THE CAREER FAIR published by
The Auburn Plainsman
SPONSORED BY THE AUBURN UNIVERSITY CAREER CENTER
What you need to do to get a job Talking tech, interviews and where to work in Auburn
Tips from those who have succeeded How to win your employers affection, show out and get noticed
career fairs JAN. 23 • 6-8pm Meet the Firms Accounting Career Fair The Hotel at Auburn University
JAN. 30 • 10am-1pm Internship and Part Time Job Fair Student Center Ballrooms
JAN. 30 • 5-7pm American Society of Civil Engineers Career Fair The Hotel at Auburn University
FEB. 5 • 5:30-8pm Student-Athlete Career Fair Auburn Arena
FEB. 13 • 3-7pm STEM Career Expo Beard-Eaves Coliseum
FEB. 14 • 9am-3pm STEM Career Expo Next Day Interviews Beard-Eaves Coliseum
FEB. 20 • 3-7pm Harbert College of Business Career Fair The Hotel at Auburn University
FEB. 20 • 3-7pm
what’s inside
McWhorter School of Building Science Career Fair Beard-Eaves Coliseum
FEB. 21 • 8am-12pm McWhorter School of Building Science Interviews Beard-Eaves Coliseum
ADVICE
STORIES OF SUCCESS
TECHNOLOGY
How to play the ‘Hire me’ game
How to be an entrepeneur
Getting the hang of Handshake
FEB. 21 • 9am-11am
How to spice up a resume
Students in Financial Management Association
How LinkedIn can be used to further a career
Architecture Internship Fair Auburn Alumni Center
GETTING CAREER READY
The Career Center works to help Auburn students get their dream jobs With graduation and summer just around the corner, applications and interviews for jobs and internships are in full swing. This time of year often leaves many students lost on what to do or even where to start. With its career readiness initiative and spring career fair events, the Auburn University Career Center hopes to relieve some of the pressures of the job hunt on students. The Career Center works to ensure that students are prepared for the workforce while teaching them the skills of networking. Working toward a dream job can be possible with leadership and guidance that is available through the skilled advisers at the Center. Career readiness is best defined as the attainment and demonstration of requisite competencies that prepare college graduates for a successful transition into the workplace. The Career Center’s readiness initiative is broken down into eight segments of skills: leadership, technology, teamwork, communication, professionalism, career ownership, cross-cultural fluency and critical thinking.
Leadership is managing emotion and capitalizing on strengths of each individual to best delegate tasks for completion. Skill in technology is best described as leveraging technologies ethically and efficiently to accomplish goals. The Career Center staff knows just how to make you stand out in a sea of LinkedIn accounts and their expert knowledge will help you do just that. The goal of teamwork is to build a network of diverse relationships working toward a common goal. Communication is all about expressing ideas and delivering and receiving information. The Center’s staff will take the much-needed time to help you practice your conversational skills before heading out for an interview. It’s important to maintain professionalism when looking for a job. To demonstrate good professionalism, take initiative in meetings, be prompt and on time, be constructive and be willing to learn from mistakes. The Center staff will host mock interviews to practice the question portions and let you know what outfit works
best for your next big meetings. Career ownership is vital in the search for jobs. The Career Center can assist you in finding the right door to get your foot in and the right hands to shake. Previous experiences help students to learn their individual strengths and weaknesses to help further their career search. Critical thinking is exercising reasoning to solve problems and make decisions. Students practice critical thinking when analyzing the audience of an E-portfolio and evaluating appropriate works for those portfolios to target the prospective career they want. All of this advice and more is available on Auburn’s campus at the Career Center. Their goal is to help you prepare to your fullest, be confident in your performance, market yourself well and achieve your highest career goals. Stopping into the Center may be the first step to landing a dream job and they are there to help you do so. This sponsored content was written by content writer Emma Raby.
