Graduating from college and not knowing what to do next is a fear that everyone at Denison has had at one point in their scholarship. The concern of Denison students prompted the Knowlton center, Denison career exploration center to provide students with a unique event to help students kick-start their professional life. The event was an intensive three day Boot Camp during winter break focused on resume building, cover letter constructing, interview perfecting, and a chance to network with Denison Alium.
“It [Boot Camp] was the best and useful way to spend winter break doing something meaningful and beneficial to my future self. The program was filled with great coaches who were there for us all the way. Their energy and desire to help us be career ready, grew day by day through the program,” Francis Kalombo Ngoy ‘19 Political Science and Religion Double Major
The first day of Boot Camp took off on Wednesday, January 17th. The day focused on creating and editing cover letters, resume, interview skills, and the famous elevator pitch. The students were also, introduced to new online tools that helped them find internship opportunity, career directions, and networking sites. The following day consisted of visiting Columbus’s LBrand Office, The Columbus Museum of Art, Red Capital Group, Ohio Legislative Service Commission, and a networking event with Denison alumni at Bricker and Eckler.
“No matter how career ready you think you may be, you will still learn something you don’t know. The material is very crucial to the workforce, which is taught by highly qualified coaches who are already in the workforce,” said Ngoy ‘19
The Networking opportunity promoted students to practice their elevator speech and connect with alumni that could help guide the students in the career choices they were interested in pursuing.
Finally, the third day consisted of a mock interview, where students received overall feedback on the three days and how well they performed on cover letters, resume, interview, and the networking opportunity.
“These skills that the students learn are so important, and they last a lifetime,” said Sarah Sasko (Harp), the S.T.E.M consular at the Knowlton center.
The boot camp benefits students in understanding how to create and market their brand. Student’s brands stick with them in the professional world. Therefore it is vital to present oneself professionally. The brand helped not only get the foot in the door but also to secure the position.
“I would recommend this to anyone who I know, going into the workforce soon or later after college. Besides meeting your fellow Denisonians, you will also meet Alumni who could be in your field, or they know someone who is and can put you in contact. When opportunity knocks, take it, embrace it, you will thank your future self. Believe me,” said Ngoy
The Knowlton Center is planning on hosting this boot camp next year as well, so for anyone interested set a reminder and don’t forget to sign up.