1. Group 5 Consulting for Managers HKUST Career Development Office KUMAR, Anoop MAK, Chung Wai Eric RAMANI, Karthik TAM, Wai Yin ZHANG, Zhenhua

2. Group 5 The HKUST Career Development Office’s (CDO) goal is to help students embark on successful careers and help recruiters fill their HR needs. Situation Students assume the CDO will find a job for them and blame the CDO when they can’t find a job when they graduate. Complication What can the CDO do to prepare full-time MBA students within the time length of the MBA program so that they will be successfully employed in their chosen career within 3 months of graduation? Question The CDO needs to introduce a mandatory core course that teaches students how to develop and manage their careers successfully. Answer The course will set a defined schedule and formalized structure Students will put in the necessary time and effort Students will begin early instead of procrastin ating CDO can communic ate more frequently with students and give feedback The course will enable students to be more proactive. Long term career goal planning will motivate students by giving students focus. Students will be made aware of alternativ e career search strategies other than CDO postings Students will be more responsibl e for themselve s instead of blaming CDO The course will integrate career search techniques into an overall strategy. Students will have the skills to reach their career goals Students will have alternativ es and backup plans Students will be more marketabl e to recruiters. Rationale Pyramid Summary

3. Group 5 Students blame CDO for not getting them jobs Why didn’t I get enough interviews from banks? I told the CDO I wanted an internship and none fit what I wanted. They had no job postings I was interested in. I didn’t find the CDO helpful in finding positions that matched my background.

4. Group 5 And are over-reliant on CDO services So What: Students need to look at more alternative methods of career searching. DUMMY DATA

5. Group 5 Alternative career search strategies exists to supplement CDO postings So What: The students be equipped with the techniques of focusing the job search effectively using a wide array of media Students’ search strategies employed as a percentage of total efforts (percentage) Top Tier US school (Columbia) DUMMY DATA HKUST Career development office 10 Source : MCG - Student survey of FT MBA students 100 60 10 20 80 Job boards Referral from Alumni Cold calling / introductory letter Internship/ volunteering

6. Group 5 CDO can communicate frequently & give feedback Students don’t pay a visit to CDO until the course is nearing completion Students assume that the CDO would approach them So What: To engage more with students, a mandatory course could help in increasing student-CDO contact.

7. Group 5 Students will have the skills to reach their career goals 7 So What: The course syllabus is structured in such a way so as to develop the skills needed for the students job search. This is done over several weeks with continuous feedback rather than one off programs. ClassCourse WorkHomework Class 1Introduction to Structured Career Develop Group Work: Understanding goals Assignment: Essay on your personal Career Development Class 2Art of Networking Group Work: Working on networking skills Assignment: Sign up to atleast 3 to 4 Industry events and 1 chamber of commerce Class 3Individual Coaching Sessions: Professional Coaches Setting Long term career goals Assignment: Essay on the long term career goals and strategy to approach the goal Class 4CV Writing Skills Group Work: Peer review of CV’s Assignment: Select 7 companies you want to target and design strategy for applying Class 5Alumni Feedback Session Group Work: Preparing elevator pitch Hand in final version of CV’s Assignment: Essay on backup plan strategy Identify mentors from industry and approach them Class 6Interviewing Skills Group Work: Situational Interviews & mock interviews Assignment: Schedule mock interviews with mentors Class 7Setting milestones for career development and developing a strategy matrix Final Assignment: Strategy matrix for career development and setting milestones SAMPLE Course Syllabus (2 credits)

8. Group 5 Long term career goal planning will motivate students by giving them focus So What: The students would be highly motivated if they are aware of the career goal and would spend more efforts to achieving it (promotes proactive behavior) Motivational theories suggest that people will do well with a clear goal in mind Motivator factors increase job satisfaction :  Achievement  Recognition  Work itself  Responsibility  Advancement  Growth Motivator-Hygiene Factors theory (Herzberg) Specific goals increase performance, and difficult goals, when accepted, result in higher performance than easy goals 1.goals narrow attention and direct efforts to goal-relevant activities 2.goals can lead to more effort in order to reach the goal 3.goals influence persistence Goal-Setting Theory (Hill)

9. Group 5 Students will put in necessary time / effort & not procrastinate Comparison of Time spent on Job hunt activities and % of students placed among HKUST & CEIBS during the MBA life cycle So What: The time spent by HKUST students is considerably lower during the 8-12 month of the MBA program, the peak time for placement – and results in lower % of students placed compared to other schools.

10. Group 5 Students will put in necessary time / effort & not procrastinate How students spend time of different job preparation activities through their MBA ? So What: The students typically spend less time in job preparation activities – in particular important activities such as Cover Letter and CV.

11. Group 5 Students will put in necessary time / effort & not procrastinate WHY students put in less time on employment related activities during the MBA period ? So What: There does exist an assumption that CDO would indeed provide most of the career related support – Hence to change mindset and at the same time help students a mandatory course is required.

12. Group 5 Students will be more marketable to recruiters So What: Students who start early and get feedback on their resume tend to have much better resume’s to suite the job needs than those who do not get feedback. Resume Time Spent: 2 hours with minimal feedback Resume Time Spent: 10 hours with peer feedback