FEB. 21 • 2-5pm
MARCH 7 • 8am-3pm
MARCH 27 • 11am-2pm
Supply Chain Management Career Fair Student Center Ballrooms
Communication and Media Career Day Beard-Eaves Coliseum
College of Agriculture Reverse Career Fair Ham Wilson Arena
MARCH 1 • 8:30am-4pm
MARCH 20 • 10am-1pm
MARCH 29 • 1pm-6pm
Co-Op Interview Day The Hotel at Auburn University
Design Career Fair Auburn Alumni Center
Aviation Career Fair Auburn Regional Airport
MARCH 6 • 8am-3pm
MARCH 27 • 2-6pm
APRIL 3-4 • 8am-5pm
Education Interview Day Beard-Eaves Coliseum
Auburn University (all-majors) Career Fair Student Center Ballrooms
SEC-ACC Virtual Career Fair Online
hiring tools Getting the hang of Handshake, Auburn’s career networking database By PRICE EVERETTE Finding a job through Auburn, whether on campus or off, is now easier than ever with applications like Handshake. Handshake, originally called Tiger Recruiting Link, is connected directly to your Auburn Account, and setting up your handshake profile is incredibly quick and easy. Step 1: Go to auburn.joinhandshake.com Step 2: Create a profile Log in with your Auburn information and create your profile. Here you can add information about your educational experience, previous work experience and what classes you’ve taken. You’ll also be able to upload relevant documents like your cover letter and resume and link directly to your social media profiles like Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo, GitHub and Soundcloud profiles. If you have your own website you can link to that as well. Step 3: Look for jobs that interest you
Now that you’ve got your profile set up, it’s time to start looking for jobs. You can go to the “Jobs” tab at the top of the page and click. On this page, you’ll see a lot of options for you to narrow down your search, like choosing between full and part-time employment, internships and on-campus jobs, to what city or zip code you are looking for a job in. From here, narrow your search to find a job that you’d be interested in applying for. Step 4: Apply for a job When you click on a job, you’ll be taken to its page. Here a summary of the job, as well as a meter telling you if you meet the qualifications for the job based on your profile. Any relevant documents that need to be filled out can be found by scrolling down the page and in the box on the right. You can apply to the job easily by attaching your resume and the relevant documents needed for the job after clicking the apply button. Now, you are on your way to getting a job. Handshake is a great resource for all current and former Auburn students and is very easy to use. Best of luck on the job hunt.
networking
Lifestyle Writer
COLUMN
Give Millennials the credit they deserve By CHRISTIE SHIOVITZ Contributing Columnist There is an unfair stereotype for the Millennial generation. They are seen as entitled, social-media-obsessed individuals with a lack of commendable work ethic. In reality, the generation is very in tune with the world around them and what they wish to conquer within it. Millennials as a whole tend to be more satisfied knowing they own and control their own destiny in ways that other generations haven’t, which contributes to their bad reputation. This generation has a different approach to reaching goals and won’t settle for anything less than their dream. I find this admirable. Millennials value a sense of purpose. Where many people find them lazy for not taking the traditional route, I believe they are just finding a new, individualized approach. Millennials are some of the most diverse and educated Americans, but this just leads to people thinking they are too opinionated for their life experience. Those that are characterized as “Millennials” love spend-
ing time with family and friends just as much as the previous generations; salary does not define them. The millennial generation is more adventurous and willing to take risks in order to find what satisfies them – what gives them that purpose. While being probably the most tech-savvy generation, they use this to stay connected. It is used as a tool and resource for them to seek new adventure and new experiences that their parents and grandparents would never have dreamt doing. This generation values happiness like no other. It is not based on how nice of a car they drive but the experiences that the car takes them to. The generation-wide definition of success is no longer money driven. Success is now measured in happiness and satisfaction, and that is something truly worth the shift. While Boomers and Gen Xers may mock Millennials for buying too many avocados and not investing in real estate, they should really be taking notes from Millennials instead. They are living life to the fullest, pushing the boundaries, and making change. To me, that doesn’t seem lazy at all.
