Career Advisory postgraduate studies – after the fifth weekend
“I am looking for a job that matches my experience, but outside my current industry. How do I stand out among candidates who know the industry?”, “I am looking for a job in a field in which I have no experience. How long can such a process take?”. These are very common challenges a candidate faces in a rapidly changing job market. During the fifth weekend of the Career Advisory postgraduate studies, the following topics were discussed: assessment of career goals in the context of market realities and dynamics, and Candidate Positioning – defining a client’s “unique selling proposition” on the market.
Assessment of the career goal in the context of market realities and dynamics
The first day of the fifth weekend was led by Sandra Bichl, who focused on the topic of “Career goal assessments in the context of market realities and dynamics“. She discussed the complexity of the “standard, medium, difficult” job search processes, which is a product of the following elements:
- demand / supply on the job market (number of open job ads vs. number of similar candidates)
- readiness of the profile in the context of one’s goal and presenting it on the CV / LinkedIn profile
- relocation: showing the connection or motivation that is real / realistic (e.g. I am moving for family reasons)
- possible / available technical configurations, e.g. reporting to someone outside Poland in case the candidate is not at the board level.
She also discussed real life examples with the students, such as:
- an experienced lawyer who wants to switch firms
- an employee who wants to get promoted within their current company
- a Head of Sales & Business Development who is considering 3 scenarios: 1) the same position but in another large international organisation, 2) GM in a medium-sized but also international organisation, 3) a change of profile towards a broader HR profile
- a Chief Security Officer who wants to become a board member in a larger, international corporation
- an experienced manager with an international profile who wants to move to Berlin.
Career Positioning
The second day of the fifth weekend was led by Anna Zadrożna, who focused on the topic of “Candidate Positioning – defining unique customer characteristics on the market”. During this day, the knowledge of “How do you help your client find their Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?” and what are the challenges when developing it (from the perspective of the candidate on the job market). It is crucial that the candidate stands out positively among all applicants and, consequently, is invited to recruitment processes. To illustrate this type of situation to the students, the case of a client who wanted to find a job in a field different from their regular one was discussed.
Outplacement
The outplacement topic appeared on both days: on Saturday Izabela Michaliszyn-Liwińska shared her knowledge about this type of services. On Sunday, a Compliance Senior Manager made a guest appearance and talked about his own experiences and expectations as a former participant of such a program.
Reflections after the fifth weekend
“After this weekend, I realize even more how important it is to listen and ask the client questions in order to effectively help them achieve their goals.”
“I’ve realized that when a client comes to a career consultant, supporting them means to help them build their goal from their idea of themselves, not just from the consultant’s vision.”
“It is worth challenging the client to reflect on themselves in order to make them feel that in the future they are fulfilled.”
“This weekend helped me understand how to write a CV for a decision maker and how important it is to have a point of view of one’s own competences as well as successes from the employer’s point of view.”
“Working on a CV and USP is not only about matching the role, but also about discovering the target role – discovering a job that will give you satisfaction.”
“After each weekend, I feel it more than I know how big the responsibility of working with a client is, how challenging it is to learn about different industries and sectors, to build a network to be able to support a client in a safe way.”
“The further into the forest, the more I realise that I know nothing; but everything resonates within me that these studies are a good place for me.”
“The client case we discussed showed me what a powerful tool the right choice of words is in CV writing, how much of a leverage it is in achieving the goal.”
We will keep you informed about our students as well as the progress of our studies.
The enrollment for the 2022/2023 academic year has opened:
- study in Polish – details of the program
- study in English – details of the program
PS. read more about the other meetings:
Are you interested in this field and you don’t want to wait for the next edition? Follow information about our courses – also in-house – on this page:
https://careerangels.eu/become-a-career-consultant/
