The difficulties of quantifying abstract skills

When I was in high school, my mother, as a joke, gave me a t-shirt that said, "My mommy says I'm special." I don't often wear it in public.

I would wear a shirt that says, "My boss thinks I'm exceptional." Or “outstanding.” Or “dependable,” “smart” and “talented.”

Paul Lewis Siddoway

I would even consider wearing it to an interview. Especially if my boss signed it.

Okay, maybe not.

It seems like getting a job is just one struggle after another. Finding openings is hard enough. Standing out in relation to the crowd and actually getting an interview seems impossible at times.

Jeff Haden, a blogger for BNET, part of CBS's interactive business network, came up with some suggestions on things businesses are looking for. Essentially, Haden says uniqueness, social smarts, adaptability, inquisitiveness, focus, the urge to tinker with the status quo, a desire to prove they (the employee) are right, public praise of others, and complaining only in private are some of the qualities businesses are looking for.

That's great. My question is, "How do I show potential employers that I'm focused?" Or, "How do I show in my résumé that I have social skills?"

Any suggestions?

- Paul Lewis Siddoway

Paying Forward

Huntsman Hall

I have traveled about the United States in recent months in hopes of seeing into the future.

I’ve been visiting business schools that have recently completed new buildings to find out what they learned from the process, what is working, and what they would change if they had that opportunity. I’ve gone to the University of Washington, William and Mary, Georgetown University, the University of Utah, and the University of Minnesota. I also traveled with our architects to the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School last week where their building, Huntsman Hall, is already 10 years old. We did so because we have a special connection to that top-rated school because of our namesake Jon M. Huntsman and because we thought it would be interesting to get their insight 10 years after their building was constructed.

In each case I was welcomed and given the VIP tour. My hosts were always very open and willing to share with me what they learned from their building experiences.

Another reason I traveled was because I was looking for examples of things that I want to see in our own building. If I tell the architect that I want our building to have an “open feel” and that helps “build a sense of community within the school,” what does that mean? Visiting other schools helps me see exactly what we need and allows the opportunity to point to an example of what we could create. I also hoped to discover new ideas and gain insight I would never be able to get browsing through pictures on the internet.

Here is an example of a tiered - or "case-study" classroom
at the Wharton School. It is the best-designed case-study
classroom I have seen. The chairs even swivel 360 degrees.

I took pages of notes and made a list of more than 60 ideas we might put into the mix for our school. I thought I’d share just a few with you to see what you think.

1) One school has three rooms set aside for visiting executives and another had interview rooms just for recruiters. One facility even had a lounge for the more than 160 recruiters that visit the school each year.

2) One school had two interview rooms that were equipped so that Skype interviews could be conducted.

3) One building featured floors that looked like they were made of marble. They were really just stained concrete, a nice artistic touch that made the building look distinctive.

4) In many cases, the student-related program offices were all located in prime areas on the main floor of the building or “beachfront property” as they called it.

5) Every school I visited said they wished they had designed more meeting spaces for students. I consider that important information to know.

6) One school set aside space for future growth that could eventually be converted into offices, staff areas or a program office.

7) I saw lots of examples that show how a design can make great use of natural light, giving classrooms windows and all offices windows to the outside or a very open building interior.

8) One building discovered a problem after the construction was done. The doors had no windows. This means people are often opening the doors just to find out if a class is in session. Another made sure the doors entering the classrooms were at the back of the room so that latecomers wouldn’t disturb the entire class.

9) Some meeting rooms are adjacent to classrooms, making it easier for professors to send students into breakout sessions.

I was warned that once we have our building completed that we’d need to budget time to give visitors from other schools tours of our own building. If we build it, they will come, I was told. The help we have received has been invaluable. I’m looking forward to paying it forward.

- Ken Snyder

A shared vision is born

Ken Snyder

Last week representatives from all the groups involved in planning our new building got together for what I will call a “visioning meeting.” We talked about the things we want to be sure this new building will do for the school. We created a comprehensive list of our “vision.”

• It’s more important to invest time to carefully assess the needs of our students and to design the building properly than it is for us to work on an accelerated design and construction schedule.

• We’d prefer a smaller well-designed building to a larger one that fails to meet our needs.

• The building should have an open feel and design that helps create a sense of community.

• We want to let the sun shine in. The design should take full advantage of natural lighting.

• It should be designed to best meet our student’s needs. We want to keep that idea foremost in our planning.

• We need to have more student-centric places available.

• We want to take advantage of the opportunity to build an iconic structure.

• Huntsman Hall needs to fit among the other buildings on campus so that it will contribute, not detract, from what makes the Utah State University campus remarkable.

• The building should effectively connect with and integrate into the existing George S. Eccles Business Building so that they feel like one complex.

• We are becoming a top-tier business school and we want to be sure our building reflects that.

• The building should be a recruiting tool to attract faculty members and new students. It should entice people to come join us.

