How to Make the Most of your Business School's Career Services

Sponsored by EDHEC

University career services are one of the greatest missed opportunities of student life, with over 50 percent of students not using their school’s careers office at all, according to an Aftercollege survey of 600 college students. While not all business schools have the same standards when it comes to offering students unique and intelligent professional coaching, ignoring your school’s career services team altogether could ultimately cost you a job offer. Discover how to make the most of your school's career offerings with our top tips.

Pay a visit to your career services team at the start, not the end, of the term

Many master’s students lose out on job opportunities because they don’t realize the enormous amount of help they can receive from a good career services team, from day one of their studies right up until graduation. One of the secrets to finding a top job quickly is a strong CV and a good career services team that will guide you as you progress through your degree. EDHEC’s career center, for example, offers individual coaching, career training, recruitment activities and career-related tools and resources, including guides, tests, and networks.

Use the career center as a hub to meet business contacts

EDHEC students have priority access to opportunities with over 150 companies and top recruiters including Capgemini Consulting, Deloitte, PWC, Unilever, Danone, L’Oréal, Accenture, Lactalis, EY, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Goldman Sachs. These are advertised on a regularly-updated jobs listing website. Find out whether your business school has any corporate partners you’d like to work for and, if so, whether they’re actively recruiting on your campus.

Beyond access to specific job opportunities, it’s possible your school, like EDHEC, works closely with recruiters and businesses to advise students on how to prepare for the individual recruitment processes of major international companies.

Actually make the effort to go to career fairs and workshops

Going to company presentation days or industry-specific graduate career fairs may sound soul-crushing, but it could make all the difference.

Even the best career services can’t guarantee that you will get a job, but they can give you opportunities to meet recruiters and discover jobs. These could range from career fairs, networking events, job boards bursting with openings or treks to London or Paris to meet line managers and HR teams. Speaking to a recruiter in person is more informal and relaxed than an email and it helps them put a face to a CV, while also giving you a great sense of the company culture and whether it’s right for you.

Don’t neglect career workshops either. EDHEC regularly organises training days on a number of topics, which range from how to brand yourself to employers to perfecting your interview technique. Whatever the focus, you’ll learn something valuable for your own future, so keep an eye out for events happening at your school.

Learn to brand yourself to employers

Landing a great job is a process. It starts with knowing yourself extremely well (what you enjoy, what you don’t, what you’re good at and the type of corporate culture you would thrive in), and coming up with a unique selling proposition that differentiates you from thousands of similar candidates. If this sounds daunting, your career services team should be able to help you put together an action plan. To this end, EDHEC hired 30 full-time professional coaches to work with students in groups and one-on-one sessions.

Have faith in your career team

Career teams comprise of HR experts, former industry employees or recruiters, career coaches and psychologists. Trust that your career center has put in place a program that could help you get the job of your dreams.

Obviously some career teams perform better than others. EDHEC’s career center has a usage rate of more than 90 percent from master’s students and a satisfaction rating of more than eight out of 10, making them the best-rated career center in France, according to Universum. Among other things, they offer a Talent Identification and Career Development program, which is adapted to your master’s program specialization and can extend for the duration of your studies. It includes a full assessment center, plus coaching by industry experts and career events such as the Finance Career Days or the Map Your Career Week.

Whether you’re studying management, financial economics, business management, or strategy, consulting and digital transformation, don’t lose out on the enormous benefits of an expert career services team.

This article was originally published on February 15th, 2018.