem for the COB.
Literature Review
The evident student dissatisfaction with placement services reported in a study by Educational Benchmarking, Inc. (EBI, 2004) begs an examination of (a) what students expect of these ser-vices and (b) whether their expectations are, in fact, realistic (Roach, 2003; Miller, 2004). In part, this dissatisfac-tion reflects the economic downturn of the early 2000s, which resulted in wide-spread contraction of employment opportunities and significant cutbacks in campus recruiting (Chen, 2003; “Prime Numbers,” 2001; McMenamin, Krantz, & Krolik, 2003).
Although plentiful job opportunities a few years ago meant that students could just “walk in” to check placement center listings, finding a suitable position by or shortly after graduation today requires advance preparation, hard work, and an aggressive approach (Bisoux, 2003; Roach, 2003). Furthermore, the acceler-ating rate of structural changes in the job market, together with the exportation of many jobs to countries such as China, Mexico, and India, has added to the dif-ficulty and complexity of searching for
employment (Schwartz & Harrington, 2003).
Moreover, campus career services also face changing student demograph-ics, as well as other challenges stem-ming from personal and psychological factors (Brown, 2002; Brownlow & Reasinger, 2001; Lewis, 2001; Scott, 2002; Trusty, 2002; Yang, Wong, Hwang, & Heppner, 2002). All of these factors can add to student frustration and result in dissatisfaction with cam-pus career placement services.
Framing realistic career expectations and requirements for students in search of suitable entry-level positions is the paramount task of career planning and counseling services (Brigham Young University, 2004; Hoyt & Maxey, 2001). It is equally important to note that the job market for business alumni is under-going rapid changes as well. In many instances, these changes have resulted in dislocations requiring business grad-uates to change jobs and career paths as well as employers, often several times during the course of their careers. This situation clearly suggests the need to incorporate the skills and knowledge required for a series of successful job searches within the undergraduate busi-ness curriculum (Lataif, 2003; Nowak & Miller, 1996; Young & Henquinet, 2000; Young & Murphy, 2003).
From the standpoint of the business curriculum as a whole, Walker and Black (2000) remarked that academic leaders recognize the challenges con-fronting business education and that they mirror those faced by corporate America. These researchers specifically identified the need for business school
TABLE 1. AACSB/EBI Undergraduate Business Exit Survey “Career and Placement Services”: Questions (Factors) and COB Ratings Obtained for Spring 2002
Question (factor) Rating
61 How satisfied were you with the placement office assistance in 3.87 preparing you for your placement job search?
62 How satisfied were you with your access to the alumni in cultivating 3.55 career opportunities?
63 How satisfied were you with the number of companies recruiting on 3.90 campus for permanent jobs?
64 How satisfied were you with the quality of companies recruiting on 3.57 campus for permanent jobs?
career center. Lane’s research (2000) on career development urges students to develop career plans even before 11th grade. Arnold’s research (1989) on career decidedness and psychological well-being supports the importance of making career decisions before gradua-tion, even though the benefits may become apparent only after graduation. The processes of career exploration, positioning oneself to be attractive as an employee, and conducting a job search are most successful when conducted over a period of time and not left until students are preparing for graduation.
Several models have been used to help students develop career plans. Such planning can take, for example, the form of the career planning essay, which can be incorporated within the classroom experience. Lyon and Kirby (2000) described a career planning essay and résumé writing experience for business majors. Those authors stressed that this approach helps students man-age their own careers rather than letting the career manage them.
Jones (2002) set out an action plan covering the 4 years of undergraduate study to help students find their career paths. Even though such activities might be construed by students as potentially time-consuming extra work, research suggests that students actually approve of and view them as valuable career-training tools (Ackerman, Gross, & Perner, 2003; Schroth & Pankake, 1999). Development of a career plan is an integral part of the process of job search and selection. Finally, the litera-ture supports the assertion that integrat-ing (course-embeddintegrat-ing) career plannintegrat-ing skills into classroom experiences is both pedagogically sound and an effective way to help students frame realistic expectations (Dodson, Chastain, & Lan-drum, 1996; MacDermott, 1995; Nell, 2003; Nowak & Miller, 1996).
