Fourth BASE Summit Helps Students Network and Build Career Skills

"Our goal for these events is to fill gaps in our students' education in the classroom, giving them experience interacting with business professionals," said Matthew Shaner, director of BASE and associate professor of marketing.

The summit is tailored toward highly-driven students looking to engage with industry professionals and other similar students, Shaner said. More than 175 students participated.

Jason Maynard, executive vice president of Oracle, kicked off the summit with a keynote discussion about the critical skills his team seeks when hiring.

"You have to have drive in whatever you are doing," Maynard said. "We are always going to over-index on hiring the motivated, driven and persistent candidate over someone who is aggressively mediocre."

Brooke Jankowsky, a junior management major from Macomb, Michigan, attended Maynard's address. During the Q&A section of this event, Jankowsky asked Maynard about what new hires can do to set themselves apart during the early stages of their career.

"Once you get a job, you aren't done studying," Maynard responded. "You've got to keep doing the work."

Jankowsky said the insights will help her in her own job search.

"Something he said that really stuck out to me was mapping out why you succeeded but also mapping out why you lost, and figuring out the key points of why with each," she said. "I succeed and fail all the time, but I don't always think about the 'why' behind it.

"Knowing that understanding the 'why' and adjusting my behavior after to achieve success can make me more valuable to a job is really insightful."

The career fair, which was set up in a "speed dating" format to create engagement, included representatives from 11 companies:

• 49 Financial
• Community Bank
• Dell Technologies
• DHL Supply Chain
• Insight Global
• Modern Woodman
• Mylo
• Oracle
• Rezult Group
• Strategic Financial Partners 

Each round lasted 20 minutes, with groups of students sitting at a table with company representatives to learn more about each company's opportunities while also pitching themselves and their abilities.

"I hope to learn how to be less nervous in these situations in the future through this experience," said Jillian Martz, a junior multidisciplinary studies major from Palos Verdes, California. "I feel like this speed dating style of interviewing will help to build my confidence and put my foot in the door."

Martz said she looked forward to the career fair because it allows students to get in-person networking experience, as opposed to online conversations.

Brooke Woodward, a senior professional sales major from Austin, Texas, agreed.

"I think the speed dating style made this a better experience for me," Woodward said. "It forced me to talk to people, which was really good for me."

Top: Mimi Forbes, a junior finance major, visits with one of the employers at the fourth annual BASE summit in the Paul B. Johnson Commons . Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services