
We see a constant drumbeat of stories about how important it is to guard your online reputation – what people see about you online. For college students today, the task is indeed daunting. Many find that after a few years in college, on their own Facebook pages and those of their friends, as well as a variety of sites on the Web, they have built an “online footprint” filled with party pictures and not-so-flattering shots taken of they and their friends in various degrees of intoxication and all too often, in outfits that would even make the pictures NSFW (Not Safe for Work). And the truth of the way the world works today is that almost all employers – large and small – will routinely “Google” you when they are interested in you as a potential employee. And for many in the business world, pics taken at Mardi Gras that may have seemed like a great idea at the time can have long-standing consequences for students and other young adults when they go in for an interview for a job – if they even get that far! And it is not just pictures – as blog postings, angry comments, “down with the Dean” rants, arrest records, unflattering news stories – all can come back to haunt you in your job hunt.
What to do? Students now routinely will try and quickly “clean-up” their online reputation – by deleting embarrassing photos and closing down their blog sites – a couple of months prior to graduation. However, the Internet has a long tail and a long memory. You are likely tagged in countless photos by your “friends,” and besides, deleted photos, blogs, comments – everything – can still be viewed. Thus, what seemed like a blast on Bourbon Street or at the local club at 2 a.m. could indeed come back to haunt you when looking for a job.
Here in the College of Business at Southeastern Louisiana University, students are taking a more proactive approach to improve their “online footprint.” By writing for publication in web-based journals, students are finding that they can change what prospective employers see about them on the Web – at least on the first page of Google Search results! This is paying real dividends for them in their job hunting and beyond.
Under the leadership of David C. Wyld, who is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management, Southeastern’s senior-level business students are working hard to become published authors in web-based periodicals. In just over a year, well over a hundred students have experienced publication success, and in the process, generated many side benefits as well. And with the support of Dean Randy Settoon, the College of Business is gaining attention for its efforts to promote student success not just in the classroom, but on the Web as well.
It all starts with improving the research and writing quality by “beginning with the end in mind.” Dr. Wyld integrates writing assignments – with a publication as the end goal – for students in both his International Management and Business Strategy courses. In the first course, students research and write about important management concepts and international travel/food. In the latter course, students also compose articles on management concepts, while also summarizing and reviewing both current and classic books in business and management. In all cases, students are provided with a template, allowing them to “paint by the numbers” to produce a well-structured article, but with room to show their depth of understanding of the material, their ability to carry-out research and analysis, and their critical thinking skills. However, it is up to them individually write and produce a high quality article, while having Dr. Wyld as a resource for proofing/editing their works. Once it is determined that the student’s article draft meets the guidelines for the specific assignment and are of “A” or “B” quality, Dr. Wyld then works with several online journals to place students’ works in the best possible outlet. From the time a student turns-in an electronic copy of their article, the path to publication can take from just a few days to a few weeks, depending on if Dr. Wyld has to work with students on making revisions to respond to suggestions/queries from the online journals’ editorial staffs.
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You can view compilations of the publications produced by Dr. Wyld’s students at the following sites:
Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).
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What have been the results thus far? For students, having published articles online – and for most, it was their first experience doing so – has been an exciting proposition. As Dr. Wyld observed, “Moms and Dads still like seeing their kid’s work!” Students often share the items online with their friends and family via email, Facebook, and Twitter – and they are encouraged to do so to increase the online ranking of their individual works. Plus, there is that not-to-be-underestimated adrenaline rush of seeing a work that you poured over for hours on end on the Web, having went through an editorial process and now, viewable all around the world with the click of a mouse.
But beyond the novelty factor, the articles have begun paying very real dividends for the student authors. For one thing, the articles consistently rank high on Google search results, meaning that when someone “Googles” the student by name, their article(s) published with Dr. Wyld consistently rank at least on the first page of results for them. And more often than not, the publication will be the very first item in Google searches for the individual! While the publishing program has only been in place for the past eight months, already students are benefiting from having a very, very positive thing come-up on Internet searches for them, rather than negative items (and this holds true for employers using any search engine). Also, students are encouraged to prominently list their publications on their resumes and on their own websites, which gives them a very positive achievement to talk about from their college career.
Students have also seen their publications generate interest beyond the classroom as their works hit the Internet. Students have shared their publications on their own Facebook pages and personal websites, garnering the attention and kudos of their friends and families. Additionally, through the magic of Google Alerts, several students have been contacted – and complimented on their efforts – by book authors on the quality of their book reviews. For students, this has been a big thrill, in that “important folks” – real authors of leading business books – would take the time to contact a college student in Southeast Louisiana! Even more impressive from Dr. Wyld’s perspective was one student who reported that not only did he receive a nice compliment from his book’s author, but actually engaged in an email dialogue with the author.
Brad Anderson, who is a Supply Chain Management major at Southeastern, had his book review published in the online publication, Bizcovering (you can view it here: http://bizcovering.com/small-business/summary-and-review-of-awesomely-simple-by-john-spence/). Brad and the John Spence, the author of the book, Awesomely Simple: Essential Business Strategies for Turning Ideas Into Action, went on to engage in an email dialogue regarding the student’s career ambitions and how best to pursue them in these uncertain economic times. While Mr. Spence couldn’t direct him to a particular company, Brad greatly appreciated the time of a highly sought-after management consultant reaching out to one of our students.
In the end, this new and novel approach has been a great success for all. For students and professor alike, it has allowed what was formerly carried-out within the four-walls of a classroom and online in a walled-off environment for the course to be done on the Internet, producing a great opportunity for student successes to be created and shared worldwide. And quite importantly from the perspective of Dr. Wyld, the students’ effort-level on these assignments has been raised significantly since “raising the bar” and challenging students to publish their works online. With that goal in mind, Dr. Wyld has found that students have demonstrably improved their writing abilities and put much greater efforts into their class projects knowing that their works can be shared with a global audience on the Web, rather than simply with thirty to forty fellow students in their immediate classroom. Thus, Dr. Wyld would urge any and all professors in and outside of Colleges of Business to contact him to see how they too can become facilitators of their students’ publication efforts – for the benefit of all.
Biography
David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:
Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).
AN INVITATION TO WORK WITH US, TODAY!
Are you a college or university student from anywhere in the world who would be interested in publishing your work in an edited online journal appropriate to your topic? As you have seen in this article, such a move can help put muscle into your resume and make a great impression on potential employers and graduate schools (and needless to say – and perhaps most importantly in the age in which we live – likely be the first thing that companies/universities view about you when “Googling” you)! If so, we can help you get that first publication for free (and more if you desire)! Visit Wyld Publishing Services (http://wyldpublishingservice.yolasite.com/) for details. We can work with you to publish your quality essays, research articles/papers, reviews, etc. – and even audio and visual media and PowerPoint presentations – given our network of edited publications and relationship with publishers around the world who want to work with you and your work. And if you are professor/instructor looking to move to turn student classwork into student publications, we can help you and your entire college do the same. Contact us today at dwyld.kwu@gmail.com.
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