The path to where you want to be is not going to be a straight line. College students have a difficult road ahead of them. This road can be made easier through professional communication skills, students learned on Wednesday. Ryan Petrus, guest relations and security manager for the Carolina Panthers and Winthrop alum, shared tips for polishing those skills as part of Flight Plan.
Petrus began by talking about how frequent cell phone use has affected young professionals in the workplace.
“I see it a lot with the younger demographic that work for me. They’re always on their phones. That’s something you have to be aware of at work,” Petrus said.
When the topic of cellphone use in college students comes up, it is often in the context of overuse or dependence. Frequently, college students’ cell phone use is brought up in the context of their supposed overuse of or dependence on the devices.
“Don’t let anyone tell you that [texting] is a bad thing because it’s your generation. It’s technology, and technology is a great thing. The problem is we can’t rely on this,”
He recommends face-to-face communication above all else. While there is a time for written communication, emails or texts, the best way to build a foundation with your coworkers and employers is by talking to them in person.
“I don’t think there’s a better way to communicate than face-to-face,” Petrus said.
“The only way we do it is by talking. As young professionals in your careers, that’s going to be really important. It’s not butt-kissing. It’s not brown-nosing. It’s none of that. It’s about personal development,” Petrus said.
Another way to create a connection with potential employers is to follow-up with the interviewer with a handwritten thank you note rather than an email. This makes you stand out from other candidates, and it shows that you are willing to put effort into your career.
“You sat down. You bought a thank you card. You sat down. You thought it out. You wrote it. You mailed it. That’s important,” Petrus said.
The idea of sending a thank you note was new to a lot of students in the audience. Only a few audience members raised their hands when Petrus asked if anyone had done so before.
“I’ve had interviews, and I’ve called to follow up, but I’ve never sent a thank you letter, and I never thought about writing it, especially,” Austin Grier, a senior digital information design, said.
Networking was another topic Petrus touched on. It is a vital skill that college students should learn and use whenever they are able. Even when a connection seems insignificant, “the smallest little thing can result in a big thing,” Petrus said.
It’s not about how many people you know. Petrus keeps his LinkedIn account to only about 50 people. It’s about how well you know the people that you do.
“Large networks don’t equal success,” Petrus said.
Evan Hailes, a senior international business major, said that he is going to start reaching out sooner rather than later.
“When [Petrus] was talking about networking and making sure that you keep with those relationships by writing letters. Making sure you go ahead and reach out to them … now before we leave college so we have something to fall back on,” Hailes said.
Petrus concluded with a quote that he lives by: “You have to make the call you’re afraid to make.”
