Table of Contents

Introduction Letter

SWOT Analysis

Executive Summary

Research Findings
Implementations
Future action

Networking Connections
Research
Implementation
Future action

Public Relations and Promotions

Implementation
Future action

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Attn: Career Development

4201 S. Washington St.
Marion, IN 46953
Clcl.office@indwes.edu
(765)-677-2520
Caitlin Finch
Caitlin.finch@indwes.edu
(765)-677-2520 ex. 1885
Caitlin,
Thank you for the opportunity to propose change and promote the career
development office and its Wildcat Works career develop website. As the LDR400 Leadership and Change class we are grateful that we are able to promote
the wildcat works website as well as create new ways to engage students,
employers and alumni.
As an introduction to our research, promotions campaign, and proposed changes
we would like to introduce you to the team that has been working to compile this
kit for future career development promotion.
Executive Leadership
Luke Singer---CEO
Fenway Park---COO
Networking
Joe Tatum--- Team Leader
Eliza Mowery
Kendra Coates
Sara Rodriguez

Research and Development

Krista Barnett--- Team Leader
Paul Ryan
Anna Henry
Public Relations and Promotion
Katie Cervoni--- Team Leader
Kyle Jeffers
Rachel Eldridge

In this campaign proposal we will identify the key publics, conduct research,
provide promotional material and timeline as well as strategic steps to be taken
to promote the Wildcat Works page. We will develop a campaign to increase
awareness and usage of the Wildcat Works page from the Office of Career
Development in the Center for Life Calling and Leadership.
Once again, thank you for allowing us to design a campaign proposal for the
Wildcat Works page and to work with the Center for Life Calling and Leadership!
Best Regards,
2014 LDR- 400 Leadership and Change class

Executive Summary
Problem Statement
Students who do not engage in college career websites are less likely to
find jobs (NACE, 2007).
IWU students and alumni are generally unaware of career development
resources and Wildcat Works.
With IWUs declining enrollment, it is important that students and
prospective students know that IWU cares about their career growth and
job placement.
Improving and promoting Wildcat Works among residential students and
professors is a realistic way for IWU to help students to gain an edge in
their future careers.
Research Method
Survey of current IWU residential students, alumni, and professors to
assess perceptions of career development and Wildcat Works
Analysis of Ivy League colleges and their career development websites
Research on best practices of marketing to college students
Research Results
Most students are unaware of Wildcat Works, but would welcome this
resource
Many alumni are interested in helping IWU through talking with current
students and being a career resource, but are put off by constant requests
for financial donations
Simple improvements to Wildcat Works can make a big difference
o Separate internships from jobs
o Invite students to register at New Student Orientation
o Spread the workload: Have CLCL desk-workers help maintain
Wildcat Works
Create an advisory board of interested students to help with promoting
Wildcat Works
Key Highlights of Plan
Goal
o To improve Wildcat Works in order to help IWU residential students
gain full employment following graduation.
Objectives
o To suggest improvements for Wildcat Works based on student,
alumni, and faculty opinions and on research of other institutions
o To suggest a plan of promotional strategies
Tactics

o Work with faculty, students, and CLCL desk-workers to facilitate

improvements and increased engagement
Vision for Future
Wildcat Works will connect IWU students with their future, and will play a
key role in helping graduates thrive as well as stay connected with IWU.

SWOT Analysis of Wildcat Works Page

Strengths
Great resource for students to find
job and internship opportunities
Connected with residential and
CAPS students/alumni
Graduate Students are
automatically added to the website
Easy to upload/submit applications
Jobs are recommended and filtered
based on personal profile
completion
There are quality jobs and
internships posted on this website
in various fields
2,247 employers signed up to use
Wildcat Works and 2,089 are
actively using the site for
employment opportunities
44,421 Students (CAPS and
undergraduate) and Alumni signed
up for the website
Opportunities
Increasing knowledge of site to
residential students can increase
users
Including alumni and current
students will build users and also
potential job postings from users
Growth in internship and job
opportunities posted to the page
Cover letter and resume templates
available on site for students to
develop professionally
Automatically add freshmen to the
site when they come to IWU to
encourage professional
development and experience

