New podcast among array of career services for Fisher students
‘Career EQ’ podcast features Fisher faculty, industry professionals
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Chris Bournea Ohio State News |
The new Career EQ podcast is just one of a variety of resources that The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business offers to help students get a head start in launching their careers.
Through the podcast, “what we do is give them bite-size information, Fisher-specific news that will help them through their job search process, learn about business and industry knowledge and hear from experts related to them specifically,” said Kevin Hardy, executive director of Fisher’s Office of Career Management (OCM).
Career EQ episodes cover issues such as preparing for job and internship interviews and how to respond to interview questions that might take candidates off-guard.
“The overall mission of the podcast is to provide an off-the-shelf, as-needed resource for students for that softer side of getting their career started because we prepare them well academically,” said Jon Quinn, senior lecturer and host of the Career EQ podcast. “OCM is a great resource for them, and a lot of times they like to receive information at their convenience.”
The idea for the podcast resulted from an informal survey Quinn conducted among his students earlier this year about how they prefer to consume information.
“The good thing about podcasts is you can multitask. You could be driving to school or working out or walking to class while you’re consuming the information,” he said. “The podcast gives them good information in one place.”
Career EQ episodes feature insights from Fisher faculty and staff as well as business professionals in various industries.
“There are a lot of areas that students can use some extra coaching in,” Quinn said. “If we build a database of episodes, we can communicate to them that there’s resources available.”
Quinn said he has accumulated a stockpile of topics to explore on the Career EQ podcast based on student interest and issues that continually surface in the job search process. A common topic in recent years is how to prepare for virtual interviews.
“The interview process is always changing and evolving, especially with technology,” Quinn said. “There’s also new interview methods and formats and questions.”
Another resource Fisher offers is the Qualified Undergraduate Interview Candidate (QUIC) certification program. QUIC enables students to prepare, practice and receive feedback on their interviewing skills.
“They also have a final in-person interview,” Hardy said. “They have to dress professionally. They have to have questions (for a potential employer) written down ahead of time. It’s those sorts of things that we’re utilizing and taking advantage of to get the students prepared for an interview for an internship or a full-time job.”
Fisher students can put their interviewing skills to work at the college’s annual fall and spring career fairs. The spring career fair is set for Feb. 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ohio Union.
Career fairs present opportunities for students to establish industry contacts by studying up on companies in advance and asking recruiters about qualities they’re seeking in candidates, Hardy said.
“It really puts the recruiter at ease because the recruiter is like, ‘I don’t have to figure out where I’m going to put this person or source them,’” Hardy said. “And it’s an easy, soft way for the students to develop a relationship with the recruiter.”
Hardy and Quinn encourage students to tap into OCM’s resources long before they plan to enter the job market.
“We don’t place students. We teach students about the job search process,” Hardy said. “Success comes from doing. And that’s the biggest advice I tell students: We don’t place you into a job. We need you to do things. I need you to connect, to act. I need you to apply for positions. I need you to utilize our career services team. And by doing that, I can almost guarantee you you’re going to have success.”
For more information about Fisher’s career preparation services, visit OCM’s website. For more information about the Career EQ podcast and to listen to episodes, visit the podcast’s website.
