Category: Higher Education

In July 2020, Hunter Hillel (a Jewish student leadership and education organization at Hunter College) in New York City employed Rubin Emerge, our signature learning platform.

The initiative, dubbed a “self-authored internship,” has provided 30 students with staff mentorship, professional support and career skills to ensure students are competitive in the job market upon graduation. The internship program occurred in separate eight-week cohorts in July-August 2020 and October-December of 2020.

Merav Fine Braun, executive director of Hunter College Hillel, incorporated Emerge to teach students writing skills (ex: email etiquette), networking techniques, resumes, cover letters, job interview preparation and more.

At the end of the fall semester, Braun reported that five of the 20 fall student participants had already secured jobs. Two students landed roles as consultants, two others as nurses and one as a technology engineer.

“Rubin Emerge has been a tremendous resource for our students and our team,” said Braun, who also treated the self-authored internship as a learning community. “During the pandemic, our students, who primarily live with their families across New York City, and live in the hardest hit areas of the pandemic in NYC, were craving skills building opportunities at a time when they felt physically stuck.

Emerge provides hands-on practice for critical life skills, and the 25% job placement rate one month after the semester ended proves that employers noticed our students right away. What’s more, our students feel empowered and emboldened to communicate and engage on a professional level regardless of their professional experience or year in college.”

Wherever Emerge takes root, good things happen. A student at the University of Alabama used the program to secure an on-campus job with “ESPN College Gameday” football TV special. Another student, this time at Michigan State, relied on Emerge to excel at a summer internship in a manufacturing facility.

Emerge teaches actionable strategies to look your best as you pursue opportunities. We want results for students as soon as possible, and that’s why we’re excited to see the job placement rate at Hunter College.

How can Emerge make a difference for your students? Request a free trial today!

To be part of ESPN College GameDay, Lexi Link knew she had to be a cut above.

A senior at the University of Alabama, Link jumped at the opportunity in fall 2020 to be a “runner” for College GameDay when the TV program descended on the Tuscaloosa campus. GameDay is ESPN’s signature college football preview show broadcasted live from a different college campus each Saturday.

“Runners” for GameDay handle a variety of tasks like securing food and beverage for the production crew and setting up/taking down equipment.

The application process required a phone interview and follow-up emails, and that’s where the Rubin curriculum, called “Emerge,” gave Link an edge.

Link used Emerge in JCM 484: Capstone Sports Portfolio within the Department of Journalism and Creative Media. The instructor, Dr. Michael Bruce, incorporates Emerge to give his students real-life practice for skills like email writing, networking and interviewing.

Link, who majors in sports media, learned through Emerge how to demonstrate confidence in phone interviews and add a special touch in thank-you emails after the interview.

“Emerge taught me to ask my own questions during interviews rather than just answer questions the employer asks me,” said Link, who is also working on a master’s in sports administration. “And in my thank-you email after the interview, I used the Emerge technique of showing how much I appreciate the career advice the person shared with me.”

The woman who led the interview told Link to always remember the names of the people on your team. Link told the woman in the thank-you message that she found the “name” suggestion to be a great tip.

In Emerge, students learn the smallest details always make the biggest impact.

Listen to Alabama senior Lexi Link explain the value of Emerge for her career aspirations.

 

“I find Emerge to be a straightforward curriculum with a lot of practical value for my students,” said Dr. Bruce. “Whether the opportunity is with ESPN or any other employer, we want to prepare our students to stand out from the competition by doing all the little things right. Emerge helps us do that.”

Thanks to Link’s strong communication skills, the woman who selected the Alabama senior as a “runner” plans to stay in touch about future opportunities within ESPN.

Link, who would love to work for ESPN one day, believes it’s all about honing her skills every day.

“Emerge puts many of my ideas into motion with a format and structure that helps me look my best.”

Ready to explore Emerge for your students? Request a 30-day free trial here!

In spring 2020, Rubin founder Danny Rubin led a series of webinars in partnership with the University of Maryland Alumni Association. The webinar topics covered email etiquette, networking, resumes, LinkedIn outreach and more.

Soon after the webinar series, UMD alumnus employed Rubin’s techniques to secure a competitive position with Northrup Grumman, one of the nation’s leading defense contractors.