Weaknesses
This resource is poorly promoted
There is a lack of knowledge about
the site by residential campus
students
Lack of communication about
benefits and success stories from
the website from IWU
alumni/students
Jobs and internships are not
separate.
Turn around time in CLCL when
registering for Wildcat Works and
being approved
Jobs are not filtered and deleted
when positions are filled or hiring
dates are past

Threats
Divisions have their own career
development tactics
Alumni and students are not aware
of the website and are all searching
and connecting in other places, or
not at all
The Alumni Association is not
connected with the website
IWU Alumni are connect with
professors and departments and
not with this website
Employment and experience
opportunities are being distributed
within majors or classes and not to
all students

Research
Research on Successful Universities
HarvardThey present a link for many job opportunities for alumni and students. They had
rewardssuch as medals and recognition after graduation. There was easy
access to an information site that connected students and alumni to different
aspects of the university. It appears that everyone has their own ID and access
code. The Help center was easily spotted on their page. There was access to a
directory to find people once you had an ID. There were exclusive access given
to alumni for classes or events. There was a nice, simple tab to volunteer of give
to the university.
YaleThey had a tab for a Career network that was easy to follow and use. They had a
directory to search for students, alumni, or staff. There was a place for Linked
discussion groups. They also had a virtual station that everyone connected to the
site could use. There was a log in spot that was easy to locate. They too had a
[lace where individuals could volunteer or give to the college.
PrincetonTheir site was very professional and detailed. They had tabs and easy access to
everything. Their log in location was very noticeable and easy to spot. They had
a place for networking, where students or alumni could get in contact with staff or
job opportunities on and off campus. They had a tab that provided information
and schedules for conferences being held on campus. They also provided perks
for events and going back for education to students that had graduated from this
university. There was also a place where students or alumni could give or
volunteer for the college.
Summary on Research
Proposition: To improve Wildcat Works in order to help students on campus get
jobs after graduation. Wildcat Works is a website designed to provide
opportunities and insight into jobs with IWU Alumni.
Why is this important to improve Wildcat Works? To make it more available for
students to get jobs, and make the website easier to access. In addition, once
the website is improved it would help to have it be advertised to students and
faculty on campus. That way everyone would understand how to access the
website and use it as a resource.
What we liked about Wildcat Works
Great resource for students to use to help them start thinking about jobs.
People are connected with Wildcat Works (CAPS) Students
Have an opportunity to connect with LinkedIn and other websites
Grad Students are automatically submitted to the website
Easy to upload applications
6

They have a good logo

What needs to be improved?

It would be beneficial if we could interview alumni and ask them their
experiences working with Wildcat Works, how it is has helped them to get
jobs.
Also, have cover letter and resume templates that way students can work
on developing themselves professionally.
Separate the internships from jobs because some students are seeking
expertise in a direct field, whereas other students are seeking a job after
they graduate.
Have different tabs where professors could see certain information,
employees would have a separate page, students would have a page, and
CAPS students would have a page
o Employees need to have easy access to upload
o Professors could recommend students for certain jobs. Reference
pages would be linked for students who decide to have a professor
as a job reference.
o Students would have an email where references would go to them
automatically. Success stories, resume templates, cover letter
templates all would be included on the student page.
o Alumni page would have an events tab where they could find out
new information about IWU, could volunteer to speak at events, or
have a push pay option where they can pay money to IWU online.
Have desk workers in the Life Calling and Integrative Learning Office
update the website and maintain it. Make sure jobs that are filled are
getting deleted, and that new job openings are posted frequently on the
website.
Have freshman automatically connected to the website when they come to
IWU.
Have a reward program (certificate) for successful Alumni
Logistics: Employers who use the Wildcat Works Website currently 2,089
Employers who are signed up to use the Wildcat Works Website 2,247
Students who are currently signed up for Wildcat Works 44,421 (both
undergraduate, CAP, and Alumni students
Future Research
Come up with an idea to introduce the freshman in September to Wildcat
Works Website (talk with Jessica Briggs)
Do further research to understand the changes and improvements that
can be made (Ask Frankie and see what she has done so far)
Set up a meeting with Leslie and Ashley to see if they know more
information about the website
Sources
7