Making your own work
How to be an entrepreneur from those who have been successful By ELIZABETH HURLEY Campus Reporter Being an entrepreneur and entrepreneurship are words that are thrown around a lot today, but not many know what it truly means to be one. Entrepreneurs don’t always have to start their own company from the ground up, and they don’t have to have an employee list of 10 or less. To be an entrepreneur, all you need is an idea and the willingness to work. “A true entrepreneur has a vision and the
passion and determination to carry that vision out. Not every entrepreneur invents a new product or has an innovative idea; many start a business, purchase a franchise, or buy an existing business,” said Lindsey Brides, general manager of the Alabama Small Business Development Center. Small businesses can be a number of sizes. “A small business can go up to 500 and even 1,000 employees depending on the line of business,” Bridges said. “So most businesses you’re looking at in Auburn qualify as a small business.” Shelby Cohan, general manager of Charm-
ing Oaks boutique in downtown Auburn, is a perfect example. While Cohan is not the owner, she runs the day-to-day operations and serves as a consultant to the owner. “He has been in retail for years and wanted to open a store in Auburn,” Cohan said. “A gap came open, and he kind of envisioned a boutique, but he didn’t know much about college girls and clothing, and so I came in.” The time line for beginning a business is different for everyone. Cohan, for example, has been with Charming Oaks since its beginning in August 2016 but depending on how far developed a business idea is will determine each businesses time line. “Some people take longer to start than others,” Bridges said. “Some people may be in the very early stages, and they may not start this year, but they may start a year or two down the road. I would say, of the people that come to me, probably 80 percent start a business.” While there are many challenges associated with starting a business, continuing to run it is a challenge all on its own. Managing employees is one endeavor Cohan has dealt with greatly. “Learning to understand that everybody’s personalities don’t have to mesh,” Cohan said. “They don’t have to be best friends, they just have to work together. If they don’t like the person they are working with, it’s OK. You can’t make everybody happy all the time.” Becoming an entrepreneur doesn’t only affect your work life, it affects every aspect of your life, including home life. Cohan has been managing her family life and work life for many years now as a mother and entrepreneur. “The mom guilt is a real thing,” Cohan said. “My children are not going to suffer because dinner was late or we had take out. But I think that as a mom, you have to realize that it’s OK to work. You can live two lives, and sometimes they overlap. I rely on my husband and even my parents and, you know, you just do the best you can.” Taking Cohan and Bridges’ advice, the next place to go is to the Alabama Small Business
Development Center at Auburn University. There, Bridges and her team help entrepreneurs in every stage of running a business, from starting from just a vision to expanding to a second location. “We are the Alabama Small Business Development Center at Auburn University,” Bridges said. “The Alabama Small Business Development Center Network is a state-
“The most successful entrepreneurs surround themselves with a network of people to help them succeed, recognize their strengths and weaknesses and continually work to stay on the forefront of their market.” -Lindsey Bridges, Charming Oaks
wide, inter-institutional program to enhance economic growth in Alabama. ASBDC services include one-on-one expert business advising and comprehensive information services. Our advisors add value by providing in-depth advising and technical assistance to business owners to help develop sound marketing strategies, understand industry trends, develop realistic financial projections and access capital.” When giving advice to beginning entrepreneurs. “Research – know and understand your market,” Bridges said. “Put together financial projections. Surround yourself with people who have succeeded in the areas where you are weakest.” To get more information on how to get involved with the ASBDC and their services, entrepreneurs should follow the links to register online at www.asbdc.org.
hello, my name is...
How you can take your mundane resume and make it a star to your dream employer By SAMANTHA STRUNK Campus Writer With interview, internship, and job application season rapidly approaching, it is often deemed the appropriate time of year to begin compiling the document college students everywhere seem to dread writing and fear submitting- the resume. That being said, here are a few tips to ensure your resume is the best it can be. 1. Keep it brief. “When writing a resume, it is critical to keep it short,“ said Addye Buckley-Burnell, assistant director of career development in the Career Center. “Right now, people are averaging looking over your resume the first time around between six and 15 seconds. So you need this to be an easily scanned document where you can look it over and find what you need very quickly.” Buckley-Burnell also recommended trying to keep the document to one page. 2. Consider creating an ePortfolio.
