Let's Talk About Career Fair - Jamie Belt

Carlos Martinez (03:55):

All right everyone, thanks again for joining us. One more time. It's, it's our second conversation, but if we do our job right, this is probably the third episode that you're all listening to with the Career Center podcast. That may or may not be the name when this comes out, but what we're just going to run with it right now. We're just kind of going with the flow. I'm Carlos Martinez an advisor and the Career Center and I'm here with,

Megan Riksen (04:17):

I'm Megan Riksen also an advisor in the Career Center.

Carlos Martinez (04:20):

Yeah. And, and, and our guest today is a current Grand Valley student, Jamie Belt. Jamie has a pretty cool, interesting story and she's just wrapped up a, an internship. So Jamie, can you just, you know, tell the listeners a little bit about who you are, maybe major hometown.

Jamie Belt (04:38):

Hi everyone. Like you said, I'm Jamie Belt, I'm a senior here at Grand Valley studying human resources and supply chain at the school of business. This is my third year at GV. I was able to bring in some credits, so I've really enjoyed my experience. I'm from a super small town Stevensville Michigan. Most people haven't heard of it, so don't be surprised if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

Megan Riksen (04:58):

Is that by St Joe?

 

Jamie Belt

It is, it’s by St. Joe and Benton Harbor.

 

Megan Riksen (05:00)

I have a friend who went there probably much before you, but yes.

 

Jamie Belt (05:06)

So Grand Rapids is also been a cool adjustment going from really rural and small to kind of a bigger city feel. So yeah, I really enjoyed my experience at Grand Valley.

Carlos Martinez (05:14):

Okay. Did I hear wrong so did you transfer in from somewhere else?

Jamie Belt (05:18):

No, so. I didn't transfer in from like a CC, so to speak. I transferred in just credits from high school. So like we had really great AP programs, dual enrollment stuff. That's awesome.

Carlos Martinez (05:27):

Nice. That's pretty cool. So you just wrapped up an internship with, with Amway. Correct. What were you doing over there?

Jamie Belt (05:35):

Yup. So I was, back for the second time with Amway this summer working in the procurement department. So procurement is kind of a confusing thing for a lot of people. I didn't know what it was before I landed my gig there. Basically ordering raw materials and all the stuff that goes into your final product. So I was working this summer on reducing some inventory costs, stuff that I actually had just talked about in one of my classes at Grand Valley. So was a really nice transition and I was also working on figuring out ways that our administrative professionals at Amway could plan meetings and events a little bit easier around Grand Rapids.

Carlos Martinez (06:06):

Yeah, yeah. We're, of course we're biased with the Career Center, but we're always, you know, huge proponents of internships. And we know that one of the ways that you were able to connect with them, we originally was through one of our events. So the Career Fair. Correct. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So, you know, maybe we can take it back a little bit. Sure, you know, towards the end we'll chat a bit about your internships experiences, but how did you first hear about the Career Fair? What were some of your thoughts before you even showed up?

Jamie Belt (06:34):

Yeah, so it was my freshman year technically. And I knew that I was not going to have as many summers to get the experiences that I wanted. Cause I definitely wanted internships before I graduated. So as a lonely little freshman, I decided to work my way downtown. I was living in Allendale. I stopped at a Goodwill, picked up the best business clothes that I could find on my budget.

 

Megan Riksen (07:02)

You stopped on the way and got changed like in the bathroom in the bathroom at Devos Place.

 

Jamie Belt (07:05)

100%.

 

Megan Riksen (07:08)

That is amazing.

 

Jamie Belt (07:09)

I did the whole thing to where I thought Devos was the same as like the Devos we're sitting in right now with the Career Center. So I came here first and I was like, where is everyone? Right. But I got changed and then figured out where I needed to go, meandered my way over there.

Jamie Belt (07:20):

I did do a lot of prep work or that was one thing that I'd read like online and just seeing around GV that there's, you know, the key to having a successful Career Fair. Absolutely. Coming prepared yourself. So I'd done some research on some of the companies I wanted to talk to. Definitely was prepared to do kind of an elevator pitch. I have two older sisters like to give some like advantage I guess on that.

 

Megan Riksen (07:44)

But they had done similar things for some advice for you. Yep. Good.