Caitlin Finch

Current Students
Freshmen

Heaven Matthews
1. I like that heard a lot about alumni when I first started college. I wish they
would not fade away throughout the year. What I would change is to have more
involvement from the Alumni Association.
2. Definitely in the Center for Student Success. I was able to learn about
resumes, and interviewing things.
3. Yes. Within my major I am required to volunteer, and an getting connections all
throughout Marion.
General feelings of this group of freshmen students: "We have an alumni
center?"
Juniors
Justin Sovine - Business Administration and Finance Student
Honestly I do not believe that they have helped me with any of this. I believe that
IWU provides help in these areas but it is not readily available or promoted to
students, so if you are not looking for it you wont see it. I have had to do all my
own networking, searching for internships, resume and anything else that
involves career development. The education that they provide at this school is
just a little bit of head knowledge which for the most part I have taught myself
most of the courses. They reject the practical information that we will need for
the future. Knowledge means very little in today society, it is all about career
building and IWU has done a poor job of that from what I have witnessed. I have
no idea what the alumni association actually does. I know that they have a
banquet and that was very well done but other than that I have no idea what they
do. I hate the education of America for two reasons. One we teach knowledge
but we dumb it down compared to other countries including China and India.
Two since we don't teach knowledge all that well why can't we focus on more
practical advice and help students prepare for the future.

Seniors
Emily Smith Nursing and Political Science Student
What is your opinion of the alumni association?
I mean I think I got a water bottle from them once.
As a senior do you see yourself contributing to this school after graduation? -Not
financially. I would be willing to talk to students who wanted to know about
nursing in general.
Do you feel that IWU has significantly aided your career development?
Leadership class they did cover letter, resume, mock interviews. And in a post
clinical class there was a mock interview.
Does IWU help you network or do you feel it is solely up to you to make your own
connections and build a network base?
They have resume and cover letter nights but theres no urgency to go. They
do offer them though. They dont do a good job of networking, it is definitely up
to me to get connections.
Stephanie Miller
What is your opinion of the Alumni Association? Do they do anything well? What
would you change?
I honestly dont know what the Alumni association does
Do you feel that IWU has significantly aided your career development? (do you
have classes with practice interviews, resume building, workshops, etc.)
No. not at all haha. I know I could seek out help by the services IWU offers, but I
just dont. My classes have never been specifically geared toward career
development.
Does IWU help you network or do you feel it is solely up to you to make your own
connections and build a network base?
STM does a great job of letting all the ministry majors know about internships
and jobsshort and long termso yes, for me IWU has been good about
networking.
Lindsey Ramundo

What is your opinion of the Alumni Association? Do they do anything well? What
would you change?
To be honest, I don't really know what the Alumni Association does. I have heard
about them more lately, but I'm still not sure what they exactly do. So, I would
maybe change the level of publicity and let students know what they're doing and
opportunities.
Do you feel that IWU has significantly aided your career development? (do you
have classes with practice interviews, resume building, workshops, etc.)
I don't feel like my classes have significantly aided my career development. My
professors will give "mini" professional lectures randomly in class but that's the
extent I feel. They have provided a great ethical basing for my future career
which is great but as far as professional development, it has been very limited.
I'm a business major and have only been required to complete my resume once
and that was for a one credit hour optional accounting class. I've never been a
part of a mock interview either.
Does IWU help you network, or do you feel it is solely up to you to make your
own connections and build a network base? The professors help with any
networking opportunities they have, but these are very limited. They can't provide
each student with the same two names repeatedly or the contact becomes
useless. The university has not helped me network at all. Generally, most of the
connections I have made were on my own.
Lizzy Jones
1. I do not really know what the duties of the Alumni Association are.
2. No
3. No, after freshman year, they is really not a ton of networking.

Alumni
Terri Carter (1980)*
2. I think career development should be encouraged but I didn't use it after I
graduated since it was easy to find nursing jobs then. I haven't been involved
with the career dev office at IWU I don't know how they are engaging students.
4. The only thing I've done as alumni is to attend a couple homecoming events. I
keep in touch with a few former classmates through Facebook. It would be nice

