The Career Services Model in Asia and Beyond

• By: admin
• On: 03/23/2023 09:06:54
• In: Schools

by Marie Bergeron, MBA CSEA 2023 APAC Conference Committee member and Director, Career Development at Rice Business School

Attendees at the MBA CSEA APAC Conference in Singapore were given the opportunity to learn from highly-experienced Career Services professionals and to gain insights into best practices globally.

The panelists included:

• Ashley Cross, Associate Director of Career Services, Carnegie Mellon
• Ivy Kwan, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean, Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University
• Rhoda Yap, Global Director, Career Development Centre, INSEAD
• Heather Yockey, Director of Employer Relations and Recruiting, Vanderbilt University

The panel was skillfully moderated by DW Lee, Senior Director, Career Development Office, Asia School of Business in collaboration with MIT Sloan Management
Engagement, with both Students and Employers, was at the heart of the discussion.

As to Employer Engagement, panelists spoke of leveraging alumni bases and loyal employers to create meaningful treks to company facilities in different geographic locations. These have proved popular with students, but also added strength to employer relationships and sometimes produced employment opportunities. Additional types of activities that served to enhance employer engagements included: On-campus recruiting weeks (including lunches to gain feedback and improve service delivery), reverse career fairs, fireside chats alumni involvement events. There seemed to be agreement that career fairs are losing a bit in popularity and efficacy.

Student Engagement discussions involved a number of issues and programming opportunities. There was universal agreement that a major, early task for career services in supporting students was to level set expectations, especially for international students who face significant headwinds in the form of visa issues. The experts agreed that leveraging industry experts-in-residence or loyal alumni to provide students with information around industries and roles can help in the decision process. Experiential learning is a good way to inform students choices around career. Finally, engaging with the community can provide opportunities for students to broaden networks and understand career paths better.

Finally, the group explored specialized programs, like Data Science, and their increasing popularity among students who also consider MBAs. The notion of partnering cross-departmentally to enhance skills that are selling in the MBA marketplace, like quantitative Financial Services, was universally endorsed by the panel.