Blog Archive Best Practices for Working with Your mbaMission Career Coach

Blog Archive Best Practices for Working with Your mbaMission Career Coach When you decide to work with an mbaMission Career Coach, you will gain a partner who is invested in your success. Our goal is to develop concrete steps to help our clients achieve their career objectives. (Check out our previous blog post on the top five reasons to work with an mbaMission Career Coach.) We believe working collaboratively with a career coach will build your confidence, increase your job search know-how, and accelerate your ability to achieve your career goals. Below are a few tips for making the most of your relationship with your career coach: Understand that it is a partnership. Although your career coach cannot conduct your job search for you, he/she provides personalized guidance, suggestions, and constructive feedback to help you excel at the search. For example, your coach will not call a contact on your behalf, but he/she will strategize with you on how to request the meeting, what to say in the meeting, and how to follow up. In addition, your coach cannot create an effective networking pitch (or, for that matter, a resume, cover letter, or interview story) without important input from you; it requires sharing your interests, skills, and experiences, as well as having an open and honest exchange of ideas. Have realistic expectations. You may want your career coach to have all the answers, but this is not the case. Your coach is not a headhunter who places you in a job; instead, he/she will ask you thought-provoking questions, suggest ways for you to gather the answers you are seeking, and offer tactics to identify jobs of interest to you. Articulate specific goals. Know what you want to accomplish with your career coach; it should be more specific than “get a job.” Think about what obstacles you are facing in your job search, and then use those as the basis for your goals. Work together with your coach to create a plan that includes action items and deadlines. Seek feedback. Your career coach would love to tell you that everything you do is perfect, but sometimes it is not. Your relationship with your coach will be more productive if you are open to his/her probing questions and constructive feedback. Additionally, you should be comfortable offering feedback to your coach if the session does not seem to be moving you toward achieving your goals. Be accountable. Working with a career coach can help you stay on track. Your coach will respond to inquiries within two business daysâ€"sooner in cases of job-related urgencyâ€"and thus expects you to be responsive to his/her emails as well as to be prepared for each coaching call. The above best practices will require your time and energy, but we are confident that our partnership will maximize your success in achieving your job search and career-related goals. Have you been admitted to business school? If so, do you want to get a head start on defining your career goals? Do you need help preparing for job interviews or learning how to effectively network with your target employers? Or maybe you want to be a top performer in your current role but are unsure how to maximize your potential. Let an mbaMission Career Coach help via a free 30-minute consultation! Share ThisTweet Career Advice