While college classes help students learn the technical skills they need to be successful in a career, most don’t teach the soft skills students need to land the job, like resume writing or interviewing.
Recognizing this was a problem 20 years ago, the dean at the University of North Texas College of Business decided to start the Professional Leadership Program. Now, the program is quickly expanding to help students learn the professional skills to give them an advantage in the job market, and excel once they land a job.
“It helps the students by giving them an advanced and accelerated exposure to soft skills,” said Billy Johnson, executive director of the program. “The big impact, in short, is it prepares them to be very competitive for work, pursuits of graduate school or starting their own businesses.”
Students interview for spots in the program, which normally accepts juniors, seniors and graduate level students. They attend weekly classes where they work on business case studies in teams for one half of the class, and listen to a speaker or panel on something career related for the second half.
What makes PLP stand out from other professional preparation classes is the opportunity to essentially practice for the real world in a safe environment, said Anisha Upponi, a senior who is in the program. While Upponi was in the program as a junior, she reapplied to come back as a student director, and she now helps lead and mentor students going through the program.
“In this organization, [student directors] are managing nine to 10 people with constant communication, managing score cards and meetings, so it works like a mini-company,” Upponi said. “You’re getting these management experiences, but in such a safe setting.”
In addition to working with student directors in the program, those enrolled as students in the program are also assigned a professional mentor. Students check in with their mentors regularly about the goals they set, how the program is going and any other career or PLP related questions.
The students also learn life skills so they know what to do once they land a job, said Rachel Cleveland, assistant director of the program.
“We do a big week on emotional intelligence and how that impacts work, family and life. We also get into financial planning, like what do you do with your first paycheck? What benefits should you sign up for?” she said.
“We just want to prepare them for the big, scary world.”
The current class of students is 100 people, with about 60 percent of the students in the College of Business.
As learning these skills becomes more important for landing a first job, Cleveland and Johnson are hoping to continue expanding the program quickly. Since 2012, the program has grown from 70 to 100 students, and they are aiming to reach 125 next year.
When recruiting, it is important the program continues to attract students from outside of the traditional business majors, Cleveland said. It’s important for groups of PLP students learn how to work with students in different majors and from different cultural backgrounds, she said.
“Whatever your industry, you’re still going to be working in a company, and having to work with different people,” she said. “Being able to reflect the diverse corporate setting gives them the ability to practice in a safe environment, and learn how those teams work.”
This was one of Upponi’s biggest takeaways from her first year in PLP, and why she wanted to come back this year to be a student director, she said.
“We want to work on making it more global,” she said. “You’re working with people from so many different programs, and you’re learning so much about yourself at each meeting. You get out of it what you put into it, and I think that’s one of the main things I learned my first year.”
JENNA DUNCAN can be reached at 940-566-6889 and via Twitter at @JennaFDuncan.
