Authors
From Campus to Corner Office: How Co-Ops and Internships Will Help You Win In The Workplace
Hiring managers are eager to bring on new talent who have the first-hand experience through internships and co-op programs, especially if they take place within their own company.
Yet the pressure of this process - picking the right fit, applying, and making the most of the experience - can hold young people back from an opportunity that will likely change the trajectory of their career path.
This is the handbook for a new education model, where classroom learning is practical, and work experience is real, From Campus to Corner Office covers everything - from personal stories of co-op and internship successes and failures, as well as:
- Co-ops and the College Decision Process: Why students and parents should consider the availability of these programs - and the importance placed on internships as a whole - at higher education institutions when deciding where to apply.
- How Do I Earn While I Learn? The elements of a school’s co-op or internship program to look out for in finding the right fit.
- Where Should I Work? Finding a company co-op that fits both your current interest and future career path.
- Preparing and Practicing for Success: The do’s and don’ts from Dr. Odom and the students in the book on resume building, interviews, relationship building in the workplace.
- Practical Advice From Both Sides Of The Desk: What employers are looking for in hiring new talent, and how to stand out and make the right choices when entering a co-op program.
The 2016-2017 edition of the annual Talent Shortage Survey from the Manpower Group reported that 40% of global employers report talent shortages, with more employers than ever turning to training and development of current employees to address these gaps.
Enter the new book, published by Dr. Curtis L. Odom. A former hiring manager and current professor at Northeastern University’s D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Dr. Odom reveals that prospective employees with work experience are more attractive than those without - from both sides of the table.
In his fourth and latest book, Dr. Odom gives students, parents and education professionals an inside look at maximizing college campus learning by combining that learning with real-world job experience. Accompanied by candid details from real co-op and internship students who Dr. Odom has worked with first-hand, the book offers actionable advice and relatable anecdotes for students preparing for their future career success while studying, working, discovering, and earning a well-rounded education today.
“A recent financial wellness report shared that more than 50% of college hopefuls expect to graduate with just $10,000 in loans,” says Dr. Odom. “But given that the average Class of 2016 graduate came away $37,172 in debt that estimate is pretty off the mark. My goal through the pages of From Campus to Corner Office is that students, whether in high school or college, will walk away with a realistic sense of what the future holds for them financial and career-wise. And in using the book as their guide for earning while learning, their experiences in college and beyond will be all the more impactful and far-reaching, financially and beyond.”
Today’s job market has created a demand for those with experience and, for college students preparing to enter the workforce or those that seem to be “stuck on start” in advancing their careers, it’s about so much more than grades.
Mind the Gap - Getting Business Results in Multigenerational Organizations
When we talk about the generations that make up our society and workforce, the myths are just as important as the general truths. These myths are very powerful because they shape how we look at generations.
They form in these spaces of misunderstanding between them. We must recognize and acknowledge the gaps that exist. If we focus on the commonalities instead of the differences, we can arrive at a place where all generations can thrive.
- What are the challenges with a generationally diverse workforce?
- What is the gap we're minding?
- How do we mind this generational gap, use our understanding of it, so we get business results?
Many organizations I've worked with, and senior colleagues I've talked to, struggle to work through how to get the best business results from an organization made up of many different generations that want different things.
Today, so many organizations are flatter and freer of hierarchy. Employees once segregated by age and position now work more closely together. The flatter the organization, the more it takes to effectively execute a business strategy.
This book addresses simply what organizations and leaders in organizations can do to focus on minding the gap to get the best business results from their multigenerational employees.
Generation X Approved - Top 20 Keys to Effective Leadership
As Generation X managers and executives are now tasked with running companies, there is a fundamental and critical component of business that they cannot push off or delegate and expect that someone else will have it covered-LEADERSHIP. And at its core, leadership is about one thing and one thing only-connecting with people.
In corporate America, executives often forget that their objective is not only to manage the company processes or to supervise the production of widgets or services. Equally important (if not more so), they must lead, hire and retain the people all organizations need to become or remain a successful enterprise.
Another challenge for emerging Generation X leaders is to do more with less, which often means developing a more productive workforce. To do this, they must have the leadership ability to align their generational peers, inspire Generation Y and set a clear direction, to maintain productivity, and motivate and influence a workforce that has fewer skills but more expectations.
So, what does this have to do with leadership? It's about perceptions and performance. This book gives you twenty specific keys to help you become the type of leader that your company or organization needs today and in the future. Keys that will help perception and performance merge for you into the reality of effective leadership.
Stuck in the Middle - A Generation X View of Talent Management
Part of making things happen in your career, as a company or as an individual, is taking a hard look at things and saying, "These are my flaws. These are my shortcomings." Any person or company who says they've never done those things is hindering their success, ruining their achievement, and unwittingly keeping themselves stuck in the middle. The unwillingness to do a hard current state assessment is a barrier to getting what you want and continuing to lack what you need.
Talent management is indeed a business imperative to build and grow a successful organization... but more importantly, it is also a personal imperative for professionals to build successful careers. When people don't employ personal talent management in the way of owning their own succession plan; when companies and organizations don't build and sustain an integrated talent management strategy; they remain stuck in the middle; somewhere between who they are and who they want to be.
How to get unstuck, how to break free from the middle is what individuals and organizations often don't understand. That critical understanding (and ability to take action on it to improve your situation) is what you'll find in this book as told through the eyes of a member of Generation X.