10

to have more structured events at homecoming or thru the year. It's fun to
reconnect with some classmates (except the one who lectured me about being
previously divorced but he was a jerk in school and evidently hasn't grown out of
that yet.)
Here are a couple other people I know who are alumni... Jill Anderson, our
new principal, Steve Angel. I was thinking there were a couple of other teachers
that went to IWU.
Laura Nicholson Miller (2002)*
I was aware of the career development office as I worked in the human
resources department after I graduated but did not utilize it. I hear from IWU
when I get the Triangle magazine or the annual reports. I have no connection
with IWU currently. I felt like they got enough of my money while I was at the
school.
Manda Light (2003)*
2-4. Really didn't know about it until this, so unfortunately don't have much
feedback to give here.
5. I haven't been all that involved--visited campus a few times. I get more
updates from the Honors College alumni group than IWU as a whole.
6. Similar to others in that I don't have much connection and I'm pretty okay with
that. Life moves us in other directions. "Wherever you are, be all there" is a quote
I'm fond of--it was important to me while I was there, but I'm not there now.
Additional thought, although it may not be especially relevant--one of my
first times back on campus after I graduated was when my brother graduated two
(I think two? you can check his data, ha) years later. In that short amount of time,
it was already a totally different campus than when I was there. Change is a
constant. When you go back as an alum, there's less nostalgia when everything
seems different. You might expect that 20 years down the road, but three years
later--it creates a disconnect, at least for me.
Katie Mason (2003)*
I didn't know there was a career development option. So I didn't have any
feelings about it. I have not been involved with career development at all. The
only time I hear from IWU is during the alumnae scholarship drive. I have gone to
homecoming twice since graduating from IWU. I'm ok not being connected to
IWU. Nothing personal, I just have other things to focus on right now.
Nathan Richardson (2003), MA (2010)*

11

2-4. Did not know anything about career development at IWU. 5 Been on campus
a couple of times to visit people but thats about it. 6. Okay with no involvement. I
like IWU, too busy with other things.
Kristin Middelton (2003)*
I also graduated in 2003 and will add my voice to those who didn't know there
was a career development office. I have primarily been contacted by IWU as an
alumni through the Honors College, and also yearly when they ask for money. I
don't have an interest in being connected with IWU, but that is mostly due to my
life being full in other areas.
Michael Light (2003)*
2. Unawareness
3. Not at all
4. I am unaware
5. Mailings...that is about it...
6. I am not sure I care to be connected greatly with IWU, but I have an emotional
attachment to the time I spent there. I enjoy hearing about happenings at IWU
and other IWU alumni, but am sure of where God has led me being where I need
to be connected and investing.
Jeremy Kempf (2003)*
2. I did know there was career development when I was there, but it was really
generic at the time and philosophical. It was only a year or two old and they
were still inventing the department if I remember correctly. I don't have a feeling
about it because they aren't doing anything to my knowledge. I've always done
career development on my own.
2. I haven't been involved at all, largely because I forgot it existed. I assume they
aren't engaging alumni because both my wife and I are alumni and have never
heard from them except when they ask for money.
4. I've been back to IWU once to visit friends and that's it. I like IWU also, life is
just busy and vacation time is precious with a large family and friends spread
over the country.
Tyler Charles (2006)*
2. What is career development?

12

3. What is career development?

4. Sorry, but I have the same answer: What is career development? I'm not sure
if it's Career Development's fault or my own, but I have no idea what they do.
5. I get a call asking for money once every few years, and I get the Triangle in the
mail. That's about it. I've moved five times since graduating, and somehow the
Triangle keeps showing up. But other than that, I've had no contact. I married an
IWU alum, but I don't think IWU is aware of that, because I think the mailings are
only addressed to me. (Maybe she also receives things with her maiden name;
I'm not sure.) Neither one of us has ever been back to campus since graduation.
We've talked about it, but never felt like it was worth the effort to go back.
6. This answer will be long. I don't know what career development is supposed to
be and I don't know if I failed to take advantage of it somehow, but I do know this:
I graduated with a degree in writing/English. And I managed to get a job in the
field--which is increasingly rare for English/writing majors. I was employed by
Christianity Today (assistant editor for online resources) for 3 years and I have
been doing freelance writing for various publications (including Relevant and
many of Christianity Today's publications) for 7 years now. I am now doing fulltime ministry with college students (at Ohio Wesleyan University--which isn't a
Wesleyan college like IWU) and I continue to write and speak publicly in my free
time. When I graduated from IWU, I was the co-editor for the school's literary
journal, I wrote for the school paper, I was a writing tutor, I was an RA in
upperclassmen housing (the lodges--if they are still around), and immediately
after graduation I was part of an IWU mission team that spent 3 weeks serving in
Australia. So I really couldn't have been more involved. And yet, ever since I
graduated, I haven't had any official interactions with IWU--other than the
students who occasionally call to ask for donations (probably working for the
phone-a-thon--which I also did while at IWU). I have stayed in touch with one of
my former resident directors and my favorite professor. Other than that, I'm
grateful for the friends I made at IWU and very grateful that I met my wife there.
And I continue to be amazed by the ways God turned my life around--essentially
saving my life when I was 21--while I was there. But I've had no ongoing
connection with the university. Which is really sad, since I love college students
and am engaged daily on a college campus. I wouldn't say I'm happy about the
disengagement, but how would that change now? And whose responsibility is it?
Am I supposed to call the university and say, "Does anyone there care about
graduates after they leave? If so, I would be willing to engage...somehow." That
might sound harsh, but once the ties are cut, they're going to stay cut. And I think
I speak for almost all of my college friends when I say that there are no longer
any ties between us and our alma mater. Which will also have a bearing on
whether or not we ever contribute anything financially to the university--which
many of us suspect is the only thing the university cares about after we leave.
Again, that's harsh. But it's also pretty understandable.

