There is no such thing as a one-size fits-all approach to career education at business schools. While some students are just entering the workforce and need help with résumé building and interview skills, others are looking for career coaching to help them advance on the path to the C-suite.
The Kellstadt Career Management Center offers a variety of programming for students and alumni at all career stages, though career advancers make up the majority of requests for its coaching, says Jennifer Kopczynski (MED ’08, BUS MS ’17), director of the center. “They have an idea of what they want to do with their careers, whether it is staying in the same company, function or industry, and are looking for additional career education to help them advance.”
The Career Management Center created the Executive Career and Leadership (EXCEL) workshop series for working professionals who have at least three to five years’ experience. The quarterly workshops have tackled such subjects as “How to Build a Personal Brand,” “Building a Business Case to Hire You” and “Take Charge of Your Career.”
Naeem Morris (MBA ’17) attended every EXCEL workshop offered during his time at DePaul.
“I like to get to workshops a few minutes early and stay a little later to exchange business cards,” says Morris, who works in sales management. “I found EXCEL to be a great opportunity to network with other MBA students and alumni and come away with tactics and information to help with career goals.”
Morris’s goal is to be a chief marketing officer (CMO). The EXCEL workshop that he felt was most effective for him was “Advancing Your Career While Employed.” This seminar taught participants how to leverage their MBA within their organizations to move ahead in their careers.
“I always come away with a new tool or tip that has helped me in my career,” says Morris, who recently started a new position at LeasePlan USA. “In this particular workshop, I learned the ROI of advancing internally or externally, and how to identify and develop special skills, create corporate capital and understand the importance of having advocates on your team.”
In addition to the EXCEL workshops, the Kellstadt Career Management Center offers BUILD workshops for early career development and a BOOST webinar series for ongoing career management. Alumni are welcome at any workshop series and can take advantage of the center’s unlimited career coaching.
Learn more
For more information about the EXCEL workshops, email cmc@depaul.edu.
By Andrew Zamorski
