ACHIEVEMENTS Spring 2013 Employee Development Mark Zocher

WHY BE A TECH?  With the people around your table, discuss why you chose to be a tech at the ITS Help Desk  What makes this job different from other USD jobs?  What do you hope to get out of this job?

SURVEY OF 100+ IT ALUMNI  87% said the skills learned as an IT student employee were effective at getting them a full time job  Included alumni in careers as IT, education, public health, banking, engineering, hospitality, marketing, and law  Worked in areas similar to your duties  79%-Computer Repair (Software)  72%-Phone-based Technical Support  64%-Computer Repair (Hardware)  56%-Computer Lab Supervision  46%-Managing Employees

HOW DID THESE DUTIES HELP?  “I learned patience, thinking on m y feet, and well-rounded problem - solving.”  “The interpersonal skills that I gained working with other employees, both superiors and those I supervised, are extremely useful.”  “I used the technical writing (knowledge base type articles) to land one job in private industry, and then the other general skills to land a full time position in IT at a university.”  “Met the people in the group that I'm still working with as part of my student work, my student work impressed them enough to hire me. That was 15 years ago.”

WHAT WOULD HAVE IMPROVED THEIR MARKETABILITY?  54%-Running a Project  44%-Leading a Group  42%-Managing Others  38%-Web Development  37%-Leading or developing training courses (not the tech)

INITIATIVES THIS YEAR TO HELP  Achievement Program  Clearer Projects, Office Goals  Mentoring with Leads  Leads: Mentoring with USD Employees  Group trainings on “soft skills”

ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM  Assignments at your own pace  Can build skills faster  Decide what skills play to your strengths and fit your career  Know who knows  -Easier to forget assignments

Know Myself  Complete a StrengthsQuest evaluation  Have a minute meeting with your lead mentor, where you:  Set goals for achievements for year  Determine how you can play to your strengths at work  Determine what your strengths say about your major  Identify a project or focus for your work in the office What good is employee development if you don’t know what you want to develop in to? Knowing your strengths allows you to focus your efforts on work and learning opportunities that really “jazz” you, hopefully preparing you for life after USD. A student who completes this accomplishment will have completed a strength analysis and discussed with a mentor a plan for playing to their strengths.

Basic Networking  Complete a troubleshooting appointment for wired Internet access  Complete a troubleshooting appointment for wireless Internet access  Pass a quiz demonstrating your knowledge on:  Basic networking terms (IP, DNS, Ping)  The difference between SecureConnect and SafeConnect  The different SSIDs used at USD  Demonstrate setting up SecureConnect on a device  Be able to properly follow a Wireless L1 scripts Develop a working knowledge of network concepts, the functions and mechanics behind the USD networks and how to find answers using the knowledgebase. A student who completes this accomplishment should feel confident performing basic network troubleshooting of desktops/notebooks trying to connect to the Internet.

Basic Footprints  Complete a basic training with a full time staff  Create 25 new tickets  Have 4 positive ticket reviews  Pass a quiz demonstrating your knowledge on:  Statuses  Priorities  KB Articles  lookup tool Develop a basic knowledge of a ticketing system, including why it is used in the ITS Help Desk. A student who completes this accomplishment should feel confident inputting tickets for calls and in-person interactions, using the knowledge base and lookup tool to answer basic level one support questions.

Data Security  Pass USD’s FERPA Quiz  Sign ITS Confidential Data Agreement  Attend a training on Identity Management  Be able to describe:  What constitutes a strong password  How to keep data safe  Steps for resetting a password  How to avoid phishing attacks Data security is critical for all ITS employees to know and respect, for the privacy and safety of all USD related people. A student who completes this accomplishment should know basics for securing users data and meeting FERPA regulation requirements.

Basic Phones  Attend a phone etiquette training  Complete 5 phone calls with assistance  Complete 5 phone calls on your own (with tickets)  Demonstrate to a lead  How to use LogMeIn to troubleshoot a problem  The functions of the phone (logging on/off, hold, conference) Learn how to have “grace under pressure” as you experience your first phone calls supporting USD customers! A student who completes this accomplishment should feel confident performing basic phone support, know the uses of the ACD and proper phone etiquette.

STARTING ACHIEVEMENTS ADVANCED ACHIEVEMENTS ? ?

Although it wasn't of direct benefit to my current situation, I would absolutely do it again given the opportunity. I'm in medical school right now. I don't know how much my job helped to get me in, but now that I'm starting my clinical rotations (i.e. practical training) I can say with confidence that my IT student job was perhaps the best preparation I had for medicine while I was in college. This is no exaggeration; there is a lot of overlap in skillset There is absolutely no way I would have the incredibly lucrative career that I have today were it not for the student employment programs I participated in during high school and college. The skills I learned and the relationships that I developed I can easily trace to where I am today, and I can say the same for many of my very good friends who also got their start in these programs. Whenever I am hiring, I look for those who worked as student employees. I find it is a great predictor of how a person can handle stress, new technology, difficult situations, and people.