Students gathered in the Memorial Student Center ballroom to attend the “On the Job Survival” seminar hosted by Career and Outreach Services, and presented by Johnson and Johnson on Feb. 10.
The seminar began with a welcome and thank you from Glenda Jones, director of career services. “It is important that you all showed up for this seminar, you will definitely benefit from this experience,” Jones spoke.
The seminar featured Tone Jones, senior district sales manager and Steven B. McLain, executive sales representative, of Johnson and Johnson. McLain and Jones spoke to the students about the professional and personal skills that are needed to be successful in the workplace.
McLain opened his portion of the presentation by informing students of the eight professional skills
needed to be successful: communication, interpersonal skills, teamwork, leadership, business acumen, initiative, the ability to learn and flexibility.
Students were encouraged to join organizations and become active volunteers so that they are viewed as a more diverse potential employee. “A good GPA is not enough, you must be involved in order to set yourself apart from the rest,” McLain declared.
Jones and McLain emphasized the power of networking. Students were encouraged to put themselves out there by being active and always meeting new people. It was made clear that it is not always about what you know but sometimes it’s all in who you know.
“A presentation of this nature could not come at a better time as our economy is failing, and we are seeing more and more people being laid off because of it. The state of our economy just makes me want to become a better me,” said McLain.
Loyalty, sense of humor, goal setting, enthusiasm, reliability, identification as a mentor and the ability to manage stress are the personal skills that were emphasized during the seminar. “Everyone should be able to identify the one person who is their mentor or personal coach, someone who will tell you the truth, be able to share their own experiences and wisdom and empower you,” Jones said.