One snippet from the story:

The first part of the [Rubin webinar] series focused on how to write an unforgettable headline and profile summary for LinkedIn. Mikhailovsky said Rubin’s tips helped him better “choreograph” his story.

“For my profile summary, I didn’t just rephrase my resume,” he said. “I made it more of a timeline, more of a story of where I’ve been, where I’m going and what attributes I have that would fit in many roles.”

Read the full story here!

Abigail Bowman, a rising senior at Michigan State University, discusses why Emerge with Rubin made her a stronger communicator as she prepares to work in project management for a large manufacturer.

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One day soon, Abigail Bowman will be a project manager at a manufacturing plant and oversee the production of important goods.

And when she’s in the role, the mechanical engineering student at Michigan State University (MSU) will need to excel at math and science — and communication skills too.

That’s why Bowman, a rising senior, appreciates the writing techniques she gained in spring 2020 through Emerge, our signature online program for student professional development. Under the direction of Dr. Geoff Recktenwald in ME (mechanical engineering) 222, Bowman and 200+ other Spartans learned effective email etiquette for internal and external communications.

“It’s not too often we learn communication skills in our engineering courses,” said Bowman. “Whether you’re a member of the team or a manager, you need to learn how to communicate effectively and professionally.”

Listen to Bowman here:

Dr. Recktenwald and his colleague, Ron Averill, MSU associate professor and associate chair for the mechanical engineering undergraduate program, incorporated Emerge in fall 2019 and spring 2020 in ME222. Across both semesters, 500+ students used the Emerge online assignments to learn the power of strong writing in the engineering field. The topics included:

• Create an executive summary that recaps an in-class design project (learn more about the MSU executive summary exercise here)
• Write emails in short sections so the content reads quickly
• Learn to summarize a team meeting via email and delegate tasks in a clear way
• Understand the value of being detail oriented and incorporating data when possible

“Effective communication skills are a must for engineers, and Emerge proved to be a great way to develop these skills in our sophomore-level mechanics class,” said Dr. Recktenwald. “Students navigated the Emerge platform without issue, and we were able to make Emerge assignments a consistent feature of the course.”

Bowman plans to intern this summer with Tenneco, a global supplier of auto parts. Right away, the Michigan native will have the chance to prove she is a sharp engineer and polished communicator.

“The skills I learned in Emerge are useful for internships and jobs,” said Bowman. “Emerge prepared me for whatever comes next.”

Want to explore Emerge for your program? Request a 30-day free trial here.

In the photo above, senior Jordan Cliff from Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota talks about the leadership skills he gained from Emerge, our comprehensive online platform for business communication techniques.

Communication and leadership go hand in hand.

That concept became clear for students in spring 2020 at Black Hills State University (BHSU) in Spearfish, South Dakota.

Students in BADM 344 — Managerial Communications followed the guidance provided in Emerge, our signature online platform for business communication skills. The course is led by Barbara Looney, PhD, an assistant professor of management in the BHSU School of Business.

Through Emerge, BHSU students explored the three Rubin ebooks for communication skills — Wait, How Do I Write This Email? (career development), Wait, How Do I Promote My Business? (entrepreneurship) and Wait, How Do I Lead My Team?(leadership and management).

Each ebook contains 100+ writing/speaking templates and is supported by video tutorials, readings and self-directed assignments.

“Emerge encourages my students to lead with empathy, draft emails and messages with clear, logical language and never be afraid to seek new opportunities,” said Dr. Looney. “Emerge is a fresh addition to business and managerial curricula.”

Interested faculty are welcome to request a 30-day free trial of Emerge.

Listen to three students on what Emerge taught them:

Jordan Cliff

 

Victoria Jalbert

 

Erica Dykstra

 

In March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic sent college students home in waves to practice social distancing and avoid infection.

At the same time, the crisis provided select students at Virginia Tech the chance to observe internal and external corporate messaging.

To do so, students in Professional Communication (CMST 3214), a mix of juniors and seniors, rely on Emerge, our signature online platform.

Emerge, which integrates into Canvas, Blackboard, D2L, Moodle and Sakai, gives students actionable templates and guidance for writing/speaking scenarios related to career development, entrepreneurship, leadership and management.

Va Tech students use Emerge within their Canvas course, which means they do not need a separate username and password; the Emerge content lives inside the Canvas course.

See all 200+ instructional items inside Emerge.