 

Jamie Belt (07:45)

So I was able to take that and walk in and honestly I had no idea what I was doing. I was scared. Like the whole reason I was there though as a freshman, that first Career Fair especially cause there's two of them throughout the year was because I wanted to just honestly like get it under my belt.

Jamie Belt (07:58):

Just if I screwed up every conversation, it didn't matter. I was only a freshman. It's just kinda giving, getting over that hump of fear that you have. When you first started talking about that kind of stuff,

 

Megan Riksen (08:12)

Where do you think that fear comes from? What's the scariest part, at least for you?

 

Jamie Belt (08:13)

I think it's, it's just not knowing how to talk about yourself in a professional manner when you first start. So people, you know, like ask you about your strengths and I think it's really easy to think like, Oh, I don't want to brag or I don't want to come off too cocky. But there's definitely something to be said about confidence versus cocky and being willing to just start those conversations with different people means a lot. So, yeah, so I just started kind of wandering around. I did not create a plan.

Jamie Belt (08:38):

Hindsight's 2020. It would've been nice to have stopped and looked at all the employers and made a plan of like routing. But I just again, wanted to kind of start like seeing what the conversations were like. It's, it's a stocky, like kind of, it's not the most friendly environment when you first get there, you have to definitely ease into how to handle it. And then I saw Amway and had never heard of Amway, not being from the area. We hadn't even heard of Amway. Nope. I had not heard of Amway at all. And so I started a conversation with who ended up being my mentor that summer actually. And she asked you, she looked at my resume, which was very bare bones when I went. And she was like, are you, are you a sophomore? And I was, I said, Nope, I'm a freshman. And she was like,

Jamie Belt (09:23):

Oh. I like that. And so she kind of like, she took my resume, she put it in, you know, one of the piles, whatever had me fill out my information. And that was honestly where it started. That was the first connection that really started up an interview process for me. So.

Carlos Martinez (09:37):

Wow. So there's a lot to unpack there actually. And I'm not sure where to begin. We'll start off by saying that you're a rock star cause I, I'm even impressed. This is my first time hearing the story also. And so there's a few key things in there I just want to unpack because some of the students may be attending their first you know, Career Fair ever this semester. Was it the fall or winter fair fall. So you went right off. Did she go again in the winter? Yep. Okay. So, so for that first fall fair we do have a, the Devos Center downtown, but for those of you who, who will probably make the same mistakes that happens every semester, if you do show up to our office downtown, we will have somebody here who will point you in the right direction.

Carlos Martinez (10:21):

But we're actually going to host a fair at the Devos Convention Center. And you also mentioned that it doesn't seem friendly and, I hear that from a lot of people because it can be very intimidating, right? You're walking into a room with around roughly 230 employers about a thousand people at its peak pick busier time. And so you can, it's very easy to feel lost. A few tips for those of you who are listening, we will have an Ask Me table and so we'll have some Career Center folks are ready for you and they will have the ability to just answer general questions even if you just want to stop by and say, hi, I'm lost.

Megan Riksen (11:01):

Yeah, we loved at the Ask Me table actually to bring students right into the fair with us so that you don't feel, I mean you mentioned feeling really lonely throughout this process. We want to help as many students as possible, avoid that feeling of being all alone, wandering through this massive convention center. So please stop by the Ask Me table. That is definitely something we'd love to offer you. We typically have a bunch of people hanging out there who would love to kind of walk you in and say, you know, here's a company, go and chat with this person. They're really friendly. Yeah.

Carlos Martinez (11:34):

I also help a few, a few people every year tie their ties. I don't know about bow ties, but if it's, you know, the, the, the main regular ties. I, I got you there. So just look for my name tag. Carlos. I also heard you mentioned that you prep you prepared elevator speech so we can all prepare, but how was it actually executing it for the first time having to talk to an employer? How did that go for you?

Jamie Belt (12:02):

Yeah. so like I said, I think a part of why I wanted to go so early was to screw up a few times. Like I knew that it wasn't going to be perfect the first few times I came out. It ends up being a lot more conversational than you think. I think when people tell you about your elevator pitch it sounds very like stocky when you're practicing it and when you're creating it and then you get into a conversation and honestly you could make it, you know, two sentences into your elevator pitch and someone stops you and is interested in that part. So you keep expanding on that. It becomes much more conversational than you think. Mine again was pretty dry just because I didn't have that much experience. Oh gosh. I think it was honestly, I I knew I wanted to differentiate and being a freshman was going to be an easy way to do that.