Because good resumes are generally so concise, it can be a good idea to design an ePortfolio online that expands upon your experiences, Buckley-Burnell said. Including a link to this ePortfolio in your resume gives employers the chance to see examples of your actual work and provides them more information that may not be listed on your resume. 3. If you think your resume looks boring, you’re probably doing it right. Many applicants are now looking at design-heavy resumes, but Buckley-Burnell said that is only appropriate if they are applying for a design industry position. “For most of us, it (the resume) is actually going to look pretty boring on paper,” Buckley-Burnell said. “The key here is to make your actual experience stand out by highlighting skill sets that are going to be needed for that specific audience.” Career counselor in Auburn’s Exploratory Advising Center Marissa Miller shared similar advice. “Avoid color, graphics and headshots or pictures on the resume,” she said. “They will be more distracting than helpful for the employer or reader.”
4. Check over your resume. Check it again. Repeat. Making sure your resume is free of grammatical and spelling errors is paramount, Miller advised. “Triple-check for spelling and grammatical errors,” Miller said. “It may take just one error to move your resume to the ‘no’ pile.” Buckley-Burnell also suggested having other people look through the resume a few times. 5. Cater your resume to the specific employer’s needs. Different employers often look for different things, and according to Buckley-Burnell, the best way to make a resume stand out is to target it to a specific audience. “You’re going to have a different version of your resume for just about every position you apply to because every position looks different.” Miller said. “Generic resumes can be seen from a mile away,” Miller said. “Make sure the experiences you are listing are directly correlated to not only the industry you are pursuing but also to the specific position and company you are applying for.
How LinkedIn can be used to further a career By NATALIE BECKERINK Campus Writer Several Auburn students have utilized the professional social networking site “LinkedIn” to their best advantage in order to set themselves up for future success. LinkedIn was founded in 2002 and has been used by adults as a means to build a professional network ever since. According to the company, approximately 30 million of the 500 million users are college-aged students. In order to assist Auburn students in their fight to be recognized in the corporate world, professor Emory Serviss has emphasized the importance of being on this networking site by spending time exposing students to LinkedIn during his marketing classes. “It has never been more important to build and maintain a detailed LinkedIn profile. The overwhelming majority (87 percent) of recruiters find LinkedIn most effective when vetting candidates during the hiring process,” Serviss said. “Just being on LinkedIn isn’t enough. You need to be active on the platform.” After participating in his class, some of Serviss’ students went beyond when it came to their LinkedIn profiles, wheth-
er it was updating it or creating an account for the first time. Calli Ruschmeyer, senior in business analytics, said being in Serviss’ marketing class really helped shape how her profile is today. She first created an account in 2013 as a high school sophomore but has worked to constantly keep it updated throughout the years. “I conducted an informational interview with the owner of a local marketing agency,” Ruschmeyer said. “During the interview, he mentioned that it was a red flag for him if he could not find an applicant on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Personally, I like the detail I can add to my LinkedIn account that my resume and cover letter do not allow. It’s a medium where I can explain exactly what I did during an internship, not just the highlights.” When asked about tips to help students who are just starting up their LinkedIn account, Ruschmeyer suggested that not everyone would believe to be important for LinkedIn. “Post often, not just with your own professional updates, but comment on articles you liked or disliked,” Ruschmeyer said. “If you share an article, add your own commentary to the new post. People want to know your opinions.” Sarah Gromos, senior in marketing, said she originally created her LinkedIn account to fulfill a course requirement
but ended up discovering how useful the site could really be if she put effort into it. “I’ve spent the past two years networking, researching potential companies and writing articles to express and share my thoughts and experiments,” Gromos said. “I have written two long-form articles detailing my previous internships with the Nashville Predators hockey team and have received over 2,000 clicks and views on my articles. Because of this, I have been reached out to by several professionals in the sports industry and made valuable connections.” Mary Grace Hymel, senior in marketing, became connected with her future employers because of her LinkedIn profile, which she originally created for a class grade. “After having an active account for a year, I realized it is beneficial for my future in the business world,” Hymel said. Hymel said she has accepted a job with Salvus Labs in Marietta, Georgia, for after she graduates this spring. She’ll be starting as an assistant in the laboratory with an end goal to move to medical sales for the company. “The owners of Salvus Labs were very impressed with my profile,” Hymel said. “Also, I have made connections with many marketing professionals after writing a long form post that had high viewing activity.”
