2021 Career Boot Camp Outcomes
The eighth annual Career Boot Camp for sophomores was radically re-vamped from previous versions of the program. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic status as well as limited staffing availability, the decision was made to hold a virtual event in November 2020, featuring four programs:
- Industry/Internship Panel for Banking/Finance, Business & Consulting, Communication/Marketing/PR/Advertising
- Industry/Internship Panel for Environment, Nonprofits & Government, Science/Medicine/Public Health
- What Employers Look for in Candidates
- Professional Communication in the Workplace
Other skills and informational programs offered in previous years such as: Elevator Pitch, LinkedIn Creation, Career Exploration, Intro to Personal Finance/Credit, Resume Creation, Excel Skills, Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace, Grant-writing, Academic Planning, Study Abroad, Grad School Planning, Managing Digital Identity, Young Alumni Panel, Internship Search could be, and in some cases already have been, replicated in other virtual venues and hosted by other departments targeting students through their own efforts.
Finally, in addition to current sophomores, current juniors were also invited. This was to allow more students access to the information and alumni, particularly those juniors who were not taking classes on campus in the fall due to the re-organization of their academic calendar. Panels were recorded, captioned, and posted on the Career Connections website for additional students to have access afterwards.
There were fewer participants than usual, but perhaps they were somewhat more engaged than some of their in-person counterparts in previous years. The reduction in events and time spent may also have contributed to lowered dissatisfaction scores. In addition, nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents rated the virtual event at a 7 or higher on a 10-point scale. This would indicate that there are opportunities to do more online activities in the future while maintaining student interest. Based on participation rates and other student feedback comments, however, future online offerings will be spread out (likely no more than one per day), much more closely-targeted to student industry interests, as well as offer additional break-out rooms/opportunities for networking and questions. Nevertheless, several students expressed a wish to have events in person if possible.
Selected Student Quotes About Their Experience:
“I enjoyed hearing about the current circumstances of how competitive the job market is today, but how as SLU students we can reach out to SLU [alumni] to get a better transfer over to the internship/job market. Hearing them discuss tips on reaching out to alumni and the correct phrases and questions to ask was also very helpful.”
“I heard about jobs I didn't even know existed!”
“I thought it was very interesting. The one big thing I took away from it is you can always change your path, you can start one place and be led to another, and that's okay.”
“A great take away was hearing the panelists’ backgrounds and their own experience in their fields which helped give me a better sense of what I want to do.”
“My most important take-away was that careers don't necessarily have to be a straight line and that you won't necessarily find the perfect job right away. It's okay to have a non-linear career path.”
“I have learned how to take advantage of SLUs career services and be proactive when it comes to my future as well as not to be discouraged while looking for the right job for [me].”
November 2020 Sophomore Career Boot Camp By The Numbers
- 89 students registered for the virtual program (down significantly from January’s 2020 high of 215 in-person registrants (actual participation was closer to 72 due to late-breaking conflicts, Zoom fatigue, etc.)
- 20 Alumni/Parent Panelists registered (down 50% due to the condensed nature of the program)
Student Motivation
As a result of having attended Boot Camp, how inspired or motivated do you feel to continue career exploration (internships), professional development and/or networking activities?
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
Not at all 0% 3% 2% 1% 0%
A little 1.5% 6% 4% 2% 4%
Somewhat 15% 17% 16% 14% 11%
Quite a bit 44% 44% 43% 53% 50%
Greatly 40% 29% 35% 30% 35%
Additional Student Reactions
- 89% (up from 86% in Jan. 2020; 93% in 2019, 89% in 2018; 96% in 2017) said they “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the What Employers Want Panel was useful in learning how to present themselves effectively to an employer
- 93% said the Banking/Finance, Business & Consulting, and Comm/Mktg/PR/Adv panel was helpful in presenting different career options in the fields. 88% said the same for the Environment, Nonprofit & Gov’t, and Science/Medicine/Public Health panel.
- 76% of the respondents felt the session helped them develop or improve their understanding of professional communication
- 86% said they would recommend Boot Camp to their classmates (up from 76% in Jan. 2020) with 14% maybe (down from 18% “maybe”; 6% “no")
- On a scale of 1-10 (10 being greatly meets expectations), 74% of respondents (n=62) indicated rated the virtual Boot Camp 7 or higher
- For the fifth year, students were asked to name the two most important "take-aways" from the boot camp. In descending order of frequency, these were:
How to make connections; network important 27
How to present self to employer; interviews 15
Cover letters/resumes 7
Get experiences outside class; importance 6
Major doesn't dictate career/job options; many paths 6
What to do now/how to prepare 4
Pursue things that interest you; try new things 4
It's okay not to know what you want to do/
have job right away; don't get discouraged 4
Learned more about industries/career paths 3
Online presence (LinkedIn) important 2
Mentioned singly were: Figure out what you don't want to do, How to speak and present professionally, Take risks, It takes time to work your way up, Importance of self-teaching