Marketing Your Leadership Experience

1. Marketing Your Leadership Experience Keith Munson, Career Specialist Strommen Career & Internship Center Lower Level Anderson Hall munsonk@augsburg.edu

2. Agenda • Why your leadership experience matters • Highlighting leadership experience on your resume • Marketing your leadership experience in cover letters • Using strong leadership stories in interviewing • Other topics? • Questions (and possibly answers)

3. In a national survey of employers that typically hire new graduates, these skills were ranked as the most desired: • Communication Skills (written & verbal) • Honesty/Integrity • Teamwork Skills • Strong Work Ethic • Analytical Skills • Adaptability • Interpersonal Skills • Motivation/Initiative • Computer Skills • Detail-orientation • Organizational Skills • Leadership Skills • Self-Confidence National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook Report, 2009

4. Leadership Positions @ Augsburg • Orientation Leaders are responsible for administering successful Orientation Programs. These programs include SOAR I, SOAR II, SOAR III, SOAR IV, TRANSFER-mation, and Auggie Days. Orientation Leaders will work as a team to ensure that new first-year students have quality transitional experiences and are introduced to Augsburg College in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Through this experience, Orientation Leaders will: • Learn to work in a changing environment, demonstrate flexibility and problem solving skills • Develop a sense of responsibility and professionalism through work with new first-year students and being accountable for completion of work • Gain knowledge in setting and meeting personal and professional goals • Work independently and in a team to make progress towards set goals • Gain skills in areas as leadership, facilitation, presentation delivery, as well as conflict resolution • Train on topics such as cultural difference, anti-racism work, the LGBTQIA community, persons with disabilities, and other areas of human difference • Duties & Responsibilities • Attend CAO Student Leadership Summit • Attend and complete SOAR Training • Facilitate Auggie Days • Begin initial Homecoming Planning (4 OLs) • Facilitate TRANSFER-mation; Facilitate SOAR IV • Serve as Homecoming Student Committee (4 OLs) • Plan and Implement Student Homecoming Events (4 OLs) • Help recruit 2012 Orientation Leaders

5. Leadership Positions @ Augsburg • Orientation Leaders are responsible for administering successful Orientation Programs. These programs include SOAR I, SOAR II, SOAR III, SOAR IV, TRANSFER-mation, and Auggie Days. Orientation Leaders will work as a teamto ensure that new first-year students have quality transitional experiences and are introduced to Augsburg College in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Through this experience, Orientation Leaders will: • Learn to work in a changing environment, demonstrate flexibility and problem solving skills • Develop a sense of responsibility and professionalism through work with new first-year students and being accountable for completion of work • Gain knowledge in setting and meeting personal and professional goals • Work independently and in a team to make progress towards set goals • Gain skills in areas as leadership, facilitation, presentation delivery, as well as conflict resolution • Train on topics such as cultural difference, anti-racism work, the LGBTQIA community, persons with disabilities, and other areas of human difference • Duties & Responsibilities • Facilitate TRANSFER-mation; Facilitate SOAR IV • Serve as Homecoming Student Committee (4 OLs) • Plan and Implement Student Homecoming Events (4 OLs) • Help recruit 2012 Orientation Leaders

6. Marketing Your Leadership Experience on Resumes

7. EMPLOYMENT Admissions Office Assistant, September 20XX – Present Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN • Promoted the college to prospective students and their parents by providing helpful information regarding college life at Augsburg. • Conducted campus tours that highlighted the benefits of an Augsburg education. • Followed-up thru written and phone correspondence with potential students. • Answered all student and parent questions and referred them to appropriate resources for additional assistance. Server, June 20XX – August 20XX Ciatti’s Restaurant, St. Paul, MN • Provided excellent service to customers and promoted quality public relations. • Resolved customer complaints in a professional manner. • Selected as Employee of the Month for providing outstanding customer service. ACTIVITIES • Orientation Leader • Member of International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) • Tutor of At-Risk Junior High Students • Participant of Augsburg Intramural Volleyball and Broomball

8. RELATED EXPERIENCE Admissions Office Assistant, September 20XX – Present Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN • Promoted the college to prospective students and their parents by providing helpful information regarding college life at Augsburg. • Conducted campus tours that highlighted the benefits of an Augsburg education. • Followed-up thru written and phone correspondence with potential students. • Answered all student and parent questions and referred them to appropriate resources for additional assistance. Orientation Leader, August 20XX – December 20XX Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN • Planned and coordinated campus orientation events for incoming freshmen. • Advised students on how to get involved on-campus and appropriate courses to take. • Assisted faculty in teaching the Freshmen Augsburg Seminar. • Researched and presented topic on developing effective study skills to students. Server, June 20XX – August 20XX Ciatti’s Restaurant, St. Paul, MN • Provided excellent service to customers and promoted quality public relations. • Resolved customer complaints in a professional manner. • Selected as Employee of the Month for providing outstanding customer service. ACTIVITIES • Member of International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) • Tutor of At-Risk Junior High Students • Participant of Augsburg Intramural Volleyball and Broomball

9. LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE Orientation Leader, August 20XX – December 20XX Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN • Planned and coordinated campus orientation events for incoming freshmen. • Advised students on how to get involved on-campus and appropriate courses to take. • Assisted faculty in teaching the Freshmen Augsburg Seminar. • Researched and presented topic on developing effective study skills to students. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE Admissions Office Assistant, September 20XX – Present Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN • Promoted the college to prospective students and their parents by providing helpful information regarding college life at Augsburg. • Conducted campus tours that highlighted the benefits of an Augsburg education. • Followed-up thru written and phone correspondence with potential students. • Answered all student and parent questions and referred them to appropriate resources for additional assistance. Server, June 20XX – August 20XX Ciatti’s Restaurant, St. Paul, MN • Provided excellent service to customers and promoted quality public relations. • Resolved customer complaints in a professional manner. • Selected as Employee of the Month for providing outstanding customer service. ACTIVITIES • Member of International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) • Tutor of At-Risk Junior High Students • Participant of Augsburg Intramural Volleyball and Broomball

10. Resume Statements • Fair: • Planned campus orientation events • Better: • Planned and coordinated campus orientation events for incoming freshmen. • Great: • Planned and coordinated small and large-group campus orientation events for incoming freshmen class of 200 students; Resulted in significantly improved student survey results on program evaluations.

11. PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY • Three years experience serving in leadership positions on campus. • Strong communication and teamwork abilities developed through leadership positions on campus. • Excellent teamwork ability developed through on-campus leadership positions. LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE Orientation Leader, August 20XX – December 20XX Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN • Planned and coordinated campus orientation events for incoming freshmen. • Advised students on how to get involved on-campus and appropriate courses to take. • Assisted faculty in teaching the Freshmen Augsburg Seminar. • Researched and presented topic on developing effective study skills to students. RELEVANT EXPERIENCE Admissions Office Assistant, September 20XX – Present Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN • Promoted the college to prospective students and their parents by providing helpful information regarding college life at Augsburg. • Conducted campus tours that highlighted the benefits of an Augsburg education. • Followed-up thru written and phone correspondence with potential students. • Answered all student and parent questions and referred them to appropriate resources for additional assistance. ACTIVITIES • Member of International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) • Tutor of At-Risk Junior High Students • Participant of Augsburg Intramural Volleyball and Broomball

12. Marketing Leadership Experience on Your Resume • Use section headings to highlight your experience • Place leadership experience in your “experience” section rather than in “activities” • Use strong resume statements to “sell” your experience: • Results • Numbers/context • Transferable skills • Highlight leadership experience in a “professional summary”.

13. Leadership & Cover Letters

14. Cover Letter Basics • Additional marketing tool • Highlights, not entire story • Identify 3 aspects of skills/experience of importance to the employer • Encourages employer to read your resume • Typically 3 paragraphs • Middle paragraph highlights what you have to offer • Opportunity to market your leadership experience • It is critical to support your claims with a specific experience • Market your leadership experience in addition to other experience

15. Leadership in Cover Letters • I have excellent communication skills. • As the vice president of the Augsburg Student Senate, I consistently demonstrated excellent communication and conflict management skills. For instance, I led weekly meetings that involved over 30 on-campus leadership members which included setting the agenda, managing group discussions, and assisting fellow students in finding creative solutions to disagreements. In addition, I successfully found ways to communicate difficult topics to the student body and met regularly with campus administration in order to voice student concerns. Because of my communication skills, I was able to convince the administration to implement a new way of reporting and addressing crime in the residents halls, which led to a 25% decrease in incident reports during my senior year.

16. Leadership Stories in Interviews

17. What to expect... • Questions about your background • Tell me about yourself • Walk me through your resume • Questions about your education and goals • Why Augsburg? • Why your major? • What do you hope to do? • Behavioral based questions • Situations that demonstrate a trait of skill.

18. Why behavioral interviewing? PAST BEHAVIOR OR EVENTS FUTURE BEHAVIOR

19. Sample Behavior Based Questions • Tell me about a time you led a team toward a common goal. • Give me an example of time you had to resolve a conflict among team members. • What kind of leader are you? Can you give me an example of a situation that demonstrates your leadership style? • What role do you typically play on a team? Give me an example.

20. Interview story telling • Just enough details to give the listener a picture of what you were doing or how you work • Concise enough to demonstrate your point • includes important details • excludes unimportant details • Not too short; not too long • There’s a character that the listener needs to “see” in action • Leave enough for the interviewer to ask follow up questions…don’t start with the whole story

21. S.T.A.R. Prep • S.T.A.R. technique is ONE tool: Situation-What was happening? Task (goal)-What were you trying to accomplish? Action-What did you specifically do? Result-What was the outcome? How did your work affect the organization or situation?

22. Interview Tips for S.T.A.R. • Start with writing if it helps • Move to bullet points of most important points • Rehearse-over, over, over • Ad lib story to different speakers • Adjust story to answer several questions, but make sure you answer the question! • Practice out loud, not just in your head!

23. On Campus Leadership is Important