Career strategy workshops

Benefits of workshops

• Raise awareness• Create time for reflection• Provide frameworks• Create momentum• Help sustain focus and motivation• Opportunities for peer check and feedback• Manage stress!• Complementary to one-to-one coaching

Developing a career strategy...

• Self-awareness

• Career planning

• Self-marketing

• Job-hunting techniques

• Review

• Self-assessment (including competencies)

• Career vision

• Understanding roles, industries, work environments

• Identifying an ideal job, second best, fall-back option

• CV writing, cover letter, interviewing

• Assessment centres, case study exercises

• Managing relationships with key career stakeholders

• Networking & unsolicited applications

Self-assessment

• Step 1: hold an exercise (group exercise, that also requires analytical skills) or use a self-assessment test

• Step 2: write a “shield” with– What are your strengths?– What are your areas of development?– What achievements demonstrate your strengths?– What do you intend to do to work on your areas of

development?

• Step 3: discussion in pairs and/or review

Career vision

• Career vision defined through Interests, Values, Skills.– Provide examples for each– Explain significance in career choices

• Write down own Interests, Values, Skills.

• Introduce a few companies' visions (e.g. mission statement) and try to identify their interests, values and skills.

• Ask to write a tentative career vision.

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Help our clients make distinctive, lasting, and substantial improvements in their performance and to build a great firm that attracts, develops, excites, and retains exceptional people.

Understanding roles, industries

• Workshops with alumni, recruiters

• Introduce “a day in the life”

• Alumni Q&A panels

• Run case study workshops (e.g. consulting)

Ideal choice, second best, fall-back

• Job is defined through Role, Industry and Culture (public/private, SME/bluechip, geographical location)

• Write options (3 choices for each)

• Create a scale of risk

• Discuss in pairs and review

CV writing, cover letter, interviewing• Presentation followed by work in pairs• Use actual job ad or apply for ideal job role

Assessment centres, case study exercises

• Introduce feedback rules• Run exercise and act as observer• Facilitate feedback session• Invite recruiter

Career stakeholders• Identify stakeholders:

– Internal network (if currently employed)– External network– Recruitment industry– Coach/mentor

• Work in groups to discuss ways of managing relationships with these stakeholders

• Report from each group and review with additional feedback

More networking workshops• Write unsolicited applications:

– Identify target organisation– Identify project / contribution– Write a project proposal in a cover letter– Peer review

• Networking skills– How to pitch yourself

• Practice self-introduction• Write a personal profile

– Business etiquette

Review - “Job Club”• Job-hunting process:

– Identify Role, Industry, Culture– Make list of target companies– Establish a strategy for each company– Review

• Job Club meets regularly– Share progress– Give feedback and tips

Any questions?