Lesson 26 THINK

Coaching for College Students

Lesson 26 THINK

A slight break today. THINKING.

The following comes fro Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_(IBM)

"THINK" is a motto coined by Thomas Watson n December, 1911, while managing the sales and advertising departments at National Cash Register company. At an uninspiring sales meeting Watson interrupted, saying The trouble with every one of us is that we don't think enough. We don't get paid for working with our feet — we get paid for working with our heads. Watson then wrote THINK on the easel.

Watson took the THINK motto to IBM in 1914.  He had desk plaques made for executives that said “THINK”.

As stated before in these lessons, the purpose of college is to THINK. The jobs of the future will require you to THINK.  Thinking is what makes a human a human. 

In college, you are asked to analyze situations and to apply knowledge to solve problems.  Returning to Bloom’s Taxonomy, the higher levels are (4) Analyze; (5) Evaluate and (6) Create.  You want to think and aim for these higher levels of thinking.  (One author called these HOTS – Higher Order Thinking Skills).  

Can you increase your thinking processes?

Most experts suggest working on “Thinking outside the box” – looking with new ways at problems.  Is there an alternate way to approach a situation other than the standard approach?

Some people suggest doing logic problems, word problems, various puzzles to increase thinking. 

I like to picture thinking with three concentric circles.  The smallest, inside circle is labeled "Comfort Zone"; the next larger circle is "Learning Zone"; and the largest circle surrounding the other two is the "Danger Zone". 

All of us have a ‘comfort zone’ – where we function without a lot of thought. Generally we learn little in our comfort zone - going through life without a lot of thinking.

We learn best outside our comfort zone – in the Learning Zone.  Here we are exposed to new ideas and have to adjust our thinking to solve problems.

The farthest zone is the danger zone.  Generally this is far outside your comfort zone.  What if you were dropped in Antarctica with a sleeping bag and a knife.  How would you survive?  (For some people that would be in their learning zone, but for me, that would be in my danger zone.

There is an old adage that you have to leave sight of the shore to find new worlds (by sailing).  We have to leave our comfort zone to learn.  What might that mean to you? 

Assignment:

• Thinking of an example where you ‘thought outside the box’?  What does that term mean to you?  Did you learn?
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• Think of an example where you left your comfort zone – how did that feel?  What did you learn?
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• In college, how might you develop your THINKING skills. 
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• How might a study abroad experience help you get out of your comfort zone?
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• How else might you increase your thinking, analysis, evaluation and creation of new ideas processes?

Quote for today: "Invest a few moments in thinking. It will pay good interest." - Author Unknown

Lesson 25 Senior Year

Coaching for College Students

Lesson 25 Senior Year

Senior Year:  Keep your focus!!!  End strong.

You have been goal setting, keeping your attitude positive, networking, imaging your success for four years.  Let’s put some other obstacles in your way.

I know many people in the forties (give or take) that hate their job and their lives.  Maybe they are stuck in a job that goes nowhere, but with a family, a mortgage, car payments, braces, glasses, health issues, they think they can’t switch jobs and start over.  These people are also facing other issues – like having been out of college for several years, they have lost some of their technical skills.  They have failed to ‘sharpen the sword’ and feel like they have a mountain to overcome to get back into the field.  Or, it might be a female who has taken time off to raise and nurture a family.   (and … a comment, if you ‘hate’ your job – that also is an attitude issue – adjust your attitude and talk to yourself)!

As you go off into the work world, really work on what makes sense for you.  Do you want to be an entrepreneur?  Would you prefer a small or large company?  What about work / life balance?  Time it might take to get promoted?  Getting experience in multiple areas (aside – some companies have leadership development programs where you in several departments over two to three years to really get to know the company).

Time management:  Don’t lose sight of ‘the prize’ – that is graduation.  You may be out interviewing and could miss classes – make sure you communicate with potential employers about not wanting to miss classes and with faculty so they know that you are out interviewing.

In my experience, most companies like to high new college graduates in fall semester, so fall semester can be a busy time with interviews and classes.  Also, many companies like to hire those that interned with them the previous summer.

Many students come into college with advance placement credits.  Thus many students might have a lighter course load during their senior year.  Some students opt for an early graduation and others opt for the lighter load.  I suggest filling the lighter load with additional experiences.  Take more courses, get an additional minor, take some courses in other departments,, take a psychology class about getting along with others, take an art class, take a biology class, take a computer class.  In many colleges, you can take a class as a “Pass / Fail” if you don’t want to work hard enough for an “A” – but sometimes you will slack off in a pass/fail class, so taking it as a graded class can keep you learning. 

This year is the LAST year that you are not working until you retire.  Find some friends and do a special spring break trip.  Try some other adventurous activity.  Skydiving?  Hiking the Grand Canyon?

