Master the Essentials for College Students
Hickory, NC -- Deaf college students got an eye full when a returning alum gave them the low down on life in the real world.
Rodney Robbins, a local author, cartoonist and long time quality manager, talked to a small group of deaf students at Lenoir-Rhyne College recently. Robbins, who is not deaf but is involved with the deaf community through his wife, Karen, a deaf education teacher, talked about the essentials of career success. He said that everyone who wants to get ahead must:
1. Show up every day, ready to work
2. Play nice with others
3. Treat their boss (and ever customer) like a human being
4. Keep learning
Robbins, who just published a cartoon tip booklet called, "Rodney's 52 Ways to Impress Your Boss--Without Sucking Up!" believes these essentials apply to everyone from a fast food cook to a brain surgeon. "At first, I wasn't sure that everyone needed to keep learning," said Robbins, "because someone could learn to make french fries in a few days and do that job for 10 years, but then I remembered we were talking about career success. A fry chef who keeps learning can become a shift leader, a manager, a store owner, even a reastuarant chain owner."
Robbins used stories from his own experience and gave the students feedback on the hundreds of job applicants he's seen come through companies where he has worked. "I told them about some of the mistakes I have made," said Robbins, "like staying too long in a dead end job, and also told stories about the mistakes I see most often in my work, like people with terrible attendance complaining they haven't had a raise in months."
With less than a dozen students, there was plenty of time for questions and answers. Robbins even had time to teach everyone how to draw a cartoon monster. "They did great!" said Robbins, "But they told me my monster wasn't scary enough. I'll have to work on that."
Lenoir-Rhyne College is a liberal arts college associated with the Lutheran church. They have about 1,600 under graduates and actively recruit deaf students to the campus. They also offer professional programs and graduate degrees. For more information click her to visit Lenoir-Rhyne College.
Robbins has always loved to draw--especially people. He has a career advice blog at Rodney's 52 Ways. His tip booklets make great promotional items for business and bulk pricing and customization are available. To read more about his cartoon tips booklet, click here.
