E-Mentorships

Kaufman was assisted in the search for mentors by Alumni Services. Together they found COB graduates with a minimum of 4 years experience who were employed in sales and marketing by well-known companies. The individuals identified worked in insurance, banking, real estate, technology, the automotive industry, market research, advertising and consumer products. Students were matched with mentors based on their shared career interests. Kaufman had four main goals for the e-mentorship project:

• To help students understand the importance of reflection and career planning
• To promote networking between students and alumni 
• To allow students to connect what they learn in class with what alumni experience in the business world 
• To emphasize the career benefits that result from having professional sales experience

Kaufman structured the class project around a series of email conversations between students and mentors. About half the tasks related directly to course concepts such as new product development, creating marketing plans, international competition, and how marketing interacts with sales. The other communications focused on career management competence.

One particular issue Kaufman wanted students and mentors to explore was the long-term benefit of sales experience. “I have found many students want to begin their careers in marketing and bypass sales. That may be a mistake, because in most cases, having sales experience is critical to advancing a person’s career,” said Kaufman. He feels interacting with mentors gave students a sense for why building experience and knowledge in this and other areas is critical.

Tara Robbe is a senior sales executive for Coca-Cola North America and a recent e-mentor. “Coming out of college I was very focused on finding a traditional marketing position and avoided any opportunities that were sales related.  What I have found through my career path is that I can be a marketer while existing in a traditional sales role - especially in B to B sales,” she explained.

Robbe was particularly impressed with the questions her mentee asked regarding her career path and recommendations for career success. “His questions were very insightful and exhibited his understanding of the business environment,” said Robbe. She feels this reflective process is something that all undergraduate students should do before graduation and continue after entering the workforce. “I wish this program had been around when I was an undergrad!” she added.

Jen Rinehart ‘06, found the e-mentor process very helpful as she concluded her final semester at ISU. Jen was paired with Tom Crawford, Director of Partnership Marketing at Motorola. Crawford is responsible for strategic planning, marketing, execution and operation of $50+ million dollar annual budget for sponsorship marketing programs, many of which involve professional sports. Rinehart says Crawford went out of his way to provide important insights and suggested a variety of options for her to explore as she sought a position in sports marketing.

“The best insight Mr. Crawford gave me was that employers look for the desire and willingness to work hard and do whatever it takes to contribute to the success of their business.  It is up to me to communicate the desire, commitment, assertiveness, positive attitude, and personal communication skills to the potential employer,” added Rinehart.

“Too often we see new employees just out of school who really don't understand what it takes to be committed to the job and work hard in order to achieve success,” said Crawford.  “It seems there is this feeling of entitlement...in other words, just showing up for work and wondering when the next promotion will come.  You have to earn it!" he added. Rinehart knows this message is something teachers try to stress, but it really hit home when she heard it from a highly accomplished professional.

Senior marketing major Julie McCarthy found the most beneficial aspect of the mentoring project was the mental shift she made. “Communicating with my mentor helped me make the transition from thinking like a student to thinking like a professional,” she explained. And that’s exactly the result Kaufman had hoped for.

               Participating Mentors for Spring 2006

Tom Crawford	Motorola Inc.
Michael Williams	Kia Motors America, Inc.
Jim Graham	Ford Motor Company
Michael Phares	Global Hyatt Corporation
Linda Klouda	Maytag International
Lori Janssen	Lava World International, Inc
Chris Lamar	Ford Motor Company
Brian Dudley	CDW Corporation
Chris Goulding	CDW Corporation
Glen Gribac	Motorola Inc.
Jackie Esker-Zerrusen	Tommy Hilfiger
Thom Reed	P&G
Tara Robbe	Coca-Cola North America
James (Jamie) Ericson	JB Ericson & Associates, Inc.
Jeff Zarzeck	Nestle Purina
Mike Olson	Procter & Gamble Distributing Company
Beth Lenz	IRWIN Industrial Tools, a division of Newell Rubbermaid
Kyle McCoy	Allied Waste Services
Amy Posey	The Hamilton Collection (a division of the Bradford Group)
Jenna Wexler	MIRADOR RESEARCH, LLC
Patrick Manning	Proman International
Javelyn Ibarra	Mercedes Benz  USA
Adam Young	Byron Udell & Associates, dba AccuQuote
Michael Furstenberg	Trustmark Life Insurance Company
Sam Zangri	Toyota Motor Sales USA Chic. Regional Office
David Daucanski	LAMAR ADVERTISING
Dave Anthony	McDonald's Corporation