What is CEO Prep?
We know that student-leaders learn skills that will make them more employable upon graduation. We also know that sometimes they don’t know how to best articulate those skills to potential employers. CEO (Co-Curricular Experience Outcomes) Prep is a program for student org officers aimed at enhancing employable skills and, just as importantly, helping them articulate the skills to potential employers.
When is CEO Prep?
CEO Prep will be held from 4-5:30pm every Tuesday from January 29 to February 26, plus 4-6pm on March 5. Students must commit to attending all 6 sessions for the entire time. There may be a small amount of prep work to complete prior to a few of the sessions. To complete the program, students will submit an updated résumé by March 26 and meet with a Career Coach and Student Activities staff member.
What’s the curriculum?
Spring 2019 will be our pilot semester for the program, so we will focus on 3 of the skills consistently selected by employers as most important in hiring new college graduates: communication, teamwork, and critical thinking. Each week, there will be a presentation and experiential learning activity related to one skill. Because our audience is student org officers, we will relate each skill to work within their student orgs. There will also be a session about the transferability of leadership skills to employment. On March 5, the series will culminate in an etiquette dinner, a former student-leader panel, and an opportunity for students to take a professional digital picture.
Upon completion of the training series, students will submit an updated résumé by March 26 and meet 2-on-1 with a Career Coach and Student Activities staff member to review their résumé and practice interviewing, all from the lens of their co-curricular involvement and transferability to a job.
Students may complete optional written reflections that could lead to Career Connect badges in each of the 3 skills.
How can I get involved?
All current student organization officers are eligible to participate. There is a short application to help us learn more about you. While we have over 2,000 student org officers, we will select fewer than 25 to participate in the inaugural cohort of CEO Prep in order to maximize learning and camaraderie within the group. Apply here by 11pm on Monday, January 21.
What are the benefits?
Besides the invaluable experience already discussed, each student will leave the program with a stronger résumé and will receive a framed certificate of completion, invitation to a cohort lunch or dinner with the Vice President for Student Affairs, and invitation to Eagle Awards (April 15). In addition, one student org of the student's choosing will receive $50 in co-sponsorship funds (max of $100 per org), for use prior to August 15, 2019. Finally, students will be eligible to earn 3 Career Connect badges.
How is this related to UNT Career Connect?
Employers say they want to hire critical thinkers with communication skills that work well on a team. While at UNT, students have a variety of opportunities to advance and document these skills both in the classroom and through co-curricular activities. Career Connect helps faculty, staff, and students connect these experiences to the important skills they developed (communication, teamwork, and critical thinking). CEO Prep is one of Student Activities’ contributions to Career Connect.