We Can All Be Teachers
Teaching students how to build a Standout BRAND – YOUR STANDOUT BRAND SOULES COLLEGE OF BUSINESS K-12 INITIATIVE
Learning how to be confident and comfortable in an interview is challenging for most adults, and especially challenging when you are a new graduate with little to no professional experience. How do you prepare for this first critical step as you begin your career?
Since 2009, The University of Texas at Tyler Soules College of Business has been offering their upper division students a class specifically focused on teaching and preparing students for a full range of professional activities: interviewing, networking and navigating a successful career upon graduation.
Leading this effort is nationally recognized professional branding author, lecturer, keynote speaker and adjunct lecturer, Gail Johnson. Gail guides students through her A New Brand You© four-step branding process focused on uncovering, expanding, proving and then communicating their value – a process which includes soft and hard skills, experience and education as a starting point.
Using value as their foundation, each student moves onto the next step, creates an engaging elevator speech and practices their networking skills. Students also are coached in and practice questions they will receive during the interview process, specifically behavior- based questions.
As the course evolved, it was clear that students learning would be enhanced by a real-life experience. In 2011, the course began offering the Mock Team Interviews Event, allowing students to network and interview with successful business professionals.
Area businesses were invited to attend. Some of those businesses represented included Fortune companies as well as local and non-profit businesses such as:
Trane Technologies
BGC
Amazon
Walmart
Sherwin Williams Fastenal
Enterprise
Edward Jones
Henry & Peters
Gollob Morgan Peddy PC
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Mercy Ships
Black Beauty Ranch
Gail meets personally with students that sign up to participate in the initiative. She provides students with one-on-one instruction on how to develop their individual brand values. Students then create and give an engaging elevator speech and practice responding to behavioral-based interviewing questions. Their teachers continue to work with the students to refine their skills.
In 2017, the program was introduced into East Texas high schools. As with the university students, the process culminates with the K-12 students attending the Mock Team Interview Event at UT Tyler. All students, both university and K-12 take away confidence and valuable real-time experience that better prepares them for internships and career opportunities. Click on the link below to view a short video from a recent Soules College Mock Team Interview event: View Video