Description of the Course-Embedded Résumé and
Professional Employment Action Plan Preparation Program
The COB dean and various COB fac-ulty members, recognizing the impor-tance of (a) the information provided in the literature, (b) the general low ratings
given to “placement and career ser-vices” by all students participating in the Survey, and (c) the significantly lower ratings given by COB 2002 grad-uating seniors compared with those obtained at other colleges of business, met with the director and staff members of the University’s Career and Academ-ic Planning Center (CAP Center). Their plan was to develop a program to achieve the following goals:
1. Help COB students develop realis-tic expectations about the kinds of cam-pus career planning and placement resources and services available to them and specifically those available through the CAP Center.
2. Better prepare COB students to obtain internships and graduating seniors to obtain career positions.
3. Teach COB students how to pre-pare professional résumés and submit the résumés to potential employers.
4. Teach COB students how to pre-pare professional development action plans or plans for specific actions to make themselves more marketable upon graduation.
5. Improve levels of student satisfac-tion with placement and career services.
In this article, we focus on the program (Program) that was developed to help achieve these goals. The Program was embedded in the business core course Principles of Finance (Principles). We chose this course for four reasons:
1. It is required of all business majors regardless of major or specialization.
2. Almost all COB students take Prin-ciples during their junior year, thereby ensuring that nearly all COB students would participate in the Program during their junior year. This timing was impor-tant because students need well-prepared résumés to obtain supervised internships. Most COB students participate in super-vised internships either during the sum-mer following their junior year or during their senior year.
3. Very few students transfer Princi-ples to the university, thereby ensuring that virtually all COB students would participate in the Program.
4. The professor coordinating Princi-ples was very supportive of the Pro-gram, was willing to devote class time
to it, and was able to convince other Principles instructors to do so.
The Program required students to participate in the four activities listed below. According to the quality of com-pleted assignments, students could earn up to 10 points, and these points were added to their final examination grades. The final exam counted for 40% of the semester grade. Thus, students could increase their semester average by four points, an amount slightly greater than, for example, the difference between a B- and a B.
The CAP Center staff created a rubric for assigning the points. We presented the rubric to the students with an expla-nation, so they would understand how they would be graded. All assignments had to be completed on time; students did not receive credit for assignments turned in late. Details of the Program and the assignment due dates were included in the Principles course syl-labus. The four activities included the following:
1. Attend a résumé preparation work-shop conducted by CAP Center staff in the CAP Resource Center during a regu-larly scheduled 75-minute Principles class period. This location was chosen because it required students to visit the CAP Center (some did not know where it was located; others had never been there) and permitted the CAP staff to illustrate the resources available to students at the Center. To emphasize commitment to the program, the instructors teaching all Principles sections attended the presenta-tions along with their students.
During the presentations, the students were taught how to develop a résumé and prepare themselves to obtain a pro-fessional career position upon gradua-tion as well as a supervised internship while attending college. We provided the students with appropriate handouts. The faculty coordinator of the COB Supervised Internship Program attended the presentation for each Principles class section and provided students with information about the COB Supervised Internship Program. The PowerPoint slides for the presentation are available for review at http://www.rowan.edu/ stu-dentaffairs/cap/PDF_Powerpoint/COB. Finance.resume.pdf.
Students were awarded one point for attending the workshop.
2. Prepare a résumé or update an existing résumé, following the instruc-tions provided at the CAP résumé preparation workshop. The Principles instructors collected the résumés; mem-bers of the CAP Center staff critiqued and graded them. The résumés were cri-tiqued for format, content, complete-ness, and grammar (including spelling). Students were awarded up to three points for this assignment, according to the quality of their résumés.
3. Revise the résumé based on the -CAP Center critique and resubmit it along with the original résumé contain-ing the CAP Center critique. Students were awarded up to two points for this assignment, according to the quality of their corrected résumés.