Jamie Belt (12:45):

I mean, cause it's mostly juniors and seniors. Right. And so that was the main part of it. Like I'm Jamie Belt, I'm a freshman here at Grand Valley. I'm studying. I also wanted to make it clear that I knew what I wanted to study already. I'm studying Human Resources and Supply Chain at the School of Business and I'm involved in Pals Mentoring. And at the time I was doing Circle K, which is like key club for sure college. So I started with that kind of stuff and just kind of saw where they would take it. I don't start like, I like talking to people so I don't really struggle that much with, you know, keeping a conversation going. But it was amazing to see. I think recruiters appreciate like a genuineness about your elevator pitch to like don't go on and on about all your accomplishments basically, or all the things you're doing. Have a few things behind it that like could really strike up a conversation and see where it goes from there.

Megan Riksen (13:38):

I think you hit on something so key there with being genuine. It goes so far because we talk all the time in the Career Center about people hire people. You're not talking to a robot. When you go to the Career Fair, you're talking to a human being who isn't. It's so much better to have a conversation with someone when you can just talk about natural things as opposed to, yeah, I'm basically going to outline my entire resume for you right now and you're going to listen and then you're allowed to talk, right? No. If when it becomes that conversation, that's that

Jamie Belt (14:09):

Allowing for silence is key part of doing it. Like especially when they're so like, you know, different employers handle it differently, but a lot of them will just take your resume and start scanning and looking for things they want to talk about. And I see, I honestly standing behind people in line is a great learning opportunity too to see like what the recruiters like. And you could see recruiters that wanted you to go ahead and just talk through your whole resume, but also some that wanted to highlight a few things, see if you hit their criteria or see if you would be a good fit and move on. So there's something to be said about not coming on too strong too. Again, like that genuineness of, okay, like you're leading this conversation. I'm just here to kind of talk to you about who I am. So

Carlos Martinez (14:47):

Yeah, great. I finding comfort in the is something people struggle with. A lot of times they feel like it has to be go, go, go. But that's not really the case. And so we know you went to another fair, but that first fair, what you call it, a success based on what your goals were, anything you would've changed that first time.

Jamie Belt (15:10):

Yeah. So I've talked a little bit because, so my first internship was with HR recruiting actually at Amway. And so people talk about like Career Fairs being dead or Career Fairs, like being the old school way to handle things now. And I, I'm super biased because like that was how I started my entire career here, I guess at GVSU. I, it was one great connection with that recruiter from Amway. And then from there I was able to, you know, land another internship through that one and then get a return offer to go back to Amway this summer. And so I think the Career Fair is a good starting point just to get your feet wet when it comes to, again talking about yourself professionally, learning how to properly prepare for those types of conversations. Figuring out how to gauge people and see what they want out of a conversation too.

Jamie Belt (15:57):

Cause some recruiters are there that they're there to hire and some are there to just start conversations. Some are there to just kind of expose their company. You've got to kind of figure out how you're going to gauge that situation too. So I think honestly, my biggest learning from it is it never hurts to go. You never know what's gonna come from it. Like looking back and thinking that like, that's where it started for me. I've been able to have three opportunities from that one conversation and that's priceless. I mean like in a city like Grand Rapids, like having a connection like that to begin is again, it's just priceless. You can, you know, you can't put value on what it took to actually get there.

 

Megan Riksen (16:32)

So it's probably gonna make your life a little easier at the end of next year when you're graduating or just say, wow, I already have some really high quality experiences doing the things I want to do already.

Jamie Belt (16:46):

Fantastic hands on experience is something you can't replace. And I mean hands on experience right from my internships. But again, just learning how to actually start networking like that and see how fast your network grows when you get the conversations going the correct way. So. Okay. That, yeah.

 

Megan Riksen (17:03)

That's really interesting. Would you say that you did a pretty decent job of following up with some of the recruiters and the people at the various Career Fair? You said you've attended? Yeah. And what did that look like?

 

Jamie Belt (17:13)

That's, I think that's the hardest part, honestly. Like the preparation, all makes sense cause you want to come in prepared but then after you're done you're kind of like, like, it's like a sigh of relief and you think you're done with it. But I think what really sticks out to a lot of employers are the people that take the time to follow up.

Jamie Belt (17:28):

I would say I didn't follow up with absolutely everyone I talked to. I think you should be somewhat selective. Like don't just follow up to follow up again. Genuineness, people can tell when you're just sending a stock email versus something that you're actually interested in them. So I definitely followed up with Amway obviously. I followed up with probably like five or six employers that are really felt the conversation well that I got a good read off of the recruiter. And it wasn't, it took maybe half an hour out of my day honestly to just say like, Hey, really enjoy meeting with you at the Career Fair. I am interested in summer opportunities or school year opportunities. Don't know what your company looks like right now for those openings. But I would love to stay in touch. Thanks Jamie. You know, it was, it was a simple note, but it went a really far, like it goes far.

Carlos Martinez (18:13):

Did anyone coach you for these notes because they're really good.

Jamie Belt (18:16):

That was fantastic. I do know, I do, I have I have, so again, I have my two older sisters that are substantially older than I. And then my dad's always been in business too. So I mean it was, it was a lot of calling. I mean like does this sound right? Does, you know, does this seem okay? And yeah, so I definitely had some good guidance there, but I also did go to the Career Center in Allendale because I was in Allendale at the time. And had them look at my resume before I went. And then again had them read through my note, like my follow up note, I was like, is this normal? Is this too pushy? Cause I think that's also something you come like come across as a student is not wanting to seem overly eager either. And so, yeah, no, definitely some coaching there. And then again, as you continue on. And like as I went into my internship, I had my mentor, I called her the red pen because I would write emails and have her come by and she would tear up the first few, but like solely as a summer went, you know, I got better. And so it's just, again, it's getting over that fear of asking someone to look at it, taking the constructive criticism well and then actually learning from and implementing those changes. So

Carlos Martinez (19:20):

Yeah, and finding a mentor or somebody you can trust throughout this whole process is really important and can make so much difference. But everyone doesn't have that, right. I, I, my, my parents didn't go to college. I had an older sister who went to college, but she's only about a year older than me. So there wasn't, you know, we were kind of in the same boat together and you know, and that's where you gotta use your resources, right? So if it's, if it's not a friend, a family friend, a sibling come to the Career Center for sure. That's what we're here for. I, I've worked with students who have find a faculty mentor. I know some folks who maybe they go to the trio office, maybe it's their academic advisor, but it's very helpful to get that even if it's a quick little two minute phone call just to know like, yeah, I'm on the right path.

Carlos Martinez (20:04):

I'm going towards the same place I want to be. And, and I could, as I heard you talk, I just kept thinking she is amazing, but it really feels like there's some guidance here that takes it to the next level. So being good at something doesn't mean you can't get better. Right. It just means that you can speed up the process even more because people are surprised. Megan and I will meet some times with seniors who are looking for the advice that you were given as a freshman, cause you seek that out earlier. It's okay to be nervous. It's okay to be lost. We were all there at one point, but I don't think it's okay to do nothing about it. Right. Going back earlier when you mentioned that some, you know some folks will say that the Career Fairs dead, I, I've heard that too and while I will never say that the Career Fair is the perfect place for everyone, I do think that you should at least check it out or you should do something about it, right?

Carlos Martinez (21:04):

So some people will use that. I don't want to say it's an excuse, but it's part of their reasoning to take no action at all and I don't think that's acceptable. You, you want to have some sort of plan as you navigate education as you navigate your career. So maybe it's not Career Fair, but it could be going to an employer panel, it could be going to a different type of, of smaller career for we only have 15 employers that are all focusing in your field. So there are a ton of different ways to connect and you really want to take advantage of a few different ways to see which one works best for you.

Megan Riksen (21:38):

[Inaudible] Are there other ways that you've connected with employers for networking purposes while you were a student here?

 

Jamie Belt (21:45)

Yeah, 100%. So I attend a lot of tracks, events, tracks that, I don't know if that's particularly Siedman.

 

Megan Riksen (22:05)

Yeah, it’s a Siedman Professional Development, but there are similar types of programs and other colleges at Grand Valley as well, or at least events where various departments are you know, putting together an opportunity to interact with employers in that particular field or industry. So, but yeah, from the track's perspective yeah,

 

Jamie Belt (22:14)

So I attended a few different things as a freshman with tracks, one of which being a LinkedIn profile, like workshops or showing you how to create the perfect LinkedIn profile, that was awesome. That was really, really helpful. And they had a few employers there. I will say there's something to be said about being willing to go up and introduce yourself too.

Jamie Belt (22:31):

Lots of people are nervous. Like you're not the only person if you get nervous about those situations, but that's why it sticks out. If you go up and actually say hello and thank you for your time. Do you have a card? Something like that. I also attended, and I can't remember what the name of it was, but it was in Allendale and it was like women leaders. They came in and had like a panel discussion. So I met the President of Gilder's club, which is a little nonprofit that I actually volunteer at now through it. It provides like free healthcare slash or mental care, I guess I should say for anyone who has cancer affecting their lives. So I met with her and talked with her and then I also met someone high up in Mel Trotter. Mel Trotter ministries downtown, another nonprofit.

Jamie Belt (23:11):

And so just kind of starting those conversations too, and like learning from their experiences, especially like, particularly that one's like women leaders is really helpful for me. Right. but doing those types of things like never say no to an opportunity, I guess. I've heard a lot, this was kind of an Amway thing, but raise your hand like that's like the expression they use is like, if you want an opportunity, if you want something for the next step, raise your hand for it. And there's plenty of stuff going on around campus that you can absolutely raise your hand for it. I think there's resume workshops like every other week. I mean, they know that that stuff on. Yeah, sure.

Jamie Belt (23:46):

It's just kind of showing up and being there and again, it's going to be what you make of it. If you, if you go and you leave, then that's what it's going to be is it's an event that you got your knowledge from and you left. If you go and you prepare for it and you have questions ready when you go and then you have follow up questions and you really make that connection happen, it's going to be much more beneficial I think for both sides. So it's just, it's, it's again, how much work you want to put in to building that relationship.

Megan Riksen (24:10):

Awesome. I liked, I liked the piece about the questions because that is a huge part of that research component, right? When you're trying to figure out who these employers are, you want to know who they are and you can only find out so much online. So half, I don't know what you would say Carlos, but a lot of your time should be developing. What questions am I even going to ask these people? So that I can of course learn more for myself, but also I'm just really then demonstrating my interest in their organization. So what would you say about asking questions and how you prepare?

Jamie Belt (24:45):

People ask me about like number one advice for like internships or like the Career Fair or anything like that. Like when I have like friends who even just ask me that kind of stuff, asking questions is my number one thing. I think last summer, again I was terrified walking into that first internship. Like I was so scared and so nervous and the best feedback I got all summer, it was like you're willing to ask questions and people appreciate that. And I think there's something to be said about acknowledging that you don't know something but you want to, you have a thirst for wanting to know and wanting to succeed. And so asking questions is a huge part of that. I think people, again back to genuineness, people appreciate you not pretending like you know at all and not pretending that you have it all under control. So I mean even as silly as like I remember asking probably like four or five times to four or five different people, like what should I be wearing in the office? Like I don't want that to be something silly that's holding me back from making the best impression I can be. So asking any question honestly, I mean be aware that like there's probably some sort of resource that might have the answer. So like exhaust your resources and then if you can't find it, go to someone. Like they appreciate you being honest and upfront about the fact that you want to know and you just need a little shove in the right direction.

Carlos Martinez (25:55):

Okay. So you, you attended the Career Fair first semester, you went back the following semester that you see some of the same folks there again, reconnect that all for sure. And by that point that you have a, the internship lined up already or was that still kind of an ongoing thing, your second visit to the Career Fair?

Jamie Belt (26:16):

Yeah, I would have been lined up and when does a really great job of recruiting really early. So that was already all said and done. I just went to again, like connect with them again for sure. Obviously you go say hello to the recruiter that I had initially met with. And then also just again, keep learning about different companies. There's a ton of businesses in Grand Rapids and outside of Grand Rapids that come to the Career Fair. So it never hurts to just kind of, I mean, I went and I jotted down like a few different ones that I'd heard of, kind of like Amway the first time and just went home and like looked him up and saw what they were about. So, I mean, everyone knows about like big employers around in the area, right? Like again, a Meijer, and Amway, Steelcase, Hayworth, like all those big companies and they're great companies to work for. But it's the tinier ones that like maybe kind of slip under the radar for us that don't get talked about as much but are so really great opportunities in the area. So it was more of a just kind of, I'm going to seek out a little more knowledge I guess about the different career opportunities here in Grand Rapids.

