Grads ‘DASH’ into careers

Photo retrieved from FIU Flickr.

By: Joshua Ceballos/News Director

 

In an effort to improve graduate employment out of the University, the College of Business has created the DASH program to improve professional development.

Consisting of an eight-week schedule of webinars and video lectures, the DASH program is meant for students who have graduated from the University to have a better chance at moving into a career field of their choice, as well as to move up in their current fields.

Deanne Butchey. the faculty coordinator of the DASH program, told Student Media the meaning of the program name and what it entails.

“DASH is about just that- dashing you to the head of the line faster than the competition,” said Butchey.

The program, which is open to FIU graduates and graduate students in the Chapman business school, has three main “legs” or “pillars” according to Butchey: coaching and mentoring, networking and timely business topics.

Coordinators from the College of Business found business leaders from around the world using their LinkedIn connections to create a list of coaches to interact with students in the program and teach them immediate lessons.

“Coaches help with immediate problems like how to negotiate a better salary, how to ask for benefits and stuff like that,” Butchey said.

There’s a list of about 166 coaches, and students can go through the list themselves to find the coach that would fit best with them and the industry they’re trying to get into.

Justin Spears, a graduate student in the corporate MBA program, said that meeting his coach was one his favorite parts of the program.

“My coach is incredible. I was writing a business proposal and wasn’t getting a good response from it,” said Spears. “My coach taught me the importance of using industry jargon in my proposal, and I immediately got a response from a company as soon as I listened to his advice.”

Beyond the coaches, DASH also pairs participants with mentors, who are FIU alumni looking to make connections with current students and help them out in the long term with their career goals.

Students in DASH communicate with their mentors, coaches, and instructors all online via email and video chat services. Video lectures by guest speakers are given online, and students turn in writing assignments based off of the lectures via email.

The only portion of DASH that is face to face is the networking social event, which will be held this semester on Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the College of Business building. At this event,  students can meet with their mentors, coaches and local industry leaders to “intentionally” seek out connections that can help them in their career.

Spears, who lives and works in California and takes classes online,  will be flying to Miami for the networking event.

“I see the value of meeting people in person and getting in front of people, so I’m definitely going,” said Spears.

Spring registration for the program will open in February 2019. The spring session will begin in March.

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