As you make that transition to the work place, add to your network.  Find new mentors.  (And … be sure to thank your faculty mentors – take them for lunch to say ‘thanks’).

Adjust your goals for your new life.

And … continue to give back – and give thanks for those that have helped you on the way.

Assignment:

• How will you prepare for interviews?  Look at websites with interviewing tips.  If you have been working on your soft skills, you should be able to be at ease with your interviews.  Do your homework on the company.  If you know who is interviewing you, check out their LinkedIn profile.
• And … thinking of LinkedIn – is your LinkedIn profile updated?
• Develop new goals
• Develop new mentors and new networking contact.

Quote:  “My interviewing style and my approach to things is that, yes, it's okay to be sincere; it's okay to be yourself; it's okay to be real.” Eddie Trunk

Lesson 24 Junior Year

Coaching for College Students

Lesson 24 Junior Year

Junior Year:  Getting closer to graduation.

Internship:  You should (must?) have an internship this summer.  Even if you did an internship last summer, it is vital to get one this summer. 

What to expect. Find an internship that matches you and your goals.  Yes, it might be nice to get one with a prestigious company; yes, it might be nice to get the highest pay – but find a meaningful internship.

Do NOT take an unpaid internship.  Yes, you can learn on an unpaid internship.   The author strongly feels that you should get paid.  When you get paid, the company expects you to deliver real value to the company.  For unpaid internships, you might get asked to do menial activities – because, after all, you are ‘free help’.  Paid internships help build character – show up on time, work hard, be of value. 

Get started early – and lean on your mentors and your network.  Ultimately you will decide on which company and where.  But you need your mentors and network’s support.

On the internship work twice as hard as other interns.  Come in early, leave late.  Develop new networks with the professionals at your company.  

Extras:

Approach your mentor to see if you can do a joint faculty/student academic paper for a conference or journal.

While the author is suggesting not to do an internship with a non-profit company, but it can also be beneficial for you to work for a non-profit.  It will broaden your horizon.

Approach your mentor or professors to be a teaching assistant.  To be remarkable, you need to be able to interact, to be independent and solve problems.

And ... it is time to give back.  In your clubs and organizations, step up to leadership roles.  Be a mentor to freshmen or others.  Sign up to be a 'big brother' or 'big sister'.

Assignment:

Who are going to approach for an internship? 

What project / paper / research will you work on your professor. 

What additional skills can you achieve this year?

Quote:  “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lesson 23 Sophomore Year

Coaching for College Students

Lesson 23 Sophomore Year

Moving on to your sophomore year:  What does the author suggest for making yourself remarkable and unique? 

Mentor:  If you haven’t found a good mentor, continue working on it. 

But, if you have a good mentor or have found one, meet with your mentor at least once a month.    

Review these questions:

Is your mentor helping you?  How so?  Have you built rapport with him/her? 

Can you build this relationship more?  Can you work it for an internship for the summer between your sophomore and junior year?

Networking:

Are you meeting other professionals?  Set a goal to network with professionals at least once a month.

Academic:

Are you in the right major?  How do you know? 

What kind of specializations might exist in that major? Taking that a step farther, what elective courses might you take to give you an advantage?

Don’t stay away from tough classes and tough teachers.  Being challenged is a good thing.

And … experiment other academic fields.  Interested in another field?  Take a class, get a minor in another field – or a double major.  Of the millions of university students across the world, having multiple backgrounds and experiences can give you an advantage. 

Also expand your horizons.  Consider studying abroad (and make that a meaningful experience with both academics and travel). 

Relationships:

Soft skills (interaction with others) will also be important in your future.  

Continue to work with organizations and clubs. 

You may also consider work – either paid or a non-paid non-profit.   That can help you build soft skills.  Be careful where you are and what you are doing.  Keep the end in mind. 

Assignment:

• How are you working on your mentors and mentoring?
• How can you build better and stronger networking relations?
• How can you build your soft skills and build relationships?
• Are you considering other majors or minors or studying aboard?  What areas?

Quote:  Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.  Calvin Coolidge

Lesson 22 Freshman Year part II

Coaching for College Students

Lesson 22 Freshman Year II

Let’s continue looking at things you should be doing in your freshman year to give you an advantage over those millions of college students around the world.

In previous lessons, we have talked about networking and mentors – now is the time to start working on your network and your mentors.

Networking:  If you are thinking about a specific major, check out the various clubs and organizations that relate to that major.  For example, in my field, computer information systems, there was a student organization for those majors.  They brought in speakers and professionals in that field.  One event this student organization did was a take-off on speed dating.  Each student rotated though six to eight professionals for a five minute ‘interview’.  After the interview, the professional gave the student comments about how they did in the interview and how they could improve.  Another student organization did an event where two professional sat with six students around a table.  The professionals threw out a question and the students took terms answering it.  