The Auburn Plainsman
GET INVOLVED. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. CHANGE AUBURN.
APPLY NOW. TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR: Campus writers • Community writers• Sports writers • Lifestyle writers Photographers • Videographers • Multimedia journalists • Graphic designers • Cartoonists • Copy editors theplainsman.com/page/about
Playing the ‘Hire Me’ game Professors, professional mishaps By KAILEY BETH SMITH Community Reporter Rachel Naftel was happily sitting in the passenger seat, working her first day on the job, when her new boss got pulled over for speeding on the way to a meeting. Dr. Mark Wilson, director of civic learning initiatives, runs an office which does outreach work with various programs throughout the state. “On the road to Roanoake, Alabama, we were deep in conversation about projects that we would be working on and things we would be doing,” Wilson said. “About ten minutes before we were supposed to be at our meeting, I realized that I had missed the turn, 15 miles back.” The meeting, which featured the superintendent of the school board, as well as their contact, continued in normal fashion; however, Wilson and Naftel arrived a few minutes late and with a small speeding ticket in hand. Naftel said she documented the encounter on Snapchat, and that it was one of the most memorable days on the job. “Some of these things are much funnier at the time,” Wilson mused. Dr. Paul Harris, political science professor, spends his time preparing students for the interview process. Harris told the story of one of his students, who have now graduated when he made a pop-culture reference during an interview. “I said ‘Wow, you are like the David Lee Roth of honors students,’” Harris said, “And she wrote it down and said ‘Okay, I will find out about him. What did he write?” He, in good humor, explained to her the reference he made was to a rock and roll
singer, and not to an author. He mentioned this happened a couple of times in various interviews and said pop-culture references are always interesting because you never know who is going to catch them and who isn’t, or who is too focused on being prepared to relax and have an easy conversation. “I like music, and I [tend to] make pop-culture references,” he said. Harris shared the story of another instance, in his Honors Government course, when a student mentioned Harambe the gorilla during a lecture. “What is a Harambe?” he asked the class, who responded with a few stifled giggles and outbursts of laughter. They soon explained to him the reference that they had made, and class continued shortly after. “Those are the type of small things right there that are kind of humorous,” Harris said. Wilson spoke of his experience taking students on trips to serve communities in Alabama, some which were more interesting than others, and one in particular even leading him to a snake-handling church in a nearby community. He said that they often provided dinner for the participants of a mentoring program and that his last graduate assistant before Rachel found one situation to be particularly entertaining. “When I took the ice chest out of my truck and put it on the church steps, I happened to break the top off of the water spicket,” he said. “All of a sudden, we had a great geyser inside of the church — this facility that we had been loaned.” “Eventually we got it cut off,” he said, “But then we had no water inside the bathroom facilities.”
