Robert Pearl Starks

Robert Pearl Starks

Location: phoenix, arizona

About me

As Vice President of Product Development, I lead cross-functional teams of designers, developers, QA testers and product stakeholders to develop, launch, and improve products customers need and love. 

Previously, I've worked in a variety of leadership roles in education / learning & professional development. Through my experience, I've become accustomed to working across departmental silos and with various stakeholders (executives, end-users, faculty, staff, students / learners, alumni, parents, regulatory agencies, partners and employers) to facilitate collaboration and advance common goals. In my previous roles, I've advocated for student needs and driven organizational change that helped educators do their best work, students thrive in their careers, and employers connect with quality talent.

Despite different contexts, a common theme in my career journey has been to do work that contributes to a mission which improves people's lives. It's also always been important for me to work with an organization whose values align with my own. I'm a listener, empathizer, customer advocate, servant leader, and lifelong learner. I'm never satisfied with status quo, I constantly strive for "better," and I'm driven by genuine curiosity to solve complex problems.

“Work to become; not to acquire.” -Elbert Hubbard

Interests

social media, career development, training, higher education, web 2.0/3.0, career services, leadership, marketing

Skills

social media, marketing, training, consulting, management, strategic planning

Activity

Discussion Comment
What is your single most common piece of advice for students to correct poor cover letters?
Are there any other pieces of supporting collateral that you would recommend as beneficial (or essential) in marketing your graduates? (These could be career-specific or general.)
The course mentions URLs in the header of a résumé, QR Codes, and "Search Me" buttons as emerging trends in résumé design. What emerging trends have you observed other than these?
Which do you recommend for most student résumés: Objective Statement, Summary/Profile, or Headline? Under which circumstances would each be most advantageous? Have you found any circumstances where one is a poor choice?
When advising students on résumé development, the conversation must often be more of a marketing discussion than one on how students can summarize themselves. What are some of the best strategies that you have found to teach this distinction and encourage the necessary skills for students to market themselves successfully?
Discussion Comment
What have been some of your greatest challenges in assisting students with this type of résumé development, and how have you overcome them?

Hi Sheri, I'm curious - is the assessment that career services team members conduct something formal and/or structured/consistent or is it simply an individual using their own judgment based on their personal interactions with students and done on an "adhoc" basis? I noticed the mentioning of "intuitive career services team members." I'm wondering how the skills/practice of sound assessment for individualized intervention strategies are developed among team members who aren't "intuitive" in this regard. Do you find it to be a correlation with experience or is it more of a "natural" trait that some individuals possess while others don't? What's… >>>

Hello B, I've seen schools implement "fun" ways to learn employability skills and students seem to love it. You're right - it does offer opportunity to get everyone involved, including employers. Imagine employers being the "judges" for certain "events." Something I've seen work really well too are interdisciplinary projects. A school that taught programs related to art, design and technology would partner with community non-profits for a real-world project. For instance, this school partnered with a non-profit to create a web-based game that promoted wildlife conservation to youth. Another example included interior design students working with a municipality to design… >>>

Discussion Comment

Hello Jason, Make sure to check out some of the people search engines listed in the resources section of the course and I encourage you to try some of them. As an executive of Facebook said, social media is the largest user-generated public database of people. As such, it offers more opportunity for us to use that data to not only find people (not in all cases) but also allows us to discover more about them and gain signals that help us modify our strategies to engage them. I would ask, how are you currently using social media as part… >>>

Hi Jason, I am curious how you stay current, not with your graduates, but with social media platforms, practices, and trends. For instance, do you follow certain blogs, people on Twitter who are social media experts, or participate in webinars to maintain and continue to enhance knowledge of ways to use social media effectively as the tools and practices change often. Robert Starks Jr.

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