Sometimes the questions were more open ended like “If you had a million dollars and had to spend it in a week, what would you do”; and sometimes more specific like “Why did you pick your major” or “What do you see yourself doing in twenty years.  If you have been faithful with doing the previous assignments, you will be ready to answer such questions.

Hang around afterward and ask the visiting professionals on how they picked their majors and their careers.  Ask them for others to network with or to shadow.  They have volunteered their time to help students, make the most of it.

Also start networking with your professors and others.  Stop by to introduce yourself at their office hours.  Find out why they picked their major and what path they took to becoming a professor.  This can be tricky.  With your own professors, they something can think you are trying to be a “teacher’s pet” and by coming to visit with them, you are really just trying to get on their good side.  Be humble and honest about wanting to network and find out more about careers that might interest you.  Build rapport – but don’t be a pest.  Never stay longer than 10 minutes unless they seem like the want to take longer.  (As a professor, I’ve had students that stopped by talk and I couldn’t get rid of them; and also I’ve had students who seemed to really want to know about my suggestions for careers and we talked an hour and it seemed like 10 minutes).

Network with others at or near your university.  Every university has an alumni network.  Stop by, introduce yourself and see if there are alumni from your major in your home town that you can network with over Thanksgiving break, Christmas / semester break and spring break.  Most alumni are very loyal to their university and will try to help a current student.

Mentor: It is time to start looking for more specific networking help with mentors.  If you feel you have good rapport with a faculty member or other, as them if they would like to mentor you.  Give them some ideas of what you are looking for.  It needs to be a two-way relationship – they have to get some value out of working with you and you with working with them.  If you are just using the relationship to find an internship or job, it isn’t as valuable as letting them feel valuable in career direction and assistance. 

Assignment:

Start working on your network.  Make appointments to introduce you to your professors and possibly others.

Then refine your relationships to look for more specific and deeper relationships with mentor.

Quote:  “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” ― William Arthur Ward

Lesson 21 Freshman Year - part I

Coaching for College Students

Lesson 21 Freshman Year

For the next lessons, we’ll look at some specific things to do each year (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior and Graduate School).  Some will overlap.

Freshman Year:

Yay – you have been accepted to college!!!  You have done the previous lessons, you understand that the competition is world-wide now; you have set goals including Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG); worked on your attitude; decided to go for GREAT, not just good; find ways to be remarkable; know about traps to avoid; worked on your self-talk and motivation; you are picturing yourself successful and imaging about what your world will be like in several years; worked on networking and finding a mentor or mentors.

So, so specific things for freshman year.

First – learn to say “NO”.

When I went to college, I was scared I’d flunk out.  My first semester, I spent at least three hours for every hour in class.  I read my books, I did my assignments, I did extra assignments.  I “knew” the material quite well.  And … I learned how to say “NO”.  When somebody on my dorm floor came by to say “Hey, let’s go for pizza”, the answer was NO; when there is a dance / speaker / program / event at some location, my answer was NO. 

I created a calendar (it was on paper, these days, Excel would work.  I scheduled classes, studying, meals, sleep and not much else. 

To be honest, I was boring.  While the adage is “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” maybe be true, in my class, “all work and no play” helped me to get great grades that first semester.  I did learn how to slack off after that semester, but I was set a high level by getting strong grades that semester.

Second – learn how to study.

Okay, you have been a student, from Kindergarten through High School.  You know how to study don’t you?  The reality is probably not.  You ‘kind of’ know how to study. 

Sure, you go to your room at (say) 7:00 p.m., turn on the TV or music, check your email, Google some information, check out the latest YouTube videos or Facebook posts, and read your textbook.  At 11:00, you put down your books and congratulation yourself on four hours of studying.  You maybe did an hour. 

The suggestion is to get rid of distractions.  No TV, and it might be okay for music – like soothing Bach string quartets!!  Don’t go on the Internet (unless you absolutely need to); don’t go to email or Facebook. 

There are many great concepts available for you.  I’ve been looking at: https://howtostudyincollege.com/ and http://www.csc.edu/learningcenter/study/studymethods.csc and many others.

Take time to read and really understand studying.

Your campus probably has a Learning Center (or similar).  Go there before classes start and find a class, seminar on “Studying in College”.  Even if you have to pay something, it should be worth it.

Third – Plan / Plan / Plan your Schedule and your Time.

As mentioned before, develop a schedule – AND STICK TO IT. 

Allow some down time – time for some exercise, a jog around campus, maybe even a basketball game or activity.  But, the reason you are in college is to learn and to get a degree.  Playing a pickup basketball game might be fun and a stress reliever, but does it help your learning and degree goals? 

