A professor is not just a professor. They are also mentors and support systems for all of their students. That is just one of the lessons Michelle Newsome, Ph.D., MBA, learned on her amazing professional journey from a 19-year-old marketing intern to professor. Having started her career while she was still a full-time undergraduate student, Dr. Michelle Newsome became an expert at balancing multiple roles and multiple workloads.
Dr. Michelle Newsome drew upon her own experiences working in Marketing, Human Resources, and Software Implementation, while primarily working for software as a service (SaaS) companies, as the basis of her dissertation. Her dissertation examined the lived experiences of senior women leaders in Information Technology (IT).
“We already know that women are minorities in the IT field,” Dr. Michelle Newsome said during a recent online interview. “What I needed to analyze was how women entering the IT field ascend into senior leadership positions. My findings were that women who ascended into leadership positions in the IT field had supportive families and mentors to support them in their careers. The IT field can be very demanding, requiring long hours. A supportive family is very important. It was certainly true for me, and I find that it is what my students are looking for from me. It is very rewarding when they ask me to be a mentor and to stay in touch with them after the course is complete.”
Dr. Michelle Newsome teaches graduate-level courses online in Professional Growth and Leadership, Change Management, and Corporate Social Responsibility in Communications. Her students come from a variety of business disciplines such as Leadership, Healthcare Management, Project Management, and Communications.
“I was an online student for my Master’s degree and most of my doctoral program,” Dr. Michelle Newsome remembered. “I have online experience as both a student and an instructor, not to mention I am a military spouse. I find a lot of my students are in the same position. They are dealing with deployments and re-assignments and often need extensions to deal with their lives and school. My courses provide stability and support when everything else is always changing.”
To keep her own course assignments and work stable, Newsome uses services offered by The Babb Group. TBG assisted Michelle Newsome with her CV, but it’s the job application services that she finds especially valuable.
“The Babb Group will forward job leads and even apply on my behalf. I know from my experience in HR that applying for jobs in academia is very time-consuming,” she said. “Not only do you have to gather your documents and create an account, but sometimes you even have to write an essay, especially if the university has a religious affiliation and you need to craft an essay to explain how your values align with theirs. Of course, I write the essay, but The Babb Group manages all of my files and submits it as part of the submission package.”
“At first I was skeptical about spending money for a job lead service,” Michelle Newsome said, “but it’s really amazing how time-consuming the job application process can be, especially if you’re working full time and if you have no experience. I’ve heard that a new instructor can expect to submit 100 applications before getting their first call for an interview. That alone is just a huge undertaking.”
Dorothy Miraglia
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