• The design should promote collaboration between students, faculty and staff. It should feel inviting to the local, state and world leaders who will come to visit and meet with our students.

• The design should take advantage of the latest technology and be flexible to adapt to developments in the future.

• The design should support our “global vision” pillar and invite students to explore how they can “change the world.”

We realize this is a preliminary list and that it may change, but we think we are off to a good start.

- Ken Snyder

San Francisco/Seattle trip recap

After a busy week of visiting some of the biggest companies in existence and learning everything there is to know about how to get a job, the time finally came to go home. I wasn't very excited to end the trip. It felt like just yesterday we were getting off the plane in San Francisco.


I learned a lot of really important things while I was out there. I learned the importance of networking and getting to know everybody you can. In the long run, you never know who will be able to help you get a job. From people you meet at a little league soccer game to a contact your friend said hi to one time at a coffee shop, I've heard real stories of how these kinds of contacts have helped people get the jobs they want.


I also really enjoyed being able to learn and understand how important a company's personality is. Each company has a different culture/personality, and because of that people with the same idea of culture enjoy working at those places more than they would another place. Before this trip I just thought I would pick a place that was cool and hope to get a job there; now I've learned that I should research the company personality and what working there is actually like. If you do this I would dare say you could be a happy employee of that corporation the rest of your life!


There are so many opportunities outside of our state and I will forever be indebted to these cities and the people who helped me learn what I did while on this trip. I would encourage any student to go on a trip like this because the things you learn out there can't be learned in the classroom.

Week recap video:

Braden Thompson

Seattle Day 1 (Wednesday, July 20, 2011)

Today was a really interesting and fun day. This morning we had a chance to go to the Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Washington. We met with a USU alumnus by the name of Marlowe Dayley. It was a very unique experience because were able to sit down with him in a conference room and after sharing his background with us, we were able to pick his brain for the next hour and a half. It was very interesting because there was no question that we couldn’t ask. We covered everything from competition with Apple, Microsoft’s strategy, relations with vendors like HP, and everything in between.

This was my second time visiting Microsoft's Headquarters. Last fall I had the chance to visit the Microsoft’s international headquarters in Paris, France with the Huntsman Scholar Program. Both times I have visited Microsoft I have been so impressed with their company and the culture and passion that exist within Microsoft. The story I always share with people is how last fall one of the international executives flat out told us, in his opinion, the iPad out performed what he thought it would. His honesty about their competition was refreshing and this time I feel I understood more about the overall vision of Microsoft to work with various companies to get their products to consumers so that one day every home and every business is running Windows.

Fish 'N' Chips at Ivar's for lunch

After Microsoft we headed back to Seattle and ate at the famous Ivar’s Restaurant down on the water. I ordered the delicious fish and chips and we had quite a fun time feeding the seagulls around. At one point I found myself with a French fry in my mouth getting close to a seagull to see if he would eat it, but I think it freaked him out and he flew away. We then got Melinda to hold a straw in her mouth with a French fry on the end and as she got close to one bird another one swooped in and ate it suprising her and all of us. Luckily we got the whole thing on video! It was a fun time.

Blog post by: Brent Meacham

After lunch we visited Projectline, a marketing consulting company for the tech industry. We met with one of their founders, Anika Lehde, and Eric Larson, a senior marketing consultant. This was probably one of my favorite visits because it was so interesting to learn about Projectline’s unique business model. Projectline encourages employees to ONLY work 40 hours a week, all the employees participate in monthly community service projects, money is donated monthly to various organizations and they do a variety of other unique things. They are very progressive in providing a fulfilling environment for their employees. Projectline goes against the usual business model and provides an atmosphere where employees want to be and because of that their employees are more successful and invested into their work. It was neat to see such a unique successful company.

After visiting Projectline we headed back to our hotel and had a small alumni mix-and-mingle and it was a lot of fun! Overall, today was a great day full of fun, exploration, and has left me anything, but “Sleepless in Seattle.”

Day 2: Passion yields success

Today was our last day in San Francisco, and even though we were here for such a short time, I feel like I've learned more than I would in a month sitting in a classroom. Meeting with incredibly successful companies and being able to learn how they got where they are and what they are doing day-to-day has been quite an amazing experience.

Perks are amazing on the Google campus. Food is free, they give free massages, there is a sand volleyball court and pool to enjoy yourself, they have hundreds of bikes to ride around from building to building and I'm sure there are so many more.


Despite all these perks, the thing that keeps people happy and working for the company is the atmosphere. I realized today after having been to six different companies in two days that every company has a personality. Personalities range from serious and strict to comfortable and relaxed. All of the companies we visited had different personalities, but each was very professional and had employees who were passionate about what they did. Passion yields success, and when it comes down to it, if you don't have passion to do something, no matter what perks a company throws your way, odds are you aren't going to accomplish anything life-changing.


