Title: Adjunct Lecturer
Department: Zicklin School of Business
Years teaching: 3
Courses taught: Professional Development for Business Co-Op, First-Year Seminar, and Intro to Workplace/Zero-Credit Internship Course
Teaching modality: In-person
Typical class size: 10-30
Why do you embed career readiness into your course(s)?
Embedding career readiness into my course will help students transition from education to employment by developing essential skills like communication and critical thinking. Many employers are now shifting to skills-based hiring, which is a strategy that evaluates a candidate’s competencies and specialized knowledge rather than just their college degree. Career readiness is a crucial soft skill needed for workforce success and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has identified 8 core career readiness competencies as a standardized framework to prepare students for the workplace.
How are you currently embedding career readiness into your course(s)?
In my Professional Development for Business Co-Op course (COOP 2001), there is a Final Product Presentation which is part research and part communications. Each student receives a bag with 3 consumer products and their assignment is to research the product’s company and provide the class with the following answers:
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- Have you ever heard of the company/products you were researching/what are your thoughts on these products
- Who makes these products
- What is their corporate culture
- What is their D&I strategy
- Tell us something that is not obvious to the public/us about one of the products
- What stood out during your research about one of the items
- Provide an open position at one of the product’s companies
- Tell us why you are the best candidate for the position/why should we hire you
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This is all put together as a 5-minute presentation for the class. This project allows each student to explore the following 5 career readiness competencies out of the 8: Career & Self-Development, Communication, Critical Thinking, Professionalism and Equity & Inclusion. It’s a fun project that will help them prepare for interviews, be more confident in presenting in front of a group and being creative with their presentation.
What teaching tools and/or resources do you recommend faculty utilize when embedding career readiness into their curriculum?
As a helpful resource, I would recommend faculty to use the 8 Career Competencies from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). These competencies can be easily integrated to syllabi and assignments to ensure that students are able to (1) identify the course-related skills they will be developing and (2) be better prepared to articulate those skills on their resume, an interview, or networking engagement.
What’s the best advice about teaching you’ve ever received?
The best advice I received about teaching was from my mentor, who said “students will respond to different methods of learning and they will need to learn how to work independently and, in a group, so be sure to think about how you will mix it up”.
How would you best describe your teaching style?
I use multisensory instruction for my class. This is where I incorporate each class with activities that engage the multiple senses (e.g., touch, taste, sight and hearing). For example, my presentations include pictures, text and videos. I also bring in snacks for the class when they need a pick me up.
Briefly describe your favorite assignment or in-class activity.
My favorite assignment is the Final Product Presentation because I am excited to see how they interpret the assignment and I am always in awe of some of their research.
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