How the Center for Mentoring Can Work with Student Clubs/Organizations
The Center is committed to working collaboratively with student clubs and organizations to help all students develop and hone networking skills and support access to alum and other “experts” in areas of interest. Following is a description of some of the Center’s offerings, but please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions about other potential opportunities!
Workshops:
The Center can offer workshops to support students’ development of external social capital (networks). Following are two examples, but we are also open to additonal suggestions. Please request our workshops with at least one week’s notice to determine a mutually agreeable time. Contact the Center at mentoring@drew.edu or the director, Carol Bassie, directly at 973-408-3838.
- Drew Connect Basics: a 30 minute workshop on what purpose Drew Connect serves, the sign-up process, search tools for finding mentors (primarily alums) within the platform, and tips for outreach. This workshop will also include a discussion of using Drew Connect in conjunction with LinkedIn and why neither should be the exclusive tool.
- Advanced Drew Connect Skills: a 30-45 minute deep-dive into the various tools available on the platform, including Career Path exploration, Jobs, Groups, and more.
- Best Practices for Networking/Reaching out to a Potential Mentor: Networking doesn’t have to be intimidating. In this workshop, the Center for Mentoring will offer easy tips for striking up a conversation in a professional networking setting, whether at an event or one-to-one, in person or virtual. The workshop (including its length) can be tailored (e.g., the workshop might be 15 minutes or could be as long as 45 minutes if you are looking for a more in-depth discussion and practice-time). This workshop will also include a discussion of how to turn what started as a casual conversation about common interests into a more professional conversation around career opportunities.
Opportunities to Practice Networking and Speaking Skills with Alums
The Center can set up the following opportunities for your class. (Both will be part of standard Center for Mentoring programming, in collaboration with the Center for Career Development and other campus partners).
- Informational/Mock Interviews: Alums offer information about their industry and/or feedback on interviewing skills
- Elevator Pitch Preparation: Students connect with an alum in their field of interest to develop and deliver an elevator pitch. Students will meet once with an alum to discuss general content and a second time to deliver a pitch and gather constructive feedback. Students and alums may choose to continue the conversation after the second contact as they wish.
- Each of the above programs will be managed through the Drew Connect platform following an in-person preparation session for students with the director of the Center for Mentoring and colleagues from other departments.
Identification of Alums:
Looking to put together a social gathering with alums with like interests or planning a special program where alum input would be helpful? Contact the Director of the Center for Mentoring at least four (4) weeks in advance for assistance in identifying diverse and engaging participants. We’ll even provide swag and offer some food and beverage support! Please note: the greater advance notice you can provide, the more likely we will be able to help your organization identify the most appropriate alum participants.