To sum it up, here is what I learned during the San Francisco portion of the trip:

• Find a company that matches your personality
• Do what you are passionate about
• Get going on your career before you graduate through internships or other similar opportunities

At all the companies we've talked to so far, interns are the main pool of people used for hiring new full time employees. Internships are the easiest way to get your foot in the door of a great company and network with people who will help you in the future. Find that company that matches your personality. Make sure it gives you the freedom to be passionate and work doing what you love. Then search your little heart out for an internship or some opportunity to get into that company. I promise you won't regret it! In fact, I'll slap a Braden Guarantee on that. (All donations to the "Thanks Braden for the great advice I now make a lot of money in my career and want to pay you back with a large sum of money" fund are graciously accepted.)

Here is the video recap for day 2:

San Francisco was a great place to see some amazing companies. I'm very excited to move on to Seattle now and learn even more.

Braden Thompson

San Francisco day 1

I set my alarm for 4:00 a.m. and closed my eyes for a mere 20 seconds before sitting up in bed realizing how early my day would begin the next morning. After a three-hour "nap" and a bit of a drive to the airport, though, I didn't mind the early wake-up call and was excited to be able to be going on this trip.

Being so tired, talking and doing normal things people do when they are awake seemed out of the question during the flight to Phoenix and the connecting flight to San Francisco. I stayed awake just long enough to get my free in-flight beverage and peanuts and not a second longer. In fact, I almost choked on a peanut as I drifted in and out of sleep mid-chew. I did, however, manage to grab a few shots out the plane window before I lost consciousness, including this one as we rose above the clouds in Salt Lake to find the sun shining beautifully at 38,000 feet.

Despite our plane arriving early, a line out the door and a bunch of very confused and clearly unorganized rental car employees managed to stall us an hour and a half, putting us behind schedule. Luckily, we were able to make it to our first appointment which was with Ali Towle, the Director of Marketing for the San Francisco 49ers. This was definitely my favorite visit of the day. She did an excellent job of explaining in detail the path it takes to get to where she is now.

After that, we visited with two more companies, Portola Pharmaceuticals and SteelRiver Infrastructure. To spice things up, we even crammed all 12 of us into an elevator and got stuck between the 4th and 5th floors for 20 minutes. The experience proved to be the best bonding experience we had all day. At the end of the day we got to tour a little of downtown and eat some pizza with the locals. If Utah had a pizza place as good as the one we went to I would go there everyday, even if it was in Salt Lake and I had to commute. The pizza was that good!

If I was to rate this day I would give it four stars and two enthusiastic thumbs up. Here is a short video recapping everything that happened.

Braden Thompson

Closing Social

Tuesday night we were treated to an elegant dinner at the USU Alumni Center. The idea of the closing social is to give the participants the opportunity to interact with professionals in a social setting. We were pleased to have the company of a few industry professionals representing the Merrill-Cazier Library, DuPont, West Host and ATK.

Along with a great dinner, we had the opportunity to hear from Paul Fjeldsted, senior lecturer for the Huntsman School. He gave a great wrap-up and summary to the 9-week course by sharing various experiences from his life as he took charge in discovering what he wanted out of life and worked to achieve a great career. The evening ended as we presented the participants with their certificates of completion.

We had a great time getting to know one another as students and faculty. This course has helped students identify and develop their unique skills and has given them the confidence to take charge, be bold and get the work they want.

The course will start up again in the fall semester. We extend an invitation to all students to make time to get involved in this incredibly helpful workshop. We’ll keep you posted on the upcoming dates and deadlines.

Field Trip - Finance and Econ Club

The Finance and Econ Club will be leading a field trip to Salt Lake City on March 18th. We will be visiting several leading firms and having discussions with finance professionals. This will be a good opportunity for students to explore different career options in finance and business and to network with key individuals in Salt Lake. Visits will include the following:

Clark Whitworth, CFO, Larry Miller Corporation

vSpring Capital (Venture Capital Firm)

Bonnie Newman, CFA, Wells Capital Management

Luncheon/Panel discussion with several USU Alumni at the Wells Fargo Building

There is room for about 20 students. Those who are interested please contact Adam Welker (adam.welker@aggiemail.usu.edu) or Paul Fjeldsted (paul.fjeldsted@usu.edu).

Goldman Sachs Recruiting at USU

One of the goals of the Finance and Economics Club is to provide students with excellent networking opportunities. One of those opportunities will be this Tuesday, January 25th, as David Lang, Head of the Goldman Sachs Salt Lake City Office comes to campus with several USU alumni who have been offered jobs with Goldman Sachs. Mr. Lang will be giving a presentation in BUS 211 at 11:00am. Afterword, a reception/recruiting event will take place in the OC Tanner Lounge on the 9th floor of the BUS building.

Goldman Sachs is currently expanding their Salt Lake City Office and will be creating several hundred new jobs. Take advantage of this great opportunity this Tuesday to meet Mr. Lang and other representatives of one of the largest investment banks in the world.

For questions and information about other events, please visit the Finance and Econ Club website.

www.huntsman.usu.edu/finandeconclub