13

So... if you are going to figure all this out, I wish you the best of luck. I
really do care about college students and higher education, in general, so if it
would be helpful in any way, I'd be willing to have a conversation with you or
anyone else. (Unless that conversation includes asking me for money, in which
case I will politely decline. After all, I still have college loans to whittle away at)
Wes Ball (2009)***
1. Events like the Alumni Wind Ensemble Concert are great. I think that the
Alumni Association should consider withholding alumni information from donor
call lists until ten years after their graduation date.
2. I felt alone with career development. Tiffany's job was the result of a search
through College Central Network at least.
3. I used connections with IWU to build a network but the work was done on my
own.
Kara Hull (2009)**
Leadership Department
1. I honestly don't really have any interaction with the alumni center. I've seen
maybe an email or two that come through but nothing more than that. Right
when I graduated I got calls asking if I wanted to donate money but I don't
receive those calls anymore. I'm not even sure those calls were from the alumni
center. I do receive a few emails from the Business Division at IWU but I was
also in that division during my 4 years. So due to my lack of contact, I don't really
have many feelings toward them. I'd be fine if they emailed me or mailed things
but not sure I'd actively participate in the things they are promoting.
2. I'm not engaged with the University at all. Other than knowing a few handful of
current students, I don't have contact with professors or anything. I'm friends
with a few Business Professors on FB but don't keep up with them.
Alissa Franklin (2009)**
1. I guess I would say I'm in different in my feelings toward the alumni center...
only contacted for money and home coming.
2. The only way I am really engaged in the university is the fact that my brother
goes there and I follow the newspaper on Facebook
Tiffany Ball (2009)***

14

1. I feel like the Alumni Association only keeps in contact with the older
generations, aka the ones who can afford to donate money. The only phone calls
I ever get from IWU are the ones asking for money.
2. The IWU Music Department did a good job of helping me with practice
interview and resume building, more specifically the Music Ed professors. And
there were all kinds of workshops throughout the year for students to attend and
get new ideas and help with their practicums and student teaching that were
geared towards Music Ed. The Education department did not do such a great job
of providing these types of resources.
3. Again, the profs in the music department helped as much as possible with
networking. They kept their ears open for jobs that they thought would fit their
students and would send those job opportunities via email or even give you a
call. Never heard anything from the education department. I guess I felt like the
education department just dumped everything on the music department but still
wanted to control everything the music ed students had to do.
Kayla Randall (2012)*
1. I am not exactly sure what you mean by Career Development. I guess I
probably knew there was a Career Development office, but as I was graduating- I
wasn't in contact with them, much. As far as finding a job, the Ed department
would send us emails to make us aware of job postings, especially ones that
were interested in IWU grads. Of course, most of those jobs were from Indiana
schools, and since I knew I wasn't staying in Indiana, it didn't help me out much.
To be honest, it didn't really occur to me beyond that to reach out to the Career
Development office to get help finding a job. That was A LOT of work and all on
my own. As far as Career preparation, IWU did a phenomenal job. All praise for
that goes to the wonderful, wonderful profs in the Education department. They
were the ones who taught me how to dress, how to write a resume, how to act,
how to teach, how to grow.
3-4. I have not necessarily been involved with the career development office
since graduating. I'll be honest, anytime I see IWU's number on my phone, I don't
answer it I did once and they asked me a ton of questions...which was fine, I
loved my school, but then they asked me for money and if they could pray for
me, and I really just felt bad for the poor kid who was probably a sophomore just
trying to work through school to pay his bills and DID not want to be calling and
praying for people like me.
5. I would be fine with being engaged as an IWU alumni by writing paragraphs
and answering questions about how much I loved the school and how
appreciative I am of what a great school it was- but I don't want to be asked for
money. I am literally still paying them money right now. I've had a real job for a
year and a half and I am a teacher- I don't have money.

