1. Empirics, Anecdote, or Lore?
Making Data-driven decisions in Career Services
UCDA: Lisa
UAA: Derek

2. Derek Jack: Associate Director, Career Advancement
Introductions
Derek Jack: Associate Director, Career Advancement
Monte Marshall: Associate Director, University Career Services
Lisa Christensen: Associate Director, Career Advancement
Michael Ricks & Jaclyn Foster: Research Assistants
You…?
UCDA: Lisa
UAA: Derek

3. How Do You Decide What Advice To Give?
4 foundations for decision-making:
Personal Opinions
Anecdotal Experiences
Occupational Traditions
Empirical Evidence
UCDA: Lisa
UAA: Derek

4. Religion on resumes: Taboo?
Derek’s Story
UCONN Study
Getting Funding
Research Assistants
UCDA: Lisa
UAA: Derek
Religious college graduates have some resume revising to do, according to recent studies from a group of University of Connecticut sociologists. The field experiments on the relationship between religious affiliation and firing discrimination showed that mentioning involvement in campus religious groups on a resume hurts an applicant’s chances of hearing back from potential employers.
“Overt religious expression in the workplace – regardless of the specific religion – may be perceived as potentially offensive to coworkers, clients or customers,” the researchers explained.

5. Articulate the question you want answered
Conducting Research
Articulate the question you want answered
If we could answer one question, what would it be?
Search for relevant research already in existence
What field of research may be useful?
Sociology, Psychology, and Human Resources Management
Do the findings apply well to my question?
Perform additional investigation when necessary
What resources do we have?
What help will we need?
How can we design a study that will answer our question?
UCDA: Monte
UAA: Mike or Monte?
Conducting research is often intimidating for those of us who have not gone through a PhD program. In reality, it’s not as scary as it seems however. Here are some suggestions to get you started (included on your handout.)

6. Planning the Project Creating Resumes Applying for Jobs Gathering Data
The Experiment
Planning the Project
Creating Resumes
Applying for Jobs
Gathering Data
Identifying Results
UCDA: Monte
UAA: Mike or Monte?

7. 3 Missionary samples ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
Volunteer (Full time) Jan/ Jan/ Non-Profit Organization, Concepcion, Chile
Served in many volunteer leadership positions that included training new volunteers in a one-on-one setting, as well as managing groups of 6-20 volunteers
Supervised 15 volunteers, increasing our productivity by 100% and surpassing the 11 other volunteer groups in Concepcion
3 Missionary samples
OTHER EXPERIENCE
Jan 2013-Jan Religious Organization Lima, Peru
Maintained an independent and efficient work schedule for two years, averaging over 65 hours per week with zero sick days
Increased effectiveness of 22 volunteers through weekly trainings and following-up, with a focus on preparing them to communicate well, set and achieve meaningful goals, and be able to train new volunteers
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Full-Time Volunteer /2011-1/2013
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Oaxaca, Mexico
Taught literacy skills, family relations, and personal finance principles to more than 120 individuals
Increased team effectiveness by providing training in individual communication, problem solving, goal setting, and strategy skills to 18 other volunteers

8. How did the different groups compare?
UCDA: Monte
UAA: Mike
Students who listed “Religious Organization” received significantly more invitations to interviews than the control group
Perhaps the generic “Non-Profit Organization” is less salient to HR personnel reviewing resumes
Explicit religious affiliation is equivalent to having a two year gap. Listing “Non-Profit” is worse

9. What Questions Would You Like to Answer?
UCDA & UAA: Lisa

10. What we would have done differently Moving forward
Conclusion
What we would have done differently
Moving forward
UCDA & UAA: Lisa
IRB=Institutional Review Board. The IRB is a committee established to review and approve applications for research projects involving human subjects. The primary purpose of the IRB is to protect the rights and welfare of the human subjects.

11. Presenter Contact Information
Brigham Young University
University Career Services
ucs.byu.edu
Derek Jack:
Monte Marshall:
Lisa Christensen: