Boot camp offers tailored career training for economics students

Three student volunteers stood in a row at the front of a packed Rosen Theater in the Tutor Campus Center, smiling nervously as accomplished professionals from several businesses critiqued their job interview attire.

The first student stood tall in his neat dark suit, white shirt and tie, awaiting feedback. Jennifer Winberg, a marketing consultant, told him that he looked great, very professional, but that for her industry she might also want to see a little bit of character, some creative flair.

The student grinned, lifting up his pant leg to reveal funky, striped socks. The audience laughed — after all, career preparation doesn’t always have to be stressful.

The exercise was one of several that took place as part of the inaugural Economics Career Boot Camp at USC.

A novel — and fruitful — collaboration

Anne Johnston, a wealth advisor at UBS Financial Services Inc., leads a discussion during one of the breakout sessions at the Economics Career Boot Camp. Photo by Drew Osher.

Students, faculty, staff, alumni and other working professionals gathered on Sept. 9 for a day of comprehensive professional training specially tailored to USC economics students. The first event of its kind at USC Dornsife, it was the product of a collaboration between the Department of Economics, the Economics Leadership Council (ELC) and the USC Dornsife Career Pathways Office aimed at preparing students for USC’s Fall Career Fair on Sept. 15.

Juniors, seniors and graduate students, all specifically interested in the industries and professional opportunities related to economics, took part in the day’s activities. They heard an overview lecture from Career Services on writing resumes and cover letters. In breakout sessions, students worked on their resumes with industry professionals, including several USC alumni. Students also learned job interview skills and practiced in small groups during mock interviews.

The industry professionals at the event, most affiliated with the three-year-old ELC, represented such companies as J.P. Morgan, DBS Bank, UBS financial services company, XB Logistics, PRG Fund L.P., Oaktree Capital Management, Cornerstone consulting and CDI Management.

Senior Elizabeth Kanovsky, earning her bachelor’s in economics and mathematics at USC Dornsife, recently returned from studying abroad and wanted to get a solid refresher on writing resumes and interview techniques. In her morning breakout session, she volunteered to share her resume for critique by her fellow students and the two alumni group leaders.

From left, Peter Resnick ’82, vice chair of student enrichment for the Economics Leadership Council, and Mark Moore, professor (teaching) of economics. Photo by Drew Osher.

“They were able to say, ‘Oh, you have experience with this and that’s really good — that’s the kind of thing we look for, so highlight that.’ And coming from the same [economics] background, they knew what I was trying to get at,” she said.

Kanovsky appreciated the individualized notes she received, coming away with a new appreciation for brevity in her resume.

“Everything I’ve done is my baby so I don’t want to get rid of anything, but my spacing and formatting definitely needed improvement. Rambling on about how I tutor every Wednesday is a lot less relevant when there are a thousand other resumes in the pile.”

Clearly filling a need

Peter Resnick ’82 is an alumnus of the economics department and one of the founding members of ELC. In addition to being the CEO of XB Logistics, which helps companies fulfill orders and store and ship products, he is ELC’s vice chair of student enrichment. It’s the part he enjoys the most, he said, adding that he was thrilled with the response to the boot camp.

“The students are truly interested because they want to talk about these skills with people who hire. Clearly this is a need for our 1,200 undergraduate and graduate economics students that we want to fill, bringing industry leaders in finance and other big firms who can offer them firsthand experience beyond the career center.”

Leverage existing resources from the Career Center — which students don’t necessarily take advantage of — specifically for economics students really resonated, he said.

Paul Tennen ’03, a lead planner of the boot camp event, speaks with an economics student. Photo by Peter Zhaoyu Zhou.

Paul Tennen ’03, president of Linder & Associates Property Management and a lead planner for the boot camp, envisioned a forum where economics alumni could help current students. He was particularly committed to the one-on-one aspect, which included the breakout sessions and the individual feedback given by alumni informally during the lunch hour.

“When the first presenter spoke this morning,” Tennen said, “the first thing that came to my mind was ‘gold.’ This information is literally gold and it’s being handed to them, delivered from career services professionals and working alumni. Students left with personalized, specific notes that they can take home and use to edit their resumes.”

Senior Kyron Richard is an economics and Spanish double major. He has learned the importance of finding opportunities to speak with hiring experts who can help students craft their personal statement, which they can then present to potential employers.

“Especially as an economics major, there are so many relevant job fields you can apply to,” he said. “For example, I’m looking at finance, consulting, or even pure banking. So knowing how professionals in a variety of industries look at things is really critical.”

He recognizes that applying for jobs is not a one-size-fits-all undertaking, and the boot camp gave him good insight on how to market himself the right way to the right people.

“It’s all about knowing your audience, being aware of how qualitative the process is and leveraging that to your advantage. You take the sum of your experience to try and craft the best application you can for each position.”