By viewing templates in Emerge, students observed how the tone of an email changes when a company addresses employees versus customers. The ebook provides examples for both audiences in the wake of a fictitious company data breach.

The course is led by instructor Brandi Quesenberry who is also the director of undergraduate programs for Virginia Tech’s Department of Communication. Quesenberry recognized how Emerge material aligns with the corporate challenges that stem from the coronavirus.

“I want my students to understand that companies must tailor sensitive statements based on the audience, and the Emerge examples made the lesson clear,” said Quesenberry. “The Emerge material is straightforward and students engaged with it through distance learning.”

Every semester, Emerge prepares students to write and speak in the business world.

Once you learn the fundamentals, you can tackle any communication challenge — even one on a global scale — and perform at your best.

Want to explore Emerge as a distance learning tool for your students in the coming semesters? Contact us!

In the photo is Josefina Lopez, a native of Mexico and quality assurance employee at a clothing and accessories company in Los Angeles. Lopez used the Emerge online program to strengthen her email etiquette and English writing skills.

Josefina Lopez knew she needed sharper English skills to excel at her job.

When she enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL) course at Lynwood Community Adult School in Lynwood, CA, the native of Mexico learned something more: how to write professional emails in English.

Lopez’s course, led by instructor Michele Lawrence, incorporates Emerge, a comprehensive online program that teaches a wide array of self-paced professional development exercises that focus on writing and speaking skills.

Lopez works in quality assurance for Revolve, a clothing and accessories company based in Los Angeles. She needed a way to communicate better via email with co-workers and customers.

To do so, Lopez focused on the Emerge module called Email Etiquette — Beginner and practiced email construction lessons, which includes how to make subject lines, address people in an appropriate way, write the email body and create an email signature.

“What Emerge taught me the most is to think about my audience with every new message,” said Lopez. “I need to respect the reader’s time and write in a way that looks and feels professional.”

Lopez recalls an on-the-job moment when her clear, concise email kept a big project moving along.

Lopez: “I needed help to continue the amount of work we had. I sent an email to a team member letting him know I can stay through over time, but that we might lose sales and have more expenses if that’s what would happen. Thirty minutes later, my team sent over additional help.”

From K-12 program through adult education, Rubin is there to turn any student into a mature, poised communicator.

Are you an educator? Start your Emerge free trial today!

Carlos Reese, a student at Westcliff University, sits next to the Emerge online program and Jennifer Hirashiki, M.A., the Director of Learning, Innovation, and Teaching Excellence at Westcliff. Reese relies on the Emerge program to help with his email etiquette and professional development.

In winter 2020, Carlos Reese had a three-week break between college semesters.

Rather than take it easy or binge the newest show on Netflix, the international student did the unexpected.

He hit the books.

More specifically, Reese dove into the Emerge online program and learned dozens of important professional development skills like email and phone etiquette.

A soccer player at Westcliff University, a private school in Irvine, CA, Reese used Emerge to gain an edge in the job market. Reese hails from Hamburg, Germany and also valued the Rubin program because it helped to strengthen his English writing and speaking skills.

“Emerge has no limits, and I can learn as much as I want,” Reese said. “Before the Rubin program, I would need to ask my parents to review emails I need to send to employers and others. Now I have the confidence to press ‘send’ myself.”

Reese is among dozens of Westcliff students who have used Emerge in the 2019-2020 academic year to become stronger communicators as they pursue career opportunities.

The Westcliff University Career Services Department has piloted Emerge since fall 2019 and made the resource available to students across campus through career services programming.

Emerge contains 100+ short assignments that teach proper communication skills for employment scenarios (ex: emails to seek jobs, resumes, cover letters and thank-you notes) along with writing/speaking guides for entrepreneurship and leadership.

“After Carlos went through the Emerge program, I could see a difference in his email correspondence,” said Jennifer Hirashiki, M.A., the Director of Learning, Innovation, and Teaching Excellence at Westcliff. “We have a professor in place to review the work students complete in the Rubin program, but the exercises are self-directed.”

Reese also made special note of the Rubin activities that teach how to write an effective LinkedIn profile. Now he has a LinkedIn profile live on the web and uses it to develop important business connections.

“Emerge opened a brand-new world to me,” said Reese.

Incredible what a student can do with a three-week break.