Socializing is good, but watch your time.  There is an old expression that is probably true (not true for all, of course) that college is the best four years of your life.  After all, you get to live away from home, away from parental supervision, setting your own time – and (generally) letting somebody else pay the bills.  I remember after my first semester, one of my best times of the day was after dinner in the cafeteria.  A casual group would get a cup of coffee (which is where I learned to drink coffee – but it could be water or anything) and just talked.    

Saturday? Sunday?  Yes – you study on BOTH weekend days.  “But there is a big home football game this Saturday” – okay, then get up at 7:00 and study before the game.  “OH – my favorite pro team (in my case, the Green Bay Packers) are on Sunday night football – I have to watch!!”  To be honest you don’t “have to watch” it.  You might enjoy it – and if you allocate your time, you can take some time to watch the game – but if not, you can take a break every hour and check the score – and get back to studying.

Fourth – tests

Depending on the class, tests will probably be the main component of your college work.  When the professor announces a test (and it should also be on the course syllabus), start them preparing for the test.  What has the professor emphasized in class?  What important concepts are in the textbook?  Are there study questions at the end of the textbook chapter?  Do them – all of them.  Get another textbook from the library (and yes, they should have similar texts for all classes) and go through the study questions and review questions. 

I remember being so ready for my math classes tests.  I did all the assignment in the textbook, including ones the professor didn’t assign.  I pictured myself (imaging) knowing all the questions, I walked into the classroom so prepared that I could almost have taught the class – AND – created the test.

Again, go to the Learning Center and get help on test studying.  Essay tests will be different than multiple choice tests.

Assignment:

• Read (and read and read) and take thorough notes on how to study in college. 
• Find where the campus learning center is and make an appointment (you can probably make an appointment online even before you get to campus).
• Start reading your books.  Write down your notes.  The kinesthetic process of reading (eyes) and writing (hands) help the learning become stronger.
• Set up a schedule.
• Start practicing saying “NO”  

Lesson 20 Mentors

Coaching for College Students

Lesson 20 Mentoring 1

A very important topic today – finding a mentor. 

First – what is a mentor?

“A mentor is a person or friend who guides a less experienced person by building trust and modeling positive behaviors. An effective mentor understands that his or her role is to be dependable, engaged, authentic, and tuned into the needs of the mentee. (taken from: http://www.oycp.com/MentorTraining/3/m3.html - which is a great resource to check out)

Having a experienced person listen to you; guide you and when appropriate give suggestions is going to be very valuable to you. 

Over the years, I have had many student mentees.

Example 1: Jerry was unsure of his major and direction.  We talked frequently and as it got to be time to register for classes for the next semester, we agreed for him to add a programming class to his schedule.  He wasn’t sure he wanted to be a programmer or an information systems major.  My advice was to try it out, it is one class and if it doesn’t fit, he could drop the class or finish it and go in another direction.  As it happened, he loved the class and did extremely well.  This lead to more information systems classes.  Then was the opportunity for an internship.  He had some different options.  The experience of an internship was going to be good no matter where he went.   He selected an internship with a major financial company – and now 20 years later has been promoted several times, has a group working under him and is very happy.

Example 2: Andrew was also good with information systems and we talked frequently about careers and direction.  He too had many options upon graduation and took one with a leadership development program which gave him about five internal positions within the business over a three year period.  At the end of that time, he was very valuable to the company and know the in-and-outs of how the entire company worked from working in the different departments.  He settled in and was recognized as a valued employee.  Then an opportunity came for him to move within that company to a different location. We talked about it – moving away from what he knew and people he knew to a new town, a new boss, and new experiences.  It meant selling a house and starting over.  Again, we talked and I listened to what I was hearing from his heart.  He made the move and is so much happier and in a great position to continue to be promoted.

Example 3: Lori was an average student.  She did well and we talked frequently.  Coming from a very close family and a small town, she just didn’t want to take a position in a large company in a different state.  We found a fantastic internship with a non-profit organization for her.  She really flourished in that environment and while that non-profit organization didn’t have an opportunity for her, she found her niche in a governmental agency and loves what she does – with less stress and more time with family than she would have had by moving to a neighboring state.

I do have many more mentoring success stories.

The author suggests that the student, even as a freshman, find a faculty mentor.  Talk to them about careers.  Experienced professors will also be able to help with networking and finding professionals to talk to. 

Take time to talk to all of your professors. Stop by their office to chat.  Ask them why they picked their particular discipline.  Stop to visit at least monthly.  Then narrow your focus to two that seem to be better able to help you in your career and future.  Get to know them more – take them for coffee (aside, faculty love to go for coffee).  Build your relationship.

Assignment:

• Research mentoring and being a mentee. 
• What makes for a good mentor? 
• How can you be a good mentee?
• If you are already in college, start working on this.  Make an appointment to visit with your professors – even those outside your intended major (with their networks, they will probably know people and opportunities that might be of interest to you.

Quote for today: “I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” ― Robert Frost