Carlos Martinez (27:14):

All right. So following semester, you, you, you start your internship. Can you tell us a little bit, little bit about that experience, how that went for you, what you worked on the first time around? Yup.

Jamie Belt (27:25):

So it was a summer internship with Amway and I was with the talent acquisition team, so it's right up my alley. It was right in HR, which is awesome. Really fortunate to get one in my area of study. So the first project that I worked on, Amway does a really great job of recruiting straight from college and later in the career, but they struggled to kind of stay in touch with people that maybe don't start their career right then and there out of college. So wanting to figure out a way to stay in touch with those individuals. So I developed an email campaign to send out to the current contacts that they already had just to keep Amway in mind and kind of stay connected to the Grand Rapids Ada area. And then I also developed a new program that they were running.

Jamie Belt (28:08):

It's called the Intern Innovation Challenge. It's a challenge that they do a case study for all the interns. We get together, you put them on cross functional teams. So people from different areas are all in one team. I think it was like five or five or six people per team. And then they gave you like a real business problem that Amway was facing and it was one day. So you had, I think it was like five or six hours to work on it. Work on it, create a presentation, and then at the end of the day you were reporting out your result to executives, which was a really cool experience. So I got to develop that program for the first year. But honestly I think it was developing soft skills, like was my biggest takeaway from that internship. Again, learning how to network better, learning how to talk about what you want and what you don't want.

Jamie Belt (28:55):

Ask questions and just kind of, I mean, like silly stuff, like I didn't know how to use Outlook to its full potential. And my does like a lot of their meetings and stuff through Outlook. And so figuring that those pieces out, it's silly stuff, but I think people also realize that like, that's a major part of your day and it's also something that you would have no exposure to if this is your first time being in a professional setting. So biggest takeaway definitely from that internship was just navigating what it's like to be a young professional and how to advocate for yourself, but also be humble enough to know when to ask for help. So, very good. Yeah.

Carlos Martinez (29:32):

You know, oftentimes people don't realize that you're always being watched, right? You're always being watched be it for good or, or, bad, And one interesting thing about your experience at Amway is that it led to a different opportunity. Can you tell us a bit about that one?

Jamie Belt (29:48):

Yeah. so again, relationships are huge for this story. I guess for my story in general, when I think about it we partnered with Hello West Michigan, which is a nonprofit downtown that helps bring talent back to the West Michigan region. They offer a lot of intern programming that Amway participates in. And my mentor knew that I had a social media bug that I really liked doing that kind of stuff. And so she connected me with their program manager who offered to have me help them with social media for a few of those events. And then after I helped them with a few of those events, followed up, told him I really liked, you know, what they did, it's awesome. Told them to keep me in mind if they had any future opportunities for interns that I didn't know if that's what they did.

Jamie Belt (30:29):

Again, the follow up was really crucial to the story. And at the end of the summer, they had an opening for the school year and liked the work I did with them during the summertime. And so I was able to kind of nab that. I had to do, I think it was two interviews for that one to like to kind of go and just confirm everything. But yeah, so that led to a whole other opportunity and that was actually in marketing. So new exposure area, totally new experience going from like a giant corporation like Amway to a nonprofit like that. And really opened a lot more doors for me too as that continued on.

Carlos Martinez (31:03):

Yeah. So what's also real cool about your, your experiences that there are different types of companies, but they're both very well connected companies. They're companies that are well known in the West Michigan area. And so when you're filling our future applications or for future internships, those stand out, you know, real nicely you also did a second internship of Amway. Correct. And that was this summer that just wrapped up.

Jamie Belt (31:33):

Yep. I just wrapped that up last Friday actually. So the way Amway works is if you get an internship there at the end of the summer you have the opportunity to receive a return internship or if you're eligible. So like this year I'd be eligible for a full time role to get a full time role offer. And so last summer I expressed interest in wanting something with supply chain. So that's my other major. I wanted I want an experience in that major but also at the same company just to get a more well-rounded view of it. And so I was able to secure a spot with procurement and that's what I just did this past summer. Really cool experience. Like it was everything I wanted I guess to see the other side of the business. I was super people oriented, right and recruiting oriented with last summer and then the summer it was much more business driven, money making decisions. So really interesting opportunity. And I've stayed in contact with Hello West Michigan and my HR team. I think that's also important is to keep the contacts you've already made, you know, don't like, forget about them once you wrap up that internship. So I actually just had lunch with Rachel and Cindy who do Hello West Michigan my last week too. So again, just kind of keeping all the connections going and seeing what opportunities come out of all of them.

