Pearson Campus Project: California State University, Fullerton
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
By: Nicolle Wilson
Synopsis
Pearson, the globally recognized and reputable publishing company, is a name that is
synonymous with education, success, and revolutionary technology. As a recent college graduate
and continuing student, it has also become a staple in my educational journey. Therefore, the
opportunity to join the Pearson team as a publishing sales representative is a true honor.
Pearson’s recruiting and interviewing process is rare in its depth and intensity. It is a great
reassurance to initially learn how much this company prepares candidates to become future
employees— I have never experienced a better first impression. The most interesting aspect of
this process so far has been the Campus Project.
I was very excited to take part in this unique and rewarding opportunity. Upon receiving
the prompt and discovering that I was able to conduct this project at my very own Alma Mater –
California State University, Fullerton— I became even more eager to begin. The opportunity to
learn about Pearson from a professional versus the student perspective was very intriguing. I
immediately began preparing for the project by gathering and organizing strategic information,
sending out introduction and meeting request emails, and setting a meticulous schedule (see the
―1st step: Preparation‖ tab). The more that I prepared, the more I was able to narrow my exact
purpose and intent.
Initially, I took a few days to learn as much as possible about Pearson’s Career and
Professional division. I conducted online research and spent hours browsing the catalog’s 13
disciplines, investing particular focus on the MyLab tutorials. My goal in preemptive research
was to tailor my faculty and staff questionnaire to the most relevant and focused topics. The day
before the project, I felt confident that I was equipped to learn more about Pearson’s position in
the industry, professor and department decision-making criteria and objectives, the book
adoption process, and the ideal characteristics of a publishing sales representative.
On the day of my campus project, I arrived at 7:30am for my first appointment with Kim
Ball and Mike Dickerson, Bookstore Manager and Adoptions Manager, at the Titan Bookstore.
Beginning with the basics, Mrs. Ball and Mr. Dickerson confirmed that the largest enrollments
within the Business and Economics division were the ―Core‖ courses. These courses represent
the lower and upper division requirements for all Business and Economics majors and the course
materials are decided by a committee of department faculty and staff members. Narrowing my
direction, they informed me that the Chair, Vice Chair, Coordinator, and Secretary of each
department are the key decision makers because they choose the textbooks that the committees
vote on.
Mrs. Ball and Mr. Dickerson also provided more detailed information regarding textbook
requisitions, the book adoption process, and bookstore procedures. They noted that paper
requisitions are a thing of the past—CSUF department coordinators now submit electronic
requests through the campus portal, which has made the process easier and quicker. The
bookstore also offers a requisition rewards program, where departments can be awarded $500
from Titan Shops, $250 from Associated Students, and $250 from the Academic Senate for
submitting their requisitions on time. Also interesting, a 2008 amendment to the HEOA law
(Higher Education of America) constitutes that college and university bookstores must publish
their course materials by the time the course schedule is made available to students. The rewards
program and the HEOA law seem to provide a triple win for bookstores, departments, and
publishing companies.
The following interviews consisted of department staff, focusing on chairs, coordinators,
and secretaries since they are the primary decision makers for course materials. I met with at
least two of these decision makers in each department. The decision-making criteria and
objectives in choosing course materials were relatively consistent in each department. This
consistency stems from the fact that a set of pre-determined Learning Objectives and Curriculum
guides are available online for each ―core‖ course. Based on the currently used course material
and desk copies of new materials, the decision-makers choose the texts that most closely match
the pre-determined curriculum guides. Subsequently, they provide all faculty members with
copies of their chosen texts to review and vote on. According to the professors that I interviewed,
the most important criteria include relevance to the syllabus, content comprehensiveness,
resources and support for instructors and students, case studies, critical thinking, student
evaluation, and cost.
Decision-making criteria for department staff and individual professors also rely heavily
on publishing representatives. Faculty members stressed the significance of a representative that
has a profound knowledge of the curriculum guides, the materials that are currently in use, and of
course the textbook they are attempting to sell. Knowledge regarding revisions and resources are
also deemed worthy. In regards to selling a new revision or an entirely new text, faculty
members prefer representatives that can provide a concise proposal, a snapshot of the text, or
mention a few key elements as to not overwhelm professors with irrelevant texts or information.
In terms of the ideal representative’s personality, faculty stressed that responsiveness,
preparedness, following up, approachability, and friendliness are the most important qualities.
Both department staff and professors also mentioned that desk copies, publisher seminars, and
luncheons are especially appreciated. Please view the ―Department and Faculty Profile‖ tab for a
more in-depth and personalized list of contacts and preferences.
After completing my last appointment around 6:00pm, I left campus feeling satisfied and
prepared for a future career with Pearson. Now that I have gained hands-on experience, I am
confident that I would thoroughly enjoy and excel being a Pearson publishing representative. I
learned about so many interesting facets of the business and I know that my personality and
desire for success align perfectly with the requirements for this position. It was very reassuring to
learn that department staff and professors have had great relationships with Pearson
representatives in the past and I would be honored to continue the legacy.
As a potential sales representative, it was encouraging to learn that while Pearson
materials have a huge presence in the Business and Economics Departments at CSUF, there is
still a lot of room to grow. Please refer to the ―Opportunity for Growth‖ tab for further
information and analysis. I am very confident in my ability to be an outstanding sales
representative for Pearson because I am prepared for the challenges and rewards that are
associated with this position. I have a genuine desire to excel and I am willing to do whatever it
takes to be successful within this company. As a meticulously organized and detailed individual
with over 5 years of sales training and experience, I know that I will become an integral asset to
this company. My unwavering commitment to provide the hard work, time, and attention
necessary to succeed as a publishing sales representative will translate into success for the Career
and Professional Division of Pearson Higher Education.