6 Ways to Make a Big Impact with a Small Team (feat. Megan Baeza and Maribea Merritt)

Megan Baeza and Maribea Merritt, the two-person career services team at the University of Texas Permian Basin, are responsible for serving more than 5,000 students. So they’ve learned a thing or two about how to make a big impact with a small team.

In this episode, Megan, the Director of Internships and Employer Relations, and Maribea, the Director of Career Education, share six specific strategies they use to make the most of their limited staff and resources, including:

1. Teamwork: Sharing tasks, communicating, dividing and conquering, jumping in to help with duties outside of their job description, and more.
2. Tools and technology: Making career resources available 24/7 via tools like uConnect, offering online appointment scheduling, using tools like Mentimeter in classroom presentations, etc.
3. Consistent student outreach: Sharing jobs via Handshake, sending automated newsletters to students (curated with content personalized to their interests and identities), and more. 
4. Community partnerships: Partnering with student clubs, employers, alumni, and faculty; starting a Career Champion program; and more. 
5. Time management: Being purposeful about blocking calendars and saving time for paperwork, event/presentation prep, travel, and collaborating with each other and partners. 
6. Classroom presentations: Finding larger audiences to make a big impact (like UTPB’s freshmen seminar class), creating interactive presentations, and more. 

Resources from the episode:

• UTPB career center website
• Career Champions program page

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