Mentor for a Day Program: Testimonials

by Alan Rich

The 2010 Spring semester for college students is complete, as well as our first 3 months of the Mentor for a Day program. As illustrated from the provided testimonials, both the students and businesses are thrilled with its success and the education gained.

You, the DMAW member, have the opportunity to make a difference in a students life.  Surprisingly enough, many students are actually looking for careers in direct marketing!

If you haven’t already, and are interested in participating in the program, download the employer application and return it to Alan Rich, alan@novalabel.com. For more information about the program view the Mentor for a Day Guidelines.

Testimonials 

Kirk Swain, Principal, DirectMail.com

Our participation in the DMAW-EF?s ?Mentor for a Day? program provides us with the opportunity to secure a strong future for direct mail by showing students the continued value of direct mail in the marketing cycle. The day will allow us to mentor a talented newcomer to the industry and provide the student with an end-to-end view of the direct mail production process.”

Comment from Marketing General

This mentor program appears to have “some legs”. Will be interested to see what other companies who have had a student, think. The day here at MGI seemed to go quick and had no roadblocks. The few staff I talked to agreed that it was a worthwhile program as it gave the student a good overview of what we did, and did not take a lot of effort or time away from their client work.”

Testimonial from George Mason University student

The DMAW Educational Foundation’s Mentoring Program serves an invaluable learning experience, and I would recommend that employers and students participate as often as possible. From a student?s perspective, there is no way I could have learned this much from the company?s website or other information found on the Internet. The hands on knowledge gained in one day of the mentoring program; to me is the equivalent of a week of interning.

The mentoring program offers students the unique opportunity to obtain hands on experience and gain knowledge both about the industry and the company itself. In the case of my visit to Production Solutions, while the day was formal it didn?t feel pressured or forced, which made for an ideal learning environment. This obtained knowledge allows students to better understand the industry/company and decide if it is something they would wish to pursue.

At the bare minimum, the student walks away from the mentoring program an experience and knowledge gained that simply could not be obtained outside of the program. However, if the participating organization believes the student would be a good fit for the company and the student has enjoyed his/her experiences throughout the mentoring program, then there could certainly be internship/employment opportunities. So really there are no negative aspects of the mentoring program which is why students and employers should jump at the chance to participate.”

Testimonial from Salisbury University student

This experience and program was exceptional. I am lucky to have had the chance to really get ?behind the scenes? in the life of the direct mail industry. I was able to sit in on a managers meeting, toured every department and met individually with each department head, sat in on an actual sales meeting with a client, and was able to ask questions and learn from the owners of DirectMail.com. Lunch was provided as well, and overall I left feeling like I learned more in one day then I could possible learn in one class.

I would be honored to participate in another ‘mentor for a day’ program this semester. Please let me know if any opportunity arises.”

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Alan Rich  is the Bridge Conference Advisory Council Chair and is President of Nova Label Co., Inc, a company that specializes in manufacturing custom printed pressure sensitive labels for industrial, food service and direct marketing industries.

Alan has been a Board Member at the Direct Marketing Association of Washington since 2006.