Week 6 Part 2: Going Corporate!

Alexis Degler, the development intern, was kind enough to lend her writing skills to the Bucks Go Pro blog for Wednesday’s field trip to Cardinal Health, since I’m currently competing in a four day swim meet and couldn’t attend the trip! Keep reading to hear Alexis’s take on Wednesday’s activities…

Hi everyone! My name is Alexis Degler, I’m the blonde head you see in a lot of the pictures and the Development Intern this summer. Cheyenne asked me to fill in for her for the day because, probably as I am typing this right now, she is swimming her personal best time and killing it in her swim meet. I was really excited when she asked me, I’ve never written a blog post before, but now that I am writing this, I am getting a little nervous.. so bear with me.

It all started a little earlier than normal. The BucksGoPro interns all showed up in front of the Fawcett Center at promptly 8 a.m. When we looked around, we realized half of our group was missing! Many of the BucksGoPro’s had competition conflicts so there were only 15 of us going on the tour. As we piled into the bus, we all could have had our own row but for some reason we decided to all scrunch together so that we were able to chat about who knows what. We’ve all become so close over the last six weeks so there really isn’t a quiet moment.

 

As we rolled up to the front of the Cardinal Health building, we quickly realized what it means to go corporate. This was not just a really tall building, it was like five really tall buildings all connected and there were even more across the street. This was a campus. When we walked inside, all of the interns were in awe. Everything was sleek and modern and I even heard Niki Miyashiro say “I feel like when I walk through the check-in gate I am going into a time machine sending us to the future.” It was a really impressive lobby.

 IMG_7819

Brooke Miller, a financial advisor for Cardinal Health, stayed with us all day on both of our tours and facilitated many of the presentations. She picked us up in the lobby and brought us to a conference room. Each spot at the table had a folder containing information, a pen and sticky notes, as we all are about to strategically choose our spot, you hear Alex Bayne, the SASSO intern gasp “FREE COFFEE!” Everyone turns around, wide-eyed, and heads straight to the table in the back containing Free Starbucks coffee, and an assortment of muffins, scones, and other pastries, and personalized name tags. I mean if the scones and coffee don’t convince you to work at Cardinal Health…I’m sure the personalized name tags will! We were all so impressed. We all returned to our seats and were officially ready to hear about the history of Cardinal Health as well as careers and programs offered.

 

It was hard not to be impressed by Cardinal’s history of acquisitions of companies. They kept listing off all the companies that are now under the Cardinal Health umbrella and all of the markets that they had expanded into and it was remarkable.

 IMG_7812

After we learned all about Cardinal Health we split in half and were taken on a tour of Cardinal’s campus. My group leader was Joe Valponi, an accounting advisor, and he showed us everything from the interactive room (that Olivia DiCarlantonio was fascinated with) to the workout gym, which Olivia DiCarlantonio was also fascinated with…

 

When we made it back to the conference room (and grabbed our second cup of coffee) we got to hear from 3 of the Cardinal employees in the Emerge Program. The Emerge program is a program that allows employees to get a better understanding of multiple roles within a company. They rotate every few months in order to gain relevant knowledge and skills that will help them be successful in their future career. We were lucky to hear from a recent Ohio State Cheerleader alumn, Nicole Douglas, and she along with her two coworkers, answered all of our tough questions.

 IMG_7814

After the panel, we gathered our stuff and headed back onto the bus. It was a long trip but everyone was enjoying each other’s company, or so we thought. Gordie Koerber, pointed out to the group that Jake Dastrup had fallen asleep. I guess it’s true when you hear that if an athlete is tired, they can sleep whenever or wherever they get the chance.

