WeSolv reposted this
I help college students turn their degrees into offers | Founder @ The Strategic Student | Associate Director of Career Services | Lecturer
Students, here’s a challenge for you: Introduce yourself to all your professors on week 1 (You can do this right after class or via email.) Keep it simple. Share a short intro, why you're excited for their course, and what you hope to learn. For some of you this comes naturally. For others it will take some guts. But here's why you should do it: Your professors can be a life-changing asset to you. They can provide: • Advice • Resources • Connections • Recommendations • Support in the course But... to really help you, they need to know who you are. • Your path • Your drive • Your goals And so on. To help them get to know you, you need to put yourself in situations where they can learn about you. Starting with an introduction on week 1. But don't leave it at that. Keep strengthening the connection throughout the semester. • Attend office hours • Participate in classroom convos • Ask thoughtful questions after class • Share your perspectives where relevant Do this and they'll get to know and understand you. Which makes it easier for them to help you. Just imagine you had two professors last semester: • One who you barely spoke to during the semester • One who you had regular, meaningful interactions with Which one would be able to write a stronger letter of recommendation for you? Which one would be able to give you more personalized advice? Which one would be likelier to make introductions on your behalf? Easy answer. So get those introductions out of the way on week 1. — PS. I've taught close to 2,000 college students, and easily remember the ones who made an effort to build a connection while in my class. And I still help many of them in various ways, years after they took my class. They made the effort to build a connection. So I'm making the effort to support them whenever I can.
This is all wonderful and I absolutely endorse the message Lasse Palomaki . However, it is 100% a bidirectional partnership. As academics and facilitators of learning, I believe, and the science supports it, that it is essential we create a space of psychological safety and openness and build a sense of belonging for our learners. We should aim to create a culture embracing growth mindset while encouraging our learners to lean into the discomfort of ambiguity. Imposter syndrome and anxiety are real and we need to also meet our learners where they are to help them navigate in getting to where we know they can be. A caveat here... cohort size certainly is a variable in our capacity to be able to always so this. Thank you for posting this and for advocating for learners to lean in!
Yes, do this. So few students seem to do this and I don't know why. Professors are experts sometimes world leaders in their fields and the doors they can open for you are unbelievable. I remember I asked my professor of GIS to let me know if he heard about any internship work before starting my grad scheme as I wanted more experience. I expected nothing of it but then he was offered a project he was too busy for and referred me to it. A year later I've just finished a contract for the university as a GIS consultant working on security analysis and site suitability for a new campus. Do talk to your professors!
Easier to do during Week 1 ... if you wait, it can start to feel awkward.
Bingo! At the beginning of the semester, I tell them to give me good things to write about them in future recommendation letters. I want to be able to cheer for them and talk about how they showed up for class, engaged with the material, worked well with others, and turned assignments in on time. I'm ready to be their hype person, and those "regular, meaningful interactions" you mentioned allow me to do that!
May I add this: See which of them are on LInkedin! A surprising number are, so Linkedin to them!//If they mention something as a passion, share an article about that passion with them.//Let the Academic Dean know how much you enjoy their teaching.
This advice is excellent. I wish I had known this earlier as an undergraduate and first-generation college student. Back then, I only thought of office hours as a time to get course-related questions answered, and even then, the idea of going to a professor's office hours felt madly intimidating.
It may seem cheesy, and you may feel awkward but do it anyway. Your friends don't have to know either. One of the biggest "hacks" people don't take advantage of, doing this while attending a small school helped so much when it came to professional development and aligning all my studies!
First impression does matter. 👍🏻 But don’t introduce then stop showing up, or introduce for the sake of introducing. That has been truly annoying, cuz I can’t remember who is who anyway for 4 weeks at least…🤣
Right on the mark, Lasse! Some of those professors might even have industry connections and can give you referrals or recommendations 😀
Not a PhD, but a "Doctor" who aims to consult IT 💻, Life Sciences 🧬, and Business 💼 professionals and job seekers to get the treatment they want | Writer and Marketer (Online), Content Creator (On-mind)
2moGreat pointer, Lasse. That structured intro can help students to motivate themselves to achieve their career goals, plus, to do a research before starting their courses, knowing what's in it for them. Also, by knowing who'll be teaching the course, LinkedIn can be a great option to know. And as for academic records about the professors, certain publication profiles, like on Google Scholar, Research Gate or Scopus can help in knowing overall publications, of not possible through the official website or not been updated on the website. With all these research, students can get their intro structured.