On-campus interviews will be held
By Jennifer Kang
Reporter
Baylor will host a national speaking tour on networking today and give students the opportunity to learn techniques they can apply in the workplace.
Pariveda Solutions co-founder John P. Humphrey Jr. will present his “Networking for Life – College Series” at 5:30 p.m. in room 109 of the Rogers Engineering and Computer Science building.
The presentation is open to all students.
Pariveda Solutions is an information technology consulting company for Fortune 1000 clients.
This is Humphrey’s first time presenting this series at Baylor. He will discuss the importance of networking and techniques students can apply to their future.
Organizations and students do not understand the true value of networking, Humphrey said.
“Students use some of the tools, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, but they are not building relationships with people and helping them solve their individual problems,” Humphrey said. “The common theme is helping people solve their individual problems, whether personal or business or student problems.”
Humphrey teaches companies that networking is vital for everyone in a company, not just the sales team.
Humphrey also shows students that networking needs to start in college with classmates and professors.
“What I try to [teach] to students is this whole sense of networking that is critical to their lives, not just for getting their first job,” Humphrey said. “They should establish networking as a habit that they engage in for the rest of their lives. They should start with classmates they have today and commit to staying in touch with them for the next 30 years.”
Leigh Ann Marshall, director of advancement in the School of Engineering and Computer Science, said this presentation teaches a great way to build a network of acquaintances and colleagues in order to solve life’s challenges.
“It’s focusing on, in addition to building personal relationships, using social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and those kinds of vehicles help broaden and strengthen your network as well,” Marshall said.
Pariveda Solutions is connected with Baylor through one of its co-founders, Bruce Ballengee, who is a Baylor graduate.
Pariveda Solutions is a corporate partner with the School of Engineering and Computer Science and looks for qualified students to work or intern for them.
“Pariveda is very interested in the entire graduate, not just the graduate with a strong transcript and grade point average, but someone who can relate to people,” Marshall said. “Someone who can communicate well, write well, speak well and listen well.”
Burkburnett senior Taylor Felty interned with Pariveda Solutions this past summer and was able to work on projects and meet with clients.
“One of the main projects we worked on was a Web-based mobile application,” Felty said. “We were given opportunities to present to clients within the company and at the client site in Chicago. I gained a lot of experience in technical presentations.”
Pariveda does not have a sales team and gains clients through connections. Through this, Felty said she was able to see the importance of networking.
“Pariveda’s sole way of bringing in new clients is through their consultants and through the people their employees know,” Felty said. “They really emphasize the importance of keeping in contact with professors and people you’ve worked with previously.”
Pariveda Solutions will also hold on-campus interviews Oct. 4 at the Sid Richardson basement interviewing suites.
Students can sign up on Hire A Bear. Interviews will be open to mathematics, computer science and management information systems majors.
