|
When Nora Canright began as the Career Center Marketing Intern,
she did not have any experience with marketing, but she was interested
to learn and eager to help the Career Center develop an effective
centralized marketing strategy. She was a fourth year psychology
major, and she had never taken a business class. Nora’s background
in psychology ended up being more of an asset than a handicap. She
had written surveys, conducted interviews and research, and written
extensively, all of which prepared her for her work as the marketing
intern. Being an intern allowed Nora to obtain experience in a field
outside her major area of study and gain valuable experience she
might otherwise have struggled to get.
Nora worked on a year-long research project assessing the Career
Center’s current marketing practices, interviewing on- and
off-campus officials, researching the marketing practices of other
organizations, doing marketing experiments and surveying students.
One of Nora’s greatest accomplishments during the year was
helping to plan, market and organize the Career Center’s Dress
For Success Fashion Show. The show focused on interview-appropriate
clothing for students of all ages hoping to join the career world.
This event brought students, the Career Center and the community
together to put on a fun and informative event in Quarry Plaza.
Another achievement that Nora is particularly proud of is the “Student
Marketing Survey” that, with the help of the Career Center
managers, she wrote, revised, and distributed to all 15,000 UCSC
students. The survey sought to find out what students knew about
the Career Center, how they learned that information, their thoughts
about Career Center services, and how they would like to receive
information about the Career Center in the future. In the end, 1,360
students sent back responses, and two students each won a $100 gift
certificate (one of the incentives used to enhance student participation).
This survey, and the accompanying analysis, was one of the major
sources of information for Nora’s Year-end Final Report and
Marketing Plan. This document reviewed the results of Nora’s
research and her suggestions for a centralized and effective marketing
strategy. In addition to the survey and the marketing plan, Nora
also complied a resource handbook for marketing to students, called
the Marketing Tool Box. The Tool Box is a step-by-step guide that
includes detailed information about how much time to allow, details
about cost and locations, not to mention common difficulties one
might experience along the way.
The associated CUIP course gave Nora an opportunity to get to know
her fellow interns. This was a valuable opportunity to share ideas
and common frustrations. Many other interns were also marketing
to students and thus had interesting ideas and resources to share.
This interaction allowed her to strategize with her peers and gain
valuable information. As a student, Nora benefited greatly from
the knowledge about the internal workings of the University, and
the way that big decisions are made, giving her more perspective
and respect for what a difficult task it really is.
As a result of the experience that Nora was able to gain during
her internship, she has succeeded in landing a junior analyst position
at a small market research company in San Rafael, California. She
will be able to live in San Francisco, where she grew up, and pursue
her interest in market research. As an intern, Nora gained skills
and confidence that were essential to her future success. And, thanks
in part to CUIP, Nora is pursuing her dreams.
|