15

Stacy Shaw (2012)**

School of Theology and Ministry
1. My feelings are neutral...I have yet to hear from them since graduation other
than the survey to say where I am at in life. So, they have not started asking for
money yet!
2. I am engaged at IWU because I am in seminary now! So I am on campus a
few weeks a year and am still a student! I also come to campus for Fusion!

Professors/Faculty
Elaine Bernius School of Theology and Ministry
1. What are your general feelings toward alumni being involved in career
development here at Indiana Wesleyan University? (Having alumni come back
and speak to current students, creating opportunities for networking, etc.)
Wonderful idea! I've engaged in this a bit myself, as former students come back
and I bring them into my classes to talk to students about how they have found
that specific class (or major) important in their life after IWU. I find that current
students are usually very engaged in moments like this, asking questions,
connecting with the alum after class, etc. A more structured, formalized way of
doing this would be wonderful. At my graduate school, we would have special
weeks/weekends when an "Alum in Residence" would come back to do some
seminars, meet one-on-one, etc. Great opportunities!
2. Are you engaged with alumni? Why or why not? Yes, I keep in touch with
many of my former students. They are part of the IWU familyit is to the benefit
of us all to retain those close ties.
Candace Moats Rec and Volleyball coach
1. I thinking bringing Alumni back to invest in current students is exactly what we
should be doing. They understand the culture that is being built at IWU and how
that culture, as well as, their education is being effective in their careers and the
world.
2. I personally connect with Alumni through the volleyball program. I keep them
updated on our season, tweet what is up with our VB program and invite them to
compete in a match at homecoming weekend. And, it is always great seeing my
past student-athletes and hearing about their life journeys and seeing their kids!!!
Dr. Daugherty Professor of Addictions Counseling

16

Very little contact with alumni association

As division do very well trying to stay in touch with former students
Networking if several students put forward a proposal saying wed like to
support you in keeping relations with alumni because its valuable to us heres
how database
Cuurent networking chris and cindy send job openings and former students
send job openings often to prof-often goes to bj and she sends to division.
Professor Mazellan
What are your general feelings toward alumni being involved in career
development here at Indiana Wesleyan University? (Having alumni come back
and speak to current students, creating opportunities for networking, etc.)
I often lean on alumni for support regarding career transition for my students.
Several alumni connect through my Senior Portfolio class as guest speakers.
Many of my students interview alumni to gain perspective concerning their
experience concerning future opportunities with their profession.
Are you engaged with alumni? Why or why not? Or, have you noticed a lack of
connection between professors/departments and their alumni?
I stay closely connected with several alumni whom I have mentored while they
attended IWU.
If you have relationships, or you know of other faculty connected to alumni from
their department, what has that relationship looked like?
The relationship is unique. The conversations and connections typical occurs if
advice is needed, or just to reconnect about their life journey. Most often
connections are made through email, phone, Skype, campus visits or if Im
visiting a city where they are living.
Megan Gilmore- Alumni and Former Professor
-Julia Hurlow (First LDR student)
-Megan knows all of the students from the class after the one after Julia's.
-Six month out surveys: Diamond-LDR-Research folders- 6 month out survey (8
years' worth of data)
The following are NOT direct quotes, but rather general ideas:

17

Right now, connecting students with employers sucks and people try to do that,
but there's not an easy channel. My dad is the Chief of Staff for governor, and he
would like to employ IWU graduates. He calls the school to say this, and the
school says that they would get back to them at that. No one gets back about
that. There's no clear channel to do so. That what they were trying to do with
Wildcat Works. THAT'S what was supposed to connect students, alumni, etc.

