{"id":15394,"date":"2018-11-09T14:33:58","date_gmt":"2018-11-09T19:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/english\/?p=15394"},"modified":"2019-01-11T17:29:46","modified_gmt":"2019-01-11T22:29:46","slug":"why-employer-site-visits-are-essential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/english\/blog\/2018\/11\/09\/why-employer-site-visits-are-essential\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Employer Site Visits Are Essential"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Macy Jo Byerly, Vanessa Haro-Miracle, and Maggie Sutton<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Three #bsuenglish students’ take on employer site visits<\/em><\/p>\n

Macy:<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Our career center<\/a> offers a few employer site visits every semester. I\u2019ve gone on two so far\u2014both were jobs that would not necessarily be something that I thought I could do with my English degree: Indianapolis Zoo<\/a> and Greater Fort Wayne Inc.<\/a>, Ash Brokerage<\/a> and Cyclone Social<\/a>. So why did I sign up?<\/p>\n

\"\"Who doesn\u2019t love going to the zoo? And Fort Wayne is close to my hometown. But just because you don\u2019t THINK a job site would work with your degree doesn\u2019t mean it won\u2019t! At every visit, you have a chance to ask questions. I always lead with I\u2019m an English major<\/em> and what experience I have, and they usually tell me where I could fit in–which isn\u2019t always where you’d think it would be.<\/p>\n

On the most recent visit to Fort Wayne, I went because I was interested in Cyclone Social<\/a>, a social media marketing agency, which fits well with my skills and experiences.<\/p>\n

Maggie:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>I signed up for the same site visit at the recommendation of my career coach, Eilis Wasserman<\/a>. She was very excited that we were going to visit Cyclone Social, because it’s young and millennial focused, offering unlimited vacations and an open office plan structure.<\/p>\n

I decided to do this to try to network with potential employers, and to feel like I was making some concrete steps toward preparing to find a job.<\/p>\n

Vanessa:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>I heard of the site visit because my professor Cathy Day encouraged our whole class (Jacket Copy) to go. I looked into it and saw that was geared more towards marketing and business, which aren\u2019t my real interests but decided, why not. They\u2019ll give me a free lunch, a free ride to Fort Wayne on a fancy bus that has wifi, and an excused absence from all my classes that day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Our first stop was\u00a0Ash Brokerage<\/a>, an insurance agency that shares a building with a chocolatier shop and a law firm. I thought speaking to the people of Ash Brokerage was going to be a real snooze, because how interesting can insurance be? But it was actually very informative. I learned a little bit about what Ash Brokerage does, and I also feel like I learned a few little secrets about the insurance world. The HR specialist even suggested I speak to him afterwards if I was interested in working with them.<\/p>\n

I briefly fell in love with the idea of working in this beautiful building shared with DeBrand Fine Chocolates. I saw myself making over 30k a year working less than 40 hours, paying off my student loans, and living a wonderful life in Fort Wayne where they have a low cost of living and where I can have time to volunteer. But I’m not sure if I want to give up my dream of working for a nonprofit.<\/p>\n

\"\"We then made our way to Cyclone Social, a newer social media marketing agency that works with other companies. The CEO met up with us and told us the company\u2019s philosophy plastered on their wall: Be REMARKABLE or Be Ignored. He explained that he kept hearing from his companies that no one posts good reviews and he told them, that is simply not true. Customers LOVE to post about their positive reviews, about \u00a0remarkable experiences, not the run-of-the-mill experiences they expect.<\/p>\n

The CEO gave us some great advice. He suggested we take advantage of alumni and of our student email to just say hi to these companies, or do something different to gain their attention instead of simply submitting a resume. Be remarkable, not ordinary.<\/em><\/p>\n

Macy:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Although I came on the visit for Cyclone Social, I left with newfound interest in Ash Brokerage, Greater Fort Wayne Inc. Don\u2019t get me wrong, the site visit reaffirmed that Cyclone Social would be somewhere I would fit in–skills, culture, and atmosphere-wise–but it also opened my eyes to options I would have probably never even considered or known about.<\/p>\n

I also realized that I could see myself living in a really cool city close to home–which I previously would not have even considered.<\/p>\n

Maggie:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>What surprised me is how much I saw myself working at a place like Ash Brokerage.<\/p>\n

The company is older and more traditional, but the creative services team was smaller, which I liked. This is the team with graphic design, printing, social media, copywriting, and digital marketing skills–abilities that many English majors have! Lunch and coffee are provided there every day, and the building is beautiful.<\/p>\n

The visit showed me that almost every company is going to have a “creative team” that needs skills I have.<\/p>\n

So why go on a job site visit with the career center?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n