MBA Career Coach Advice
What are the Benefits of an MBA Career Coach?
- Identify your transferable skills when you are seeking a career transition or seeking to enter a new industry.
- Assess your career opportunities based on your personal goals.
- Polish your resume as an impartial third-party. Career coaches have experience working with hiring managers across many industries. They are also trained to be experts as resume writers and understand how organizations use resumes to find candidates.
- Provide advice on presentation and interviewing skills.
- Provide greater personal and career growth.
- Show you how to improve your leadership and interpersonal skills. In addition, they help you learn to healthily integrate your work with the rest of your life.
- Help you set measurable goals for your journey and create a process to track them.
- Motivate you to see how others view your personal skills to help you become a better professional.
- Assist in personalizing your resume, cover letters, and interviews.
- Provide access to a larger network for job opportunities.
- Navigate salary negotiations
- Motivate and teach you to gain career confidence, insight, encouragement, and inspiration.
Traits of a Great Career Coach
Regardless of where you choose to look, keep an eye out for professionals who have several years of experience, certifications, and strong client testimonials. There are many MBA career coach options, but the most important factor is making sure your relationship is the right fit. Take into account their coaching style and personality. Finding the right fit maximizes your potential to have a successful experience. It is also important to find a coach who has had actual experience in your preferred industry or career. These coaches will have larger networks within those industries and also understand the nuances of your career choice. Lastly, it is important your career coach has strong coaching experience and training. Anyone can claim to be a great career coach, but their experience is one of the most important credentials of them all. Certificates can also enhance a coaches skill set, but should not be prioritized over experience.
Difference Between a Career Coach and Career Services
MBA Career coaches are provided to students within a school’s career services department. Career services have a broader range of resources. They also provide larger-scale resources such as job postings, recruiting events, and research specialists. Career coaches work within the career services department. Some schools offer personal career coaches, while others provide coaches for a cohort of students.
For example, if you’re a student in the Full-Time MBA program at the Kelley School of Business, you will take part in their unique Me, Inc. program before you even start classes. Me, Inc. will help you better understand your skills, your interests, and the types of careers and companies that are a good fit for you. Me, Inc. shapes your personal brand, dives into career development, and understand your leadership style.
Identifying Bad Coaches
With so many benefits to hiring an MBA career coach, students also need to be aware of low-quality coaches. The industry has a wide range of quality coaches, some good, some bad. The most important factor to consider is coaches who promise a ‘one-size-fits-all-approach’ – a coaching relationship should be extremely personalized. Any coach who promises a basic working relationship will not provide the individualized personal development you should be seeking. Secondly, career coaching is a process. It takes time, energy, and commitment to be successful. Coaches who promise a quick fix to your goals or problems should raise suspicion. Lastly, make sure your financial agreement is transparent. If you are a student seeking career coaching, research how involved your coach will be and the number of students they work with. When hiring a career coach outside of your program, make sure the relationship is clear and concise.
About the Author
Ryan Nemetz
Ryan is the Director of Client Services at MetroMBA and Clear Admit. He has over six years of experience in higher education including his current role and serving as a college basketball coach at Eastern University for four years.