Megan Riksen (32:44):

That's great. And we're actually really lucky because in our November podcast we will be having Cindy Brown yay. As our employer guests who's the executive director of Hello West Michigan. So that's going to be exciting to hear from first the intern perspective there and then from Cindy. So yeah, we're excited about that and I'm really glad to hear you had a great experience at that super small organization. Hello West Michigan, but then also at such a massive global company like Amway and you as well.

Jamie Belt (33:18):

I'd say I took learnings from every single internship into the other one, right? Like, even though it was just two people for how it was Michigan, like there's still a ton of things that you can learn and develop as a young professional to bring into your current internship. One of the things that I like Sydney says all the time, and I've always loved this quote of her, is that she talks about how a million business cards mean nothing but one person willing to go to bat for you. It means everything. And I think, yeah, I mean like, it's, it's awesome. And I love sending, you know, sports analogies too, but, but I think it's really great just because it's so true. Honestly. I mean like when I, again, when I look back at how things have progressed for me throughout my three years, it's been people, I mean, it's been very people oriented. It's had nothing to do with basically, I mean, having a bunch of business cards in my pocket. Like it's been what people have wanted to take a shot with me and helped me develop and told me when I've done wrong and told me when I'm done right. And that continues to just prove true, I think to have the right kind of people standing behind you that are willing to advocate for you even when you're not around.

Megan Riksen (34:20):

Very good. And what, what would you say since you've done basically three different functional areas now in your internships especially the one that, a little bit of an outlier in terms of your major, at least in the marketing one. Do you think that's something you would recommend to other students? Is there value in having, you know that that breath of experience? Do you feel like you still got the depth even though you tried these different areas? I guess talk a little bit about that. Yeah. so with, with Amway, I think that

Jamie Belt (34:53):

The different part about their internship that may be different from other corporations is that it's project based. So you're handed like two or three projects each summer and you are fully diving into every aspect of that project. So again, very like when you talk about breath, like you're, you're really getting in depth there. But I do recommend trying different things too. Cause I think like I have a few friends like at an HR that I've had all HR internships and that's great. You know, HR like in and out. But I also think it's really helpful, like if you're recruiting for example, like if I was recruiting for supply chain, I would now have a better understanding of what you want for an individual in supply chain. Marketing as well. I mean like being able to, so Hello was Michigan's kind of funny because it was marketing bright, but it's a very HR-ish role.

Jamie Belt (35:36):

I, because they're dealing with talent and recruiting a lot. But I was doing like a newsletter, like I was using different formatting things and I never thought I'd be using or have exposure to. And so now I know that like, Oh, that's a key part of what you need to be in marketing. You know, you need to have this creativity or you need to be willing to try this new thing. And so I think it's great. Anytime you can get a new exposure area in some way or another. I think it's an opportunity to take advantage of, and I mean to say like, I really like this part. I really hated this part. You know, like it's okay to say I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I was going to back to the drawing board. But you don't know until you really try it hands on. So

Carlos Martinez (36:15):

Yeah, that, that's, that's a very important point. I, I've worked with students who came in and they see you know all their life. I wanted it to do this thing. They do their first internship in Haiti and so they feel bad. But I told them, no, you should be really happy. Imagine if you didn't do that internship and then you committed to a job and maybe you feel stuck, right? You're working somewhere that you're not enjoying all because you didn't have that experience beforehand. And there's different ways to get that experience. Right. So some students, some students might be a, maybe they're a junior there, it's fall semester. So, you know, starting in a club in, well, no, started already. We're recording a couple of weeks before fall semester begins. So those fall semesters, you know, we're right in the middle of it. Nothing's stopping you from maybe joining a student organization. Maybe they need help with a treasurer. Maybe they need help with somebody to do some event planning. There are other creative ways to get relevant experience to build up that resume so that when the right internship, when that job comes around, you have more, more, more India that you can talk about. So it's not just in the workplace or internships. You could definitely get creative in different ways.

Jamie Belt (37:24):

100% I think it's something to be said about joining organizations around campus too. I mean that's a big part of it.

