Ready, Set . . . IGNITE

Ready, Set . . .

by Katie Porterfield

When professors in the Management and

Marketing programs began receiving feedback from employers that students needed to improve certain career preparation skills, they knew they needed to take action.

“Whether they were discussing higher-quality resumes, stronger interviewing skills, or more confidence in networking situations, employers believed many of our students could be more prepared for some of the tasks students engage in when transitioning from college to career,” said Don Roy, professor of Marketing. “We knew we had some work to do to strengthen our students in those areas.”

After all, employers aren’t the only ones expecting the Jones College of Business to graduate strong workforce candidates. Parents and students invest a lot of time and money in a college education, believing it will yield not just a degree (and the knowledge that comes with it) but also employment. Roy and others formed a committee to find a solution, and the result was a professional development program known as IGNITE.

The program is now part of Jones College’s broader professionalism initiative.

IGNITE’s goal is to help students develop knowledge and skills to navigate the process of landing a professional, entry-level job and to instill confidence in them to compete for jobs in their chosen field. Though the committee initially launched the program in 2014 in the formerly combined Marketing and Management Department (which

IGNITE, JONES COLLEGE’S PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, GIVES STUDENTS CONFIDENCE TO COMPETE FOR JOBS IN THEIR FIELDS

is now two departments), it expanded IGNITE’s reach during the 2017–18 academic year.

“The IGNITE committee wanted to provide career readiness opportunities to all Jones College students,” said Jill Austin, chair of the Department of Management, which has taken a leadership role in coordinating the program.

As a result, any business major can participate in the 18 to 25 IGNITE events held each semester. (Though many events require reservations, they are free to students.) For example, recent IGNITE schedules advertised workshops such as “How to Work a Career Fair,” “Top 10 Interviewing Questions,” “Finding the Perfect Internship,” “Constructing a Personal Mission Statement,” and “Workplace Etiquette and Protocol.” Other popular and beneficial IGNITE events each year include the college-wide career fair known as BEST (Business Exchange for Student Talent) and the Dining Etiquette for Professionals dinner, featuring tips on navigating meals in professional settings.

“Decisions regarding workshop topics or what type of speakers and events we have are influenced heavily by what employers tell us they would like to see in our graduates,” Roy said.

Students receive points for attending various workshops (typically worth 10 or 15 points) or for participating in business engagement or leadership activities, such as job shadowing, internships, or holding positions in student organizations around campus (typically worth 20 points for the year).

“Chances are students are going to be doing some of these things anyway over the course of their academic career in different courses they take,” Roy said. “But the IGNITE program pulls together all of these different activities in the name of preparing the student to begin his or her professional career.”

Students who earn 100 points over multiple semesters and write a reflective essay about their IGNITE experience receive certificates. Recent graduate Julian Wilcher (B.B.A., ’17) said the program gave him more professional and personal confidence. Wilcher is one of 52 participants who have received IGNITE certificates since the program’s inception. Over the past three academic years, students have filled 5,065 IGNITE session seats.

“The workshops were very useful because they helped me understand what I was looking for in a job and what companies are looking for in people,” Wilcher said.

Austin and Roy expect IGNITE participation numbers to continue to climb, not only because the program is now available to a broader audience but also because IGNITE gets stronger each year. It’s a strategy that ensures greater success for students but also one that will continue to support the broader business community and its professional workforce. n