Darden Global MBA for Executives Class of 2014

Darden students have access to a variety of career services from the Career Development Center, and one of the most popular is individual career coaching. During the most recent school year, Darden’s career consultants conducted approximately 2,500 student coaching sessions — an average of three coaching sessions per student.

What is coaching?
Coaching is “a co-discovery and learning process through which the individual being coached achieves ‘ah-ha’ moments as a result of the coach-client interactions.” *

Why might I need a career coach?
At a very simple level, a career coach can serve as a sounding board when making career decisions. A career coach can also help you establish career goals and develop a career plan, for which you can hold yourself accountable with the coach’s guidance. A career coach guides you through the job search process, but can not “place” you in your next role.

Who is my career coach?
Jack Oakes serves as the Global MBA for Executives career consultant. He teaches Darden’s Career Management series for MBAs and leads seminars in all aspects of career management. He advises MBA students on professional development topics, including setting career objectives, creating marketing plans, and writing cover letters and resumes. Jack joined the Darden team in 2005. Prior to Darden, he worked in marketing in consumer goods, investment management and private wealth management. Jack earned a Darden MBA in 1989.

How often can I meet with my career coach?
On average, Jack meets with students three times during the Global MBA for Executives program. Typically, the focus of a single coaching session is to:

• Establish a career objective;
• Discuss a marketing plan; or
• Conduct a mock interview.

In addition, Jack provides written feedback on resumes and cover letters through e-mail.

How do I get started?
E-mail Jack at oakesj@darden.virginia.edu to schedule your first appointment. He is available to meet with students in person, by telephone, or through Microsoft Lync.

Jack Oakes
oakesj@darden.virginia.edu
Darden MBA ’89
Assistant Dean for Career Development, Career Coach for GEMBA

* “How Executive Coaching Can Fuel Professional – And Personal – Growth”, Kaveh Naficy and Lynn Isabella, OD Practitioner, Vol. 40 No. 1, 2008.

When looking for a job, you need to be your own CEO and own your job search. You know yourself better than anyone else — your past performance and your knowledge, skills and attributes. You have ideas about what you would like to do next and thoughts about how to make those dreams a reality. But, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can conduct your job search alone. You should appoint a board of career advisors, people who know you and can help to guide you in this process.

What is a Career Advisory Board?
A Career Advisory Board (CAB) supports you in three ways:

1. Encouragement – A job search can be an emotional drain, especially during today’s dynamic economy. A CAB provides critical support to even out the emotional highs and lows.
2. Expertise – A job search requires a significant amount of research and know-how. A CAB consists of experts, with a deep understanding of an industry, function, company and/or position, as well as knowledge of the job search process and they know you as well!
3. Access – The most effective job searches rely on an extensive network, given that 80% of jobs are filled through networks. A CAB expands your network and reach exponentially.

Who should sit on your Career Advisory Board?

A strong CAB has between four and eight members. The best board members are available and accessible for the duration of your transition. Appoint at least one member from each of the following profiles:

• Knows you very well and serves as a reality-check
• Worked with you in the past and understands your value and career progression to date
• Works in your target market (industry, function, company and/or position)

As your GEMBA career coach, I would like to serve on your Career Advisory Board. I bring over seven years of experience supporting MBAs in establishing their career goals and executing a plan to achieve them. Click here to learn more about me.

How do you invite members to join your Career Advisory Board?

Start with a simple, but direct, e-mail:

Dear (insert name),

As you know, I am embarking on a journey to earn an executive MBA at the Darden School of Business. As a result, I’m creating a Career Advisory Board — a group of advisors who will provide encouragement, expertise and access throughout this journey.

While identifying a list of potential board members, I thought of you. I value your expertise and opinion. I firmly believe that you can provide (insert the role that you want that individual to play). I anticipate that I would like to touch base with you (insert frequency) until I’ve successfully transitioned. Will you serve on my Career Advisory Board?

Thank you for your consideration.

If you have any questions about creating a CAB, please feel free to contact me.

Jack Oakes
oakesj@darden.virginia.edu
Darden MBA ’89
Assistant Dean for Career Development, Career Coach for GEMBA

Welcome to Darden! As the career coach for GEMBA students, and the assistant dean for career development, I am excited to welcome you to Darden, and look forward to working with you over the next few years. In this blog post, I wanted to talk a bit about the career push/career pull strategy, and how you can expect to work with me as your career coach.

When executive MBA students arrive at Darden, over two-thirds of them typically describe their approach to career management as reactive or at least partially reactive, climbing from one rung on the corporate ladder to another without questioning where the ladder goes or what wall the ladder is leaning against. This career management “strategy” is commonly called “career push.”

We encourage students to shift away from this “push” strategy towards what we call “career pull” With a “pull” strategy, the student envisions where they want to be five or more years from now and identifies a set of alternative pathways for getting there. The metaphor for this “pull” strategy is not a ladder, but a lattice of multiple, intersecting paths connecting one’s current position to one’s career aspirations.

Creating this lattice approach involves a number of steps. One of the first is to meet and co-develop a personalized career strategy. This conversation could include:

1. You describe your current role and responsibilities, as well as the highlights of your previous experience.
2. We envision your desired future career (it helps if you have done some comprehensive self-assessment of who you are and what you want).
3. We discuss competency gaps — knowledge, skills or attributes that you will need, but do not currently have to be successful in your desired future career.
4. We discuss network gaps — relationships that you need to create and/or deepen to be successful in your desired future career.
5. We develop alternative pathways that will close competency and network gaps, while propelling you toward your desired future career.

The “pull” strategy works. With Darden supporting them, executive MBAs are ready to advance their careers, pulling them in the direction of their dreams. How will you advance your career with Darden? I look forward to working with you on advancing your career!

Jack Oakes
Darden MBA ’89
Assistant Dean for Career Development