 

When we got to the National Logistics Center we were all a little skeptical at first, but when we walked down the stairs into the floor I think the first thing was said was “It looks just like Costco.” We split our groups up in half and coincidentally my group had all girls with absolutely no background knowledge about the logistics of a factory, let alone a factory for pharmaceuticals, and the questions started pouring out. We learned the ins and outs (literally the way that the pharmaceuticals get in and leave the factory) of the factory, met some of the employees picking orders and loading and unloading trucks, and found out that our tour guide, Jonathon Downes, the supervisor of warehouse operations, and his team won the Cardinal Health dodgeball tournament!! Needless to say, it was a very informational tour, and a great experience.

IMG_7818

When we got back to the front, the other group was there waiting for us. I guess we asked too many questions? But we returned our safety vests and said our thank you’s and goodbyes and headed back to campus. It was kinda a weird feeling when we left the bus. It was our last time being together before the big presentation. Its definitely a bittersweet feeling as we have made so many great memories together this summer.

 IMG_7820

So that’s all I have for our Cardinal Tour visit! Thanks for bearing with me, Cheyenne will be back next week to talk about our group projects (wish us luck!!!!)

 

Alexis Degler

Week 6 Part 1: So You Want A Job?

So you want a job? I think I speak for all the interns when I say YES! Ever since I was young, I’ve feverously deliberated about my dream job. Maybe I was meant to be a police officer? Teacher? Famous singer? No, I realized I didn’t want to be a singer…that was just a Cheetah Girl’s phase. Then, I found my love for writing. My parents have a compilation of short stories I gave them as presents for holidays and birthdays when I was in elementary school: The Butterfly Girls, Spy Girls, The Big Buck and many more. In middle school, the most exciting project for me was when Mrs. Halsey, my sixth grade language arts’ teacher, assigned a short story contest. I ran home and immediately began drafting what I believed worthy of a Nobel Prize in literature. Although I’m only joking about the Nobel Prize part, my teacher commended my writing and encouraged me to continue because my story left her wanting more. She told me I would have to dedicate my second book to her- my first would obviously go to my parents. I’m still keeping my promise to her because I intend on being a published author in the future…hopefully near. Even if I’m not entirely sure what career path I want to take besides accomplishing this goal, I along with my fellow interns, have been working diligently to prepare for our futures and put ourselves in the best position to become successful after graduation.  “Success” means something different to each of us but as we sat in the Jack Nicklaus Museum Monday morning listening to guest speakers’ career advice, we all soaked up the information and contemplated how to best apply it to our lives.

IMG_7799Due to technical difficulties with the monitor, the week 6 team members, Brittany Savko, LaToya Farris, Makena Lynch, and Tyler Carpenter, quickly introduced themselves before handing the floor over to Vian Saggio, Buckeye Careers internship program manager, and Ryan Wilhelm, Career Counseling and Support Services career counselor. Vian began the session by describing what the Buckeye Careers program offers to college students at Ohio State. These services within Buckeye Careers include Buckeye Internships, Buckeye Careers Network and Buckeye OnPace. Buckeye Internships is Ohio State’s university-wide resource to connect OSU students with employers for internships and co-op positions. She stressed the importance of obtaining at least one internship during college because it allows you to learn more about yourself and career interests, gain professional experience that links to academic coursework, obtain a better understanding of companies and industries and the possibility of a long-term career fit and increase your chances for a full time job after graduation because about 63.1% of 2013 college graduates who took part in paid internships received at least one job offer. Buckeye Careers Network is an online resource, which connects students with employers for jobs, internships, co-ops and career opportunities. The site lets you to upload your resume, apply for jobs and internships, register for career workshops and review employer profiles. Finally, Buckeye OnPace is a series of self-guided career development modules that can help you learn more about yourself, choose majors or careers, apply to grad school and prepare to enter the workforce as a responsible, global citizen. Any Ohio State student has access to these services and I definitely know I’ll be taking advantage of them in the near future!

