Talking to a Career Coach right after a student graduates from school or even a year or two before can provide their life path with some solid, well-informed direction. This type of beneficial service is not immediately obvious or available to incoming alumni. They may be too busy with their studies and applications to seek out a career coach in the Philippines, or they might not currently have the funds to hire one.
John Clements Consultants, Incorporated (JCCI), the UP Virata School of Business, and the school’s service organization UP Career Assistance Program (CAP) are joining forces to create the John Clements-UP CAP Career Coach venture. This is a program to prepare students for their careers and post-university lives through weekly one-hour seminars both online and face-to-face. Each participant is also assigned a coach for four formal personal coaching sessions scheduled across the breadth of the program.
John Clements-UP CAP Career Coach’s courses began on March 20, 2023 with Career Visioning, Personal Objective Setting with JCCI’s own CEO and President Carol Dominguez as the presenter. Beyond getting the students more well-acquainted with one another, this module aimed to give them a broad overview of how vital building connections is, the importance of action planning, and how to recognize and organize their respective interests. President Dominguez was joined by her JCCI colleagues to prep those in attendance for what to expect and how to benefit from these career coach meetings.
The following week, John Clements-UP CAP Career Coach attendees were given an online course on Networking with Alina Manaig. It assured students that devoting time and excelling in one’s studies is important, but it is also vital to forge strong connections with their fellow students, professors, graduates, and even internship acquaintances. In this way, they can support one another socially and professionally when substantial career challenges and projects occur both in the Philippines and overseas.
Dressing for Success was the third topic for the session, headed by Tracy Piamonte. Proper attire for interviews and online social profiles was the core focus. Wardrobe misconceptions were cleared up and small yet effective methods to look presentable were provided. Wearing clothes that fit your body type and how to frame them on yourself with good posture were also part of this vital lesson. The session ended with each participant sharing a photo of themselves dressed in their best business attire and critiquing said photo based on what they learned during the class session.
The fourth session on April 10, 2023 was concerned with a vital career development skill: Resume Writing. This first of a two-part sequence in the John Clements-UP CAP Career Coach program had Mario Biscocho display the proper tone and wording for showing one’s experience on offline and online resumes and CVs. Proper arrangement and formatting for both types of documentation were also covered in a clear and actionable fashion. Similar to the prior sessions, the class ended with a few participants sharing their resume and critiquing them based on the lessons learnt in class.
Recently, the program had its fifth session, Executive Presence with JCCI’s frequent advanced learning expert, Michael Cannon. With a number of fundamentals worked through in the previous four weeks, the attendees were ready to chart higher level territory. Executive Presence is all about inspiring and generating confidence in oneself and those around them to clear away doubts so they can focus on achievement.
There are additional topics in the John Clements-UP CAP Career Coach syllabus that will be taught and talked about in the coming weeks. These further sessions will discuss Communication, Mock Interviews, and more.
Though the current crop of candidates has been handpicked from students of the UP Virata Business School and members of UPCAP, the success of the program could encourage all three parties to craft further seminars with greatly refined techniques and course work. Feedback from the participants and lecturers, as well as interest in academic and professional circles, will play a substantial role in this initiative to improve the quality and availability of career coaching in the Philippines.
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