There are a number of people and departments on campus with an interest in promoting global career skills.
- Partner with other departments
Both the Career Center and the Study Abroad office should be involved in promoting The BIG Guide and the importance of global career skills. Both departments should create links to The BIG Guide on their respective Web sites and train staff (especially student advisors) how to use the guide's many tools. Other departments to consider involving include the International Student Office (a potential partner that is often overlooked), the Alumni Office and the International Relations Office. Department heads and faculty teaching international courses can also act as partners. - Identify key staff
- Identify one key marketing representative from each department: These representatives will become your core group, devising a specific marketing plan and helping to promote the availability of The BIG Guide to students. Choose a key marketing coordinator from both the Career Center and the Study Abroad office. Once marketing coordinators have been appointed, supply with their contact information. These coordinators will then receive all the latest updates related to The BIG Guide site.
- Identify staff who should have basic training: We regularly run staff training webinars in July, August, September and January. The webinars are most often scheduled on Wednesdays at 1 pm and 2 pm EST. Assemble a staff list and send a memo about our upcoming training sessions. There are generally two webinars available: 1) Exploring The BIG Guide Online, and 2) Marketing The BIG Guide Online and promoting global career skills.
- Identify “school administrators” who will manage the technical aspects of The BIG Guide Online: The designated "school administrator(s)" will have access to extra menus when logged in to our site. For schools that have purchased Standard Access, administrators will be able to modify the My School page. If your school has purchased Premium Access, administrators will be able to modify the My School page, retrieve usage statistics, allow alumni (who don't have school email addresses) to access The BIG Guide Online, and appoint other staff as school administrators.
- Designate student ambassadors to promote global career skills
Many of the marketing projects described on our marketing campaign page can be executed by student ambassadors working under the supervision of a single member of staff. Student ambassadors who have previous international experience would be especially effective. Here is a short list of some of the things that student ambassadors might be used for: 1) attending and participating in staff training webinars, 2) handing out Quick Guides at international events on campus, 3) making presentations about The BIG Guide and their experiences abroad, 4) contacting "internatioanlly-focused" faculty about the possibility of making short class presentations or offering Quick Guide handouts, 5) providing peer-to-peer counseling about going international, 6) liaising with student clubs on campus and/or 7) helping to run the My Global Career Skills seminar if you school is a Premium Access subscriber. - Work with international student clubs: Contact international student clubs at your school to make them aware of The BIG Guide Online. Ask them to promote The BIG Guide on their Web sites, during their events or via a mass e-mail to their members. Ask them to display or distribute some of our Quick Guides (don't forget to include our poster on the flip side of the Quick Guide).
- Work with faculty who teach international courses: Identify faculty who teach internationally-focused courses and encourage them to promote The BIG Guide Online to their students. Better yet, ask your student ambassadors to make a short presentation about The BIG Guide to their students.
- Partner with your campus Internationalization Committee: Many schools have a committee or task force focused on promoting campus internationalization. They are often not aware and would be very interested in The BIG Guide's grassroots approach to promoting the acquisition of international competencies (what we call "global career skills"). Offer to make a presentation at one of their meetings and ask for their support in your efforts to promote global career skills with The BIG Guide Online.
- Contact the Alumni Office: Schools that have Premium Access can easily provide alumni access to The BIG Guide Online. Contact your alumni office to let them know and encourage them to promote the availability of this service. Contact for details on how to manage alumni access.