“The employment market is competitive, confusing and constantly progressing. If you know what you want and start working toward it now.” By LILY JACKSON Managing Editor No one wants to end up on their parents’ couch after receiving a degree. Without utilizing the technologies at our fingertips, the guts to chase a dream and confidence in your ability to succeed – waking up to your mother and father is a possibility. The employment market is competitive, confusing and constantly progressing. Looking for jobs can start as early as your freshman year, if you know what you want and start to grasp it early. Make connections and make yourself known. If you are just starting college or getting close to a starting point in your mind, it is time to make yourself known in your field. Sprucing up a LinkedIn account, getting a professional Twitter or Facebook and making a personal website for employers to track what you have been doing makes you that much easier to reach out to. Pay attention to the events on your college campus. Finding out that a hero in your potential field is visiting and reaching out to the organizer of the event for advice on how to meet the hero shows initiative. Once you make these connections, keep up with them. Send a Christmas message. Shoot a happy birthday email. Check back in to see how their dog is — try anything to make them remember you over time. Shooting high with the company you would like to end up at while connecting with entry-level workers or managers will help your name spread throughout the company. A recommendation from inside is better than any reference letter from grandma Sue or internship. The best way to get what you want is to know someone that can help you get there. Be appreciative and repay the favor whenever you can. It’s important to remember that your first job will most likely not be your last, so don’t burn any bridges or be greedy. Cold-calling and showing up to say, “Hello,” can be your golden key. It may seem like you are intruding, which you are. Intruding can be done in a respect-
ful way though, and in the end, everyone knows what it is like to need a job and not have one. They will understand. Ask for forgiveness rather than permission. Calling someone for a foot-in-the-door opportunity can involve getting into a relaxed conversation that allows you to make a connection with no inherent intentions or a speedy elevator pitch that will dictate whether they pick up the phone next time. Be prepared for both. Stopping by is a bit more tricky. Think about Rory Gilmore in Gilmore Girls. She sits on that bench for days before anyone notices her. She’s there for so long that the office starts to know her, and eventually, she’s the first on hand when there is a job. Remember, this is a show and if you happen to get escorted off the premises because of this article, this is your warning to tread lightly. The key to dropping by an office is to be patient, be understanding, be confident and willing to leave and come back. Have a resume, a business card and make sure you look professional. Being professional is required, but being yourself is wise. Think about listening to 35 interviews with stiff, stuttery, newly-graduated adults — sounds painful. If you can be the breath of fresh air that makes a joke, throws in a personal anecdote or gives them more substance than a CV, you might just steal their hearts. Instead of saying, “I had an internship at [insert company name here],” talk about something you did while you were there. The sentences you will use in that method have action, practicality and application of skills — all things a new employer needs to know you can do. Being yourself is the key to success because whether they truly like you or not will be decided after they are sitting by you in a cramped cubicle. It’s better to make sure they get a piece of who you really are for the future of their company and your sanity. If you know who you are talking to, which requires some intense creeping, you will know what you have in common. Having the opportunity to start a real conversation – one that they will remember – will put you far.
By ZACH PIKE Sports Writer Of the 10 largest cities in Alabama, none are growing faster than Auburn. The small town of Auburn built its economy around the University. However, Auburn is rapidly developing into a small city. Auburn is a tight-knit community that prides itself on “family.” Whether you are a student or graduate, there are many different types of jobs around the area to choose from. Whether it’s working for the many jobs associated with the University, the hotel and restaurant industry, nightlife in the city, the industrial park or the various local businesses that are opening up across the city, there isn’t a shortage of job opportunities. “I know finding a job is always a daunting challenge, but Auburn has been recognized in recent years by numerous sources as a great place for jobs and careers,” said David Dorton, director of public affairs. Forbes has consistently ranked Auburn on its lists for “Best Places to Retire” and “Best Small Places for Business and Careers.” This list compiles just a few of the best places to work in Auburn, Alabama. Auburn University Auburn University is the livelihood of Auburn city economy. The wide variety of jobs stretching across the University provide plenty of opportunities for students and citizens of the area. The City of Auburn and Auburn University also share a special relationship, including partnerships such as the Yarbrough Tennis Center and the Auburn Research Park. The City of Auburn The City of Auburn also has a wide range of jobs throughout the department. A few examples include government, utility services, transportation, safety services, parks and recreation programs or various committees and organizations. “I’m sure it’s easier to find jobs in some fields than others, but overall we do have a strong job climate, which is one of the reasons our economy is generally strong and our community continues to grow,” Dorton said. The City of Auburn’s website is definitely something worth checking out if interested in any of the above.
Where to work in Auburn
The Hotel at Auburn University Located in the heart of downtown Auburn, The Hotel at Auburn University offers opportunity and experience for employment. The hotel at Auburn University also has the Dixon Conference Center that holds various meetings and events throughout the year. There is also a fine-dining restaurant inside the hotel, Ariccia Trattoria, an Italian and Mediterranean inspired restaurant. Located next to the restaurant is a jazz lounge, Piccolo, which offers cocktails and snacks while listening to live Jazz.