4. Develop a professional employ-ment action plan. Students were required to assess their current status with respect to GPA, level of activities, and so forth, and then identify the résumé-building activities that they wanted to complete to strengthen their résumés so they would be more attrac-tive to potential employers. The CAP Center staff provided them with a multi-page handout detailing many résumé-building activities. For example, if a stu-dent wanted his or her résumé at graduation to include a semester (or more) of work experience in his or her area of specialization, then the student could consider enrolling in a COB Supervised Internship. If she or he wanted it to include demonstrated lead-ership or teamwork skills, then the stu-dent could consider taking an active leadership role in one or more of the COB student organizations.
The students were instructed to review the handout carefully and to select those activities that they wanted to complete. Then they were asked to list those activi-ties in their action plans and indicate the specific steps that they were planning to take to complete each activity. The stu-dents were awarded up to four points for this assignment, according to the quality of their action plans. A sample action plan designed to assist students in com-pleting this assignment is included in the appendix.
Results and Summary
At the end of the semester, students participating in the Program were asked to complete a short survey form designed to determine the Program’s effect on their perceptions of the “place-ment and career services.” After con-sulting with the Vice-President of Research and Development at EBI, the CAP Center staff included AACSB/EBI Survey Question 61 (“How satisfied were you with the placement office assistance in preparing you for your placement job search?”) with the added clarification that the term “job search” referred to all activities of the finance class résumé writing project.
On the 7-point scale with the anchor points 1.0 (very dissatisfied), 4.0 (neu-tral), and 7.0 (very satisfied), the mean rating by students participating in the Program for this question was 4.36 (n = 112). It is interesting to note that the mean rating for the day students was 5.34 (n = 44), and that for the evening students was 4.09 (n = 68). The differ-ence in mean rating for day and evening students may be attributable to the fact that many evening students already have full-time positions. Both the day and evening students who participated in the Program gave higher ratings to Question 61 than did the COB students who grad-uated in spring 2002. The average rating for the 2002 group was 3.87.
The higher ratings given by students who had completed the Program, although certainly encouraging in terms of the perceived value of the Program to them, were not significantly different statistically from the ratings given by the 2002 group. The lack of statistically significant difference was a conse-quence of the small sample size. Fur-thermore, when the students who com-pleted the Program (most did during their junior year) actually enter the process of finding a career position, the level of difficulty that they experience may be the primary determinant of their future ratings.
Although satisfaction ratings given to placement and career services are important to colleges of business, the larger issue of providing students with career development and job searching skills is much broader. If college of
busi-ness graduates cannot secure profes-sional positions and then successfully move through a series of potential career changes, an important component of the rationale for obtaining a business degree in the first place comes into question. What is the value of the degree (regard-less of the quality of the students and their education) if the graduates cannot secure appropriate positions and then move ahead with their careers?
The answer to this question suggests not only the importance of developing programs such as the one outlined in this article, but also the necessity of helping students develop realistic expectations about their areas of study. Engendering realistic attitudes with respect to the business major, the selec-tion of a particular business major, and the requirements for gaining admission to graduate programs and attaining appropriate professional certifications is prerequisite to the development of real-istic attitudes toward the prospective job market and career possibilities. Incul-cating realistic attitudes can help stu-dents make informed decisions in the selection of business as major, as well as help them choose a specialized area of study within business. This, in turn, should increase the likelihood that they will complete their majors successfully, thereby ensuring a successful transition from college to a career position. Such an outcome likely will be attended by increased retention rates.
Inculcating realistic attitudes requires affective learning (House, 2000; Wiers-Jenssen, Stensaker, & Grogaard, 2002). That is, students must be convinced that their long-term success depends on an understanding of the expectations of their majors, as well as the realities of the national and international econo-mies. Only then will they direct their attention and concern to developing the cognitive skills and affective attitudes necessary to succeed within the major, graduate, and go beyond to employment or further study.
NOTES
1. AACSB International—The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business is the pri-mary international accreditation agency for colleges of business. EBI is Educational Benchmarking, Inc. The AACSB/EBI Undergraduate Business Exit Survey includes 70 questions covering 14 areas,
including faculty and instruction, curriculum, use of teamwork, student organizations, advising, comput-er resources, and othcomput-ers.