Question Key
* Set One
2.

What is the general feeling of alumni regarding career development?

3.
How have you been involved with the career development office at IWU as
an alumnus? To your knowledge, how are they engaging alumni?
4.

How have you been engaged at IWU as an alumni?

5.

How would you like to be connected with IWU as an alumni? Why?

** Set Two
1. What are your feelings toward the alumni center?
2. How, if at all, are you engaged in the university today?
*** Set Three
1.
What is your opinion of the Alumni Association? Do they do anything well?
What would you change?
2.
Did you feel that IWU significantly aided your career development? (did you
have classes with practice interviews, resume building, workshops, etc.)
3.
Did IWU help you network or did you feel it was solely up to you to make
your own connections and build a network base?
Notes from meeting with Caitlin Finch

When did Wildcat Works Start? It was started in Spring 2010 by a

previous person, Stephanie Oden.

Who came up with the idea for the site? Stephanie. When they first got
it they had a big import of students but then the adults became interested
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so now we are partnered with adult site (have 2 people over on the adult
site managing)
o Leslie Zolman
leslie.zolman@indwes.edu
o Ashley Young
ashley.young@indwes.edu

Do you know about the slogan: Where faith meets works? No idea

Why did the creators choose that slogan? No idea

Are we able to get stats on the demographics of who uses the

website?
Registered employer count:
2,089 how many employers have posted
2,0247 how many registered
Registered students 44,421 (including CAPS and alumni)

What is the time-table for when people are accepted? Leslie and
Ashley help Caitlin import and approve employers, take turns to help
Caitlin. It is difficult to say a time table because of the overload of work
Caitlin has

With new grant are you aiming to connect new start-up employers
with Wildcat Works? Not really, they want them to be able to access and
use the site but the primary focus will not be on that sight

Miscellaneous Information from Interview

On this side we dont do massive imports, Caitlin has thought about

switching so that as Freshman come in, they do a big import into the
system and automatically importing Freshman into system.

An introduction to Wildcat Works session during NSO is in the works.

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Students dont know about it, and its been passed from one person to
another, no one has complete ownership. People dont know how to fully
use it because of the handoff.

With grant positions opening up, there will be employee training over
summer for the website so that the staff in the office will be proficient in
using the site to its fullest potential

There is not much editing we can change on our end because it is a

product bought from another company (small changes could work, so
social media pushes, job blasts for unique opportunities, integration
technologies like interview stream).

Most jobs approved are teaching and ministry positions. We have onestop employer contacts that blast a job posting (they pay and then jobs are
blasted to like 300 schools and those are automatically imported into
system so we do not have control of weeding out job postings like that)

There are two places to look for jobs (campus jobs offer student positions
so there is some frustration because students feel like they have to
register for two places to look for jobs)

Once youre in it, youre in, and there is not deactivation period (your
status might change, but should be in the system).

Wildcat Works Proposal

Wildcat Works
We are a group of leadership students trying to utilize the resources of Indiana
Wesleyan University in order to promote career development among the student
body. We believe that there are resources available but they are not being used
to their full potential. It is our goal to see students at this school thriving,
immersed, and supported in their future career as a result of the resources being
used properly. In order to begin this process we believe it is important to
promote Wildcat Works. Wildcat Works is an online resource where
employers can post internships and job openings. Students and alumni
can create a Wildcat Works account and access the information as well as
apply for these positions. This site is not well known by many students and
faculty and this leaves many feeling like they are on their own to find
employment. We have found that professors who hear about job opportunities
are often not aware of Wildcat Works so job information is passed along by way
of email instead of allowing all students access to all the available jobs at a
common place. We are in the process of encouraging professors who hear
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about job openings in their division or from alumni to refer them to this site while
also raising awareness among students so that they can find job placements and
internships. This way we are unifying the campus and promoting career
development.
[As members of the Student Government Association you are in the unique
position to communicate between faculty and students within your division. You
are in a position to effectively communicate to professors and students about
Wildcat Works and promote its availability to students. Using Wildcat Works will
be highly beneficial to your division as well as to you as a student.] (this
section can be edited to fit the individual group being addressed)
Wildcat Works can be accessed by using this link:
https://indwes-csm.symplicity.com/
We need your help. Please join us in improving the career development of
students by utilizing this resource and promoting it among students!
-LDR 400 Students

