The Career Services Center at CMC is hosting a presentation for students at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 in Bauer Center's Founder's Room with author and corporate veteran Andy Teach, who will provide students suggestions for corporate success. A 50-minute PowerPoint presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.
Associate Director of Career Services Young Kwak says Teach's seminar, From Graduation to Corporation, is based on his book of the same title and is aimed at helping college graduates understand and adapt to the older, prevailing corporate mentality. In addition, Teach's seminar is designed to help newly minted grads become acquainted with their new work environment and narrow the gap between their expectations and those of their supervisors.
"Andy has some straightforward advice that resonates with the philosophy of our office," says Diana Seder, interim director of CMC's Career Services Center. "Our students are awesome, yet they can still benefit from the words and experiences of someone who's been there, done that.' He tells it like it is. It's what students today need to hear, and we hope that students from all of The Claremont Colleges will attend on Tuesday," she said.
Teach says that in today's tough economy, two of the most vital objectives for young people are obtaining and keeping a job. Therefore, finding ways to avoid conflict with bosses and older co-workers is key to staying employed when the economy forces lay offs, he says.
Topics to be covered for students on Tuesday include:
Networking
Resumes and cover letters
Standing out in the interview process
Criteria used in determining career paths
Strategies for working with difficult people
"Corporate Commandments"
Teach says he is impressed by how highly-rated CMC and the other Claremont Colleges, are, academically. "They're equivalent to Ivy League schools," he says. "And while the students and faculty are aware of this, I don't think the average company recruiter may be aware of this."
"A liberal arts education is relevant in today's society because it provides students with a broad exposure to many different areas and instructs them to think critically, to problem solve, to communicate intelligently, and to possess knowledge in a wide array of subjects," he says. "In most professions, you learn as you go and I think it's those with knowledge of many areas who have the most flexibility in adapting to their new work culture.
"Having said this," Teach notes, "I've had Ivy League graduates work for me who weren't savvy enough to know how important it is to go along with the flow when it comes to supervisors. I think being savvy is something that you learn on the job because every work culture is different."
A Rude Awakening
Another area Teach plans to cover during the March 24 presentation is generational differences among colleagues and supervisors in the workplace. He says younger employees in the Generation Y category (ages 18 to 29 years-old) are sometimes entitlement-focused and believe companies should accommodate their desires for a relaxed work atmosphere, a casual dress code, and allow them to "change" the system as they see fit.
"I think those who feel that way are in for a rude awakening in the workplace, especially in today's difficult economy where no one can afford to make waves," Teach says. "Some younger people enter a work environment and start criticizing the way things are without really getting to know the rules and guidelines, the people, or the politics of that workplace. This only serves to alienate them from their supervisors."
Teach, a graduate of Rutgers College, began his career as a media planner for a top-10 advertising agency in New York, and most recently served as vice-president of network and cable research for a television and motion picture studio in Los Angeles.