2. CIRP (Cooperative Institutional Research Program) is coordinated by the Higher Education Institute at UCLA and the American Council on Education.
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APPENDIX
Developing a Professional Employment Action Plan:
Instructions
The sample professional employ-ment action plan shown below is for a student majoring in finance and who is interested in pursuing a career in finan-cial planning. There are many other career areas in finance, including (a) corporate finance, (b) financial engi-neering, (c) investments, (d) insurance, (e) real estate, and (f) working in a financial institution (e.g., a bank). Sim-ilarly, there are many career paths for students majoring in marketing, accounting, management, and so forth. You need to prepare your action plan based on your major or specialization and your career goals.
Note that the sample professional employment action plan consists of two parts. The first is a detailed statement describing your current situation as well as your short- and long-term goals. The second is a listing of the specific actions that you plan to take to help you achieve your career goals.
Finally, please note that the sample professional employment action plan is designed for a full-time student. If you are a part-time student and have a full-time job, it may be inappropriate for you to become involved in campus student organizations or to participate in a super-vised internship. Nonetheless, developing a professional employment action plan to outline your career planning is important.
You may want to change employers or move ahead with your career at your cur-rent employer. You may want to consider activities in professional or civic organi-zations to foster networking opportuni-ties. You may include such plans in your professional employment action plan and substitute them for participation in stu-dent activities or other areas.
Sample Professional Employment Action Plan for a Student Specializing in Finance
and Interested in a Career in Financial Planning
Part 1: Detailed statement describing your current situation as well as your short- and long-term goals
I am interested in investing and learning how to help other people invest their money. I think that I would like to work for a company that sells stock or, perhaps, mutual funds or life insurance. At present, I am in the second semester of my junior year, my GPA is 2.90, and I have not participated very actively in campus activities.
I had some work experience during the summer and presently work about 20 hours a week in retailing. My advisor suggested that I enroll in a supervised internship in an area of personal finance because this is my area of interest. The internship experience will help me learn
more about the field. She also suggested that if I need to continue working, I should try to find a job more closely related to my career interests. Finally, she indicated that I probably will need to obtain professional certifications in finance after graduation and should seri-ously consider getting a graduate degree—either an MS in finance or an MBA with a specialization in finance. I realize that I must improve my GPA to gain admission to graduate school and obtain a good job.
Part 2: List of the specific actions that you plan to take that you believe will help you achieve your career goals
To position myself so that I will be able to pursue a career in personal finance as well as graduate study, I plan to take the following actions:
1. I have visited _______________, assistant dean and faculty coordinator of the COB Supervised Internship Pro-gram, with the goal of obtaining a supervised internship in personal finance. I am considering an internship during [specify the semester] with [specify name of company] located in [specify city, state]. The position title is [specify]. My responsibilities will include the following [specify].
2. I am going to contact _______ _______, assistant director of career and academic planning, and attend the
workshop “How to Improve Your GPA.” 3. I have met with my academic advisor and discussed improving my GPA. This discussion helped me decide that, to improve my GPA, I will have to repeat two courses as well as take a reduced course load next year or give up my part-time job. Then, I can focus on studying and getting very good grades, especially in my finance specialization courses. I plan to repeat the following courses: [list them here]. I plan to enroll in [indicate the num-ber] of courses next semester. I plan to limit the number of hours that I work next semester to [specify] hours a week.
4. I am going to contact _______ ________, faculty advisor for the Financial Management Association, join this club, and participate in club activities that will help me develop lead-ership and team-working skills.
5. I am going to contact the College to obtain more information about becoming a certified financial planner.
6. I am going to contact ______ ________, coordinator of the Center for Learning Services and Volunteerism, and obtain information on becoming a volunteer. I realize that spending a few hours a week as a volunteer will provide me with valuable experience, build my resume, and involve me in helping oth-ers. I am particularly interested in vol-unteering for [specify].