Connections Made
o Admissions

Brittany Monasterio

o Ashley Young CAPS career director

o SGA Representatives

Tim Scurlock- President

Taryn Coates- VP for Academic Affairs

Stephanie Miller

Lindsay Ramundo

Heaven Matthews

o Crystal Keetch

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RD Carmin Hall

o Many alumni from various years

This was helpful for understanding the alumni perspective

regarding connections with career services in general.

o Current students

In many ways, students knowledge of career services as a

whole indicated their lack of knowledge of the website.
Students seemed to be excited by the prospect of the idea of
a website devoted to helping them find employment after
graduation. They did not, however, know much about it
before we approached them. These interactions were helpful
in assessing the stickiness factor of our project.

o Professors

In many ways, we have found that professors are the

connectors between the alumni who may be wanting to hire
students and the students who need jobs and internships.
These connections seemed to be helpful in that they allowed
us to connect with those who have the ability to connect with
alumni directly.

o Alumni from Other Institutions

Daryl Barth- Olivet Alumnus

Future Networking Ideas

o Connecting with Admissions to inform them of the value of Wildcat
Works so that they can feel empowered to speak with parents
about its use regarding the job search process. We would probably
connect with any of the Admissions Counselors, or perhaps their
boss, who can then relay the message to them. Initial contact has
been made, but further conversations must occur.
o We have already spoken with various members of SGA including
the Vice President for Academic Affairs who is in charge of
organizing NSO for next year. We spent some time brainstorming

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ways we can incorporate information about Wildcat Works into the

NSO week next year.

Future Connections to be Made

o Residence Life- If we connect with this group of people, they can be
a salesperson to the students. This will help make it a part of the
culture at IWU.
o FYE Professors- If we can connect with these professors they will
be able to introduce Wildcat Works to all of the freshman if it is not
incorporated into the NSO week (or it can be in addition to NSO so
that students continue to hear about this resource from multiple
people throughout their time at IWU)
o Student Connectors- Daniel Alexander, Albert Pritchard, Sarah
West

Smart Partnerships
o New Student Orientation (NSO) Week
o Campus Visit Days for prospective students or incoming students
o

Any of the Job Fairs or Career Events, Wildcat Works should be

promoted to both students and employers at these events

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Implementations
The Public Relations and Promotions group took on the Communications
Department under Dr. Randall King as a pilot division to include the Wildcat
Works website into class materials and to prioritize the website as the first mode
of information transfer for all job, internship, and career experience opportunities
to be shared with students.
We connected with the Communications Department secretary Brenda
Westfall as our main communicator between our class and the professors. By
connecting with her we were able to teach her about Wildcat Works, and also
help her to set up an account. Brenda is the main supplier of information to the
communications students, and she is always sending job, internship, and career
opportunities. Enabling Brenda to use the website will help increase the amount
of career opportunities that are posted because as she collects all these
opportunities from outside sources and from the professors she can then post
them to Wildcat Works.
We connected with Brenda via email, and face to face communication
Brenda then connected with the COM department professors to share
their job opportunities with her, or directly to the page
We also connected with PRSSA, the Student Career Development
organization on campus
After connecting with Brenda, and communicating with the other
communications groups the website was promoted in two ways. It was first
promoted in a mouth-to-mouth communication effort between out team and
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Brenda, PRSSA staff and members. Secondly, the website was promoted and
shared by Brenda to both the professors and any outside employers that
contacted her to promote job opportunities.
Future Promotions
When looking at future promotions for the Wildcat Works website we have
better ways to promote, connect, and share this website.
Connect personally with all COM department professors
o Share Wildcat Works with intro level classes to start career
development process
o Share Wildcat Works with senior seminar and internship
students to find jobs, and internship opportunities
Direct this mode of sharing information and promotion between all
divisions and not just COM students and professors.
Promote during New Student Orientation week
Share with admissions to pitch career development to perspective
parents when visiting the University
o Changing the idea that career development is not something
that we do but it is who we are as a university, alongside
character, scholarship and leadership.
To have informational slides throughout campus on screens and the
IWU Portal
Future Promotional Poster:

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