Megan Riksen (37:31):

Yeah. You're talking about relationship building as being a key component of what's happened in, in your career so far. I think a lot of times we don't think about how just the people we get to see every day are also important relationships that, I mean, think about all the people you know here at Grand Valley from faculty to staff to fellow students who are all going to go off and do amazing things just like you and are now a part of your network. So yeah, I agree that getting involved in those other things, that makes a lot of sense.

Jamie Belt (38:03):

There's something to be said about professors too. I mean, they, they gave you or I know that my I don't know what they're called, but like the, the students that kind of teach you in your freshman like the ropes basically when you're moving in. They said like, go introduce yourself after class. Like, just see what happens when you go and introduce yourself to a professor after the first class. And I've sat in professors office hours and just chatted about everything under the sun. I mean honestly, like when you start developing those relationships, it's really key to I've been able to get letters of recommendation from professors that I develop really close with those go really far. I mean, people appreciate professionals that are now in the educational field and can write you some, some sort of like, yup, they're a great student or yep, they'll, they'll work really hard.

Jamie Belt (38:46):

And I had a friend who school isn't necessarily his favorite thing in the world, but really hard worker. I mean like, honestly, he'll, he'll, he'll do anything you ask him to do without asking any questions and he had a letter of recommendation, get him an internship just from, from that that the professor basically admitted like, wow, not the best when it comes to reading the textbook, but we'll work hard. Right. So I'm asking because far professor got to know exactly if he had just, you know, GPA. Yeah. It wouldn't have been what it was. So I think that again, having those personal relationships, those people that are willing to see deeper than what you got on that last test is really, really helpful. Awesome.

Carlos Martinez (39:28):

Relationships are key. I know of employers who, while they won't guarantee you anything, if you're, if you come recommended by somebody who they trust, you'll at least get an interview or in some cases at least get that extra close to look at that resume. And that can make all the difference in the world when you're talking about an employer receiving three, four, 500 applications, sometimes double, triple that amount depending where you're, where you're interested in applying. Jamie, so you're, you're in your senior year now and throughout this whole conversation I get the sense you like to plan ahead. Do you have a rough idea where you'd like to head next where, where some of your plants might take you and then if you feel comfortable sharing, we'd love to hear it.

Jamie Belt (40:13):

Yeah. Nope. I am super paranoid about planning ahead. It's, it's my parents like worst nightmare because I'm talking about three years from now and they're on vacation. So no, I definitely am interested in seeing what kind of opportunities can arise at Amway. I've really enjoyed both of my internships there who really liked them as a company. I highly recommend them for anyone that's looking for an internship. I honestly, I love grand Rapids. Like I said, I came from a rural, small town, so it was kinda like my Dorothy moment of like, I'm not in Kansas anymore when I got here. So I'd love to stay in Grand Rapids. I've been talking to a few different employers. I'll be going to the Career Fair and to the fall to make connections. Yeah. 11. We're almost there, almost there and it seeks out.

Jamie Belt (40:58):

So yeah, I think it's just honestly continuing to kind of network and use the people use Cindy and Rachel that I've developed really great relationships with and the companies I know they're close with to maybe just kind of get to know those employers a little bit better. And again, definitely people at Amway that have outreach further than just Amway. And so kind of utilizing them to, but from here it's just kind of figuring out what I want for her fulltime role and leveraging my experiences and interviews and moving forward that way. So I'd love to stay in Grand Rapids. I'm not opposed to moving out, but I think Grand Valley kind of suckered me into the area. So yeah, exactly.

Carlos Martinez (41:39):

Grand Rapids is great year. That happens to a lot of people. Believe it or not, a lot of students come from outside the area and, and end up staying. Same thing with staff. So, so Jamie, I don't want to take any more of your time up. Thank you so much for joining us today. For all the listeners, please remember that if you feel stuck or you have some of the same concerns that, that Jamie did before going to the Career Fair, talking to her mentors, feel free to come into our office. We can do anything from a general conversation on how to, how to network, how to plan your, you know, your elevator speech, all the way to more in depth things like job and internship. Search strategies mock interviews resume cover, letter review, and just general conversations. If you like sports, come talk to me. Also, we, you know, we should be in the thick of football season, so I like college football more than professional. But yeah, we could talk about that too. Thank you so much and tune in next time. Thank you. Thank you.

 

 



Page last modified November 7, 2022