IMG_7803

Up Next, Ryan discussed what Career Counseling and Support Services provides to students throughout the year. His office will meet you wherever you are in your career development process and provide holistic support to help you attain your career goals. Whether this be through individual career counseling, career assessments, career planning and decision-making, resume, cover letter and interviewing skills assistance or applying to grad school, CCSS offers it all and encourages students to take advantage of these services as early in their college years as possible. When it comes to the job search, Ryan recommended we begin actively looking six to 9 months before our target employment date. Also, he advised us to keep in mind that it is very probable no single job will utilize all of our skills, develop all of our interests and incorporate 100% of our values. Therefore, we must target a career field that will satisfy some of our high-priority needs and develop a flexible career identity. Even if we have our hearts set on a particular type of job or industry, we shouldn’t let it blind us from other options. As we apply for a job, Ryan told us we want our employers to know our motivation, fit with the organization and skills. Employer’s ratings of the most important qualities and skills in college graduates are as followed:

  1. Ability to work in a team structure
  2. Ability to make decisions and solve problems
  3. Ability to plan organize and prioritize work
  4. Ability to verbally communicate with persons inside and outside the organization

However, Ryan stressed how one of the most important aspects of a successful job search is having a well-developed network. Acquainting yourself with professionals in your desired field allows you to get the insider’s view, open doors that might otherwise remain closed and request informational interviews. Possible contacts to network with include family members, friends, neighbors, professors, alumni and previous employers. Also, LinkedIn is an excellent way to find connections and develop your network.

IMG_7801

Following Ryan and Vian’s presentation, the interns split into groups depending on our college of enrollment, so we could hear from our specific college career advisor. We sat at three different tables based on if we were enrolled in majors in the college of Arts and Sciences, Education and Human Ecology or the Fisher College of Business. Each college sent a few of their career advisors to teach us about the services they offer and answer any questions we might have regarding resumes, internships and careers. My group used all thirty minutes to get advice about our resumes and the next steps we should take after we complete our internship with Bucks Go Pro. Our advisors were happy to help us and encouraged us to attend career fairs this upcoming year to network and gain more experience talking to employers.

IMG_7802

The next activity of the day was a resume swap workshop but before exchanging resumes with other interns at our tables, Brittany and LaToya explained what would be included on their resumes by giving us a history of their employment. It was funny to discover how both Brittany and LaToya had dreamed of being detectives like the ones off of CSI when they grew up. LaToya recounted a story about how she stayed in school an extra year and a half to major in social work instead of sociology because her advisor told her she had a much higher likelihood of finding a job if she majored in social work. Then when she was working with student-athletes at Kansas State, she was blown away by how many were majoring in sociology and wondered why nobody told them to major in something else, which finally made her realize what she wanted to do. Luckily for us, neither Brittany nor LaToya ended up sticking with being detectives; instead, they chose to help student-athletes, like us, find our career paths and advise us to not major in sociology! After hearing their stories, we began editing another intern’s resume, and it was interesting to see the layout of everyone’s. I believe the workshop helped to not only improve the specifics of our resume, but gave us more ideas on how to differentiate ourselves with it.

IMG_7805

Our final activity of the day was receiving advice from Makena and Tyler called “Job Tips 101.” They ran through the proper etiquette of in-person, phone and skype interviews, as well as post-interview protocol. When partaking in an in-person interview, they advised us to be on time, dress for success, always prepare questions in advance, smile and let your personality shine through and google yourself before your interview to avoid surprise questions about your social media. For phone interviews, find a quiet place, have good service-landlines are always more reliable, be conversational and smile. They told us to prepare for a skype interview much like a phone one by having good service, practicing, staying present, having notes and remembering names. Makena described her first skype interview, telling us it’s okay to make an ice breaker by saying it’s your first time having an interview over skype! Finally, sending a thank you note after your interview is a must because it shows your interest and allows you to restate your qualifications or answer any questions you couldn’t during the interview.

All the interns walked away from the day better prepared to handle our resumes, interviews and future employment. It was extremely helpful to teach us about the resources we have on campus because many of us are unaware of just how much Ohio State has to offer. I definitely feel more confident about obtaining another internship or job after Bucks Go Pro and look forward to taking advantage of the services offered through CCSS because I know my resume and interview skills can continue to improve!