CONTRIBUTED BY TRACY RICHARDS
They’ll earn an average starting salary of 93K
How Auburn students are starting out big with the Financial Management Association By PAUL BROCK Campus Writer Through providing training and business connections to students, Auburn University’s Financial Management Association is in its third year of giving students a head start in their career. This year, 18 FMA members have graduated from Auburn, and their average starting salary is almost $94,000. The average starting salary for Auburn business graduates is around $55,000. “If you think about the difference in the top students and where the average finance student is,” Carr said. “I believe that a large portion of that nearly $40,000 difference is from value that FMA added.” Tracy Richards, a lecturer for the school of business and faculty adviser to FMA, talks highly of the program. “We had a lot of talented students that were highly interested in careers in finance, but we didn’t have a solid vehicle for getting them there,” Richards said. “I get a call at least once a week from an Auburn alumni who wants to turn around and help finance students successfully navigate a career.” FMA was established in 1970, and the organization is now comprised of over 3,300 members. “When the group here at Auburn was started, the thought was make it a chapter of a national organization to give it brand recognition while it starts off,” said Jordan Carr, president and senior in mechanical engineering. “People in New York and in Charlotte and LA, they hear FMA, they’ve heard of it before. It’s not some new club at Auburn.” Carr said that FMA focuses on recruiting freshman and sophomore students to have sufficient time to prepare them before graduation.
“The idea is that we’ll probably keep it between 50 and 60 [members] for the coming years just because once you get too big, you dilute the effect of the training and resources that you offer,” Carr said. Members do not need to be a part of the school of finance to join FMA. Currently 20 percent of FMA members are a part of the school of engineering. “They’re interested in finance, and they’re willing to put in the work to get to next level – those are the two big things that we look for in applicants,” Carr said. “They’re clearly interested in the topic, they want to put in work to be successful and be competitive in these career paths, and also they have the academics to back that up” FMA meets at least once every two weeks to listen to a financial sector professional speak and they host a variety of other events throughout the year. “The resources that we offer includes training, we bring a company down from New York twice a year to do training for our students, we have a mentorship program, we do case competitions,” Carr said. “There’s a lot of stuff that we do. You wouldn’t get that through the college of business.” Carr said that, with the organization being fairly new, they are always trying to find new learning opportunities for members. “Every year there’s been a pretty substantial bit of new initiatives,” Carr said. “This past year alone, we hosted out first financial leadership summit.” Speakers at the summit included Auburn alumni and Delta’s CFO Paul Jacobson, Raymond Harbert, Steven Aldridge and several other alumni. “The idea is that with FMA you really receive support in two different ways, there’s the industry exposure where FMA as an
organization tries to help you find out what area of finance you want to pursue,” Carr said. “Once you figure that out, using senior mentors and online training courses and resources that FMA provides, how can you be competitive so that you can get an internship and ultimately a full-time job.” Richards said Auburn is not an investment banking school, and this put Auburn graduates at a disadvantage when going against schools like Harvard and Stanford who have specialized course for students interested in financial banking. “What [Auburn students] really needed was just additional resources, everything from what’s important in an interview, what you need to cover, to additional skills like evaluation skills, modeling skills,” Richards said. We didn’t have a modeling class available.” FMA also competes in case competitions every year where students develop a business solution to solve a case study of a business model. Last year, Auburn’s FMA placed top three in a Duff and Phelps case study competition, and team members will be flying to NYC this spring to present their project to company executives. “I joined FMA kind of as a freshman who is energetic and had some time to devout toward kind of something, but I didn’t know what,” said Jimmy Brewster, sophomore in finance. Brewster is interning in NYC for the spring semester, and he has already secured another internship in NYC for this upcoming summer. “One of the biggest things that FMA has given me is they’re genuinely excited and interested in my career and my success,” Brewster said. “I think that’s one thing that is kind of commonly overlooked is that Tracy and Jordan and the members of this organization care so much about each other’s success”