Kathleen Kelley Reardon

I posted this comment today on Linkedin’s Forbes Woman Group.  The question pertained to whether it’s better to go to a highly ranked university.  Here are a few thoughts for future and current college students and their parents.

A degree from a highly ranked college can be very helpful in obtaining a desired job. The network can also be a leg up. When push comes to shove, however, what you learned while in college matters most. There are terrific professors at every college. Take their courses. Broaden your mind. Learn as much as you can from the very best. Develop an understanding of business and the politics involved in finding and keeping a job, especially if you’re a woman in a male-dominated field. If you didn’t do that as an undergraduate or graduate student, consider taking some additional courses. Learn how to network, but not in silly ways like giving your business card to everyone in a room, as I’ve seen only women do at conferences. Make a point of meeting people who have succeeded in your field and learn from them. The degree is a ticket to the game. Some tickets are for the best seats in the house. That doesn’t mean a better experience all of the time. The hardest working students, the ones interested in getting a great education, stand out. Professors want to help them and that leads to good jobs. Sometimes it’s better to stand out in a college where everyone there hasn’t been told they’re special.

Some other things to consider include knowing yourself.  If you have difficulty with certain subjects required in a college curriculum, then start early getting the tutoring help you’ll need.  Don’t wait for the professor or administration to come to you.

College is an investment.  You wouldn’t go to a store and head right for all the picked-over junk if you could get stellar quality a few aisles over.  The same is true of college.  You get out of it what you put into it.  Finding the best your college has to offer and making sure you are in those classes is crucial.  Narrowing the fields of study to ones already of interest and then taking a few risks, again with the best professors possible, is a good way to proceed.  Attend professor office hours now and then and bring your questions.  These hours are an opportunity to learn one-on-one.  Also, the professor will be more likely to remember you when you need a job recommendation.

Spending a fortune to go to a top college or university is fine if you have a fortune or scholarships with some loans.  Otherwise, don’t despair.  There are fine educational experiences to be had all over the world.

@kathreardon

Apparently it could take Apple years to find “highly qualified” women for their board (see below).  They obviously need help.  So, feel free to send me (via comments) suggested names and links to their bios.  Or, send them along to Apple.  You might copy or tweet Twitter while you’re at it.  Maybe they’ll both get the message.

If so, go to the right column of this page and click on “Categories.”  You’ll find it and other topics there.  Thanks for dropping by,  Kathleen

That’s the title of my latest blog.  And yes, I’m miffed.  How many Apple customers does it take for them to have more than one woman on their board, the same woman who is their only minority board member?  It’s ridiculous.

Is it wrong to expect a company run by so many young people who were supposed to be less opposed to women’s advancement at work to not bring us back to the dark ages?  I wonder what Al Gore is doing as a member of that board.  Time for him to take a stand.

Women over the decades have worked tirelessly to help other women have less difficulty than they did in getting ahead in business.  And yet, here we are in 2014 expected to be happy that Apple might add another woman to their board, although they think it will take them a while.  Give me a break!  It is going to take me a while to buy another of their products.

Twitter recently got the message, having had no women on their board. It took a groundswell of anger to break that juggernaut.  It’s some sort of progress.  Certainly it’s not enough.

I can imagine what my former colleague, Betty Friedan, would be saying today.  She’d be appalled.  Truth be told, so am I as you can tell from the blog (below).

NO EXCUSESE FOR APPLE’S BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN PROBLEM

Big hoopla this week that Apple is open to more female representation on their board. They caution, however, that it may take a few years. Coincidentally, NASA just announced their intention to spur a young commercial space industry and solve astronaut complex health issues during four extra years given to them. Apple must be going to another galaxy and back looking for their next female board member.

Thanks to Apple shareholders, the company’s board nominating committee will now be “actively seeking out highly qualified women.” Which raises the question: What has the committee been doing for more than three decades? Apparently the same thing they’ve been doing about minorities, since the woman currently on the board is also its only member of a minority group.

Worse still, Apple finds it necessary to specify that such women must be “highly qualified.” The implication is that they’re hard to find or that the good ones are all taken. I could have a list, with bios, in 20 minutes. Who couldn’t?

This is more than a little reminiscent of Mitt Romney’s “binders full of women” comment that revealed how out-of-touch he was with the issue of women’s equality at work.

News flash for Apple: A woman as far back as 1993 to 1996 was NASA’s Chief Scientist. You might want to check her math and management skills. See if she’d be considered “highly qualified.” Then there’s NASA’s 2013 astronaut class, which is 50 percent women.

Of course, it’s Apple’s right as an American company to maintain a backward culture, to drag its feet on bringing women onto the board, to walk around blinded by their own ignorance, to make excuses that won’t stand the light of day so that they can keep hiring board members who “fit” the culture and make everyone already there feel comfortable. It’s our choice as consumers whether or not to help them do it.

Today on Huffington Post you’ll find my blog, “In Praise of Helicopter Parents.”  It’s a look at what taking that label too seriously can mean to young college students and their families.  Like the term “soccer mom” that took on a host of negative connotations decades after its first appearance, “helicopter parents” is yet another term that has well-meaning parents worried about expressing interest in their young adult child’s education.

Writing about women, I’ve often mentioned that we all get labeled.  “Queen bee,” “loose canon,” “ice queen,” and that “B” word are a few that many women fear.  If such labels are allowed to stick, they can be detrimental to careers.  Very similar things can happen to men, of course.  The key in all cases is to know how to respond to such labels — to reframe how you’re being seen — to develop a repertoire of comebacks.  Saying something like, “Somebody had to speak their mind to save this project,” can do this.

I took on “helicopter parents” because it has become one of those labels that remains unchallenged.  I also learned from experience that worrying about whether you might be seen as one is not helpful to a college student.  Sure, parents can overdo it when it comes to checking in on their sons and daughters at college.  But most don’t.  Below are some questions to ask about your son or daughter’s future or current college:

What percentage of undergraduates complete in 4 years?  If it’s low, what reasons do they give?  What actions have they taken?

What system do they have for early intervention should grades fall?

When you call, are they helpful?  Are you directed to a person who is dedicated to providing such assistance? 

Do they take initiative when a student falls behind and follow through?

Do they make you feel like part of a team or as if you’re prying into your child’s life?

Do they offer to work with you and your son or daughter and is someone highly capable and fully apprised of requirements overseeing his/her progress each term?

Have they expressed a desire for you, your child and the college to work like a team?

If your child has a learning disability, how effective is the learning support program on campus?  What data have they collected?  What improvements have they made?  What percentage of students in their learning support program graduate and how many years does it usually take?

It can cost several thousands of dollars per course if your student is short of credits after four years.   Extra time may be necessary and the best route, but it shouldn’t have to be a surprise.

Debbie and Ron Tracy of A Couple of Writers just posted this interview with me about Shadow Campus and the writing of it.  Hope you enjoy it.  Happy New Year!