Dr. Gina Lizares, Dean of the U.P. Virata School of Business, had, for the longest time, dreamed of having a program like the JC x UP CAP Career Coaching Program. And, collaborating with Shaun Salazar, President of the U.P. Career Assistance Program, initially planned its architecture but, unfortunately, she admitted, it never got off the ground. Until, one fortuitous lunch date, Dean Lizares met and engaged Carol Dominguez, President and CEO of executive search firm John Clements Consultants, Inc. in a rather casual conversation about anything and everything including people development, their common interest. Long story short, that serendipitous encounter was the seminal impetus that gave birth to the program.
The JC x UP CAP Career Coaching Program was the brainchild of a collaboration of the U.P. Virata School of Business Office of the Dean, the U.P. Career Assistance Program (CAP) and HR firm John Clements Consultants. The program was designed to help prepare students, particularly those on 3rd year BA and 4th year BA/BAA, with their career lives especially after graduating from the university. The curriculum and syllabus were tailored to run as one-hour, weekly face-to-face or virtual workshops conducted by experienced professionals/facilitators from talent acquisition firm John Clements who spoke about very useful and relevant topics like networking, personal branding, dressing for success, executive presence, communication skills, resume and cover letter writing, preparing for and going through interviews and the like. This was also complemented by a separate schedule of one-on-one coaching sessions with volunteer coaches from the executive members of the Filipina CEO Circle (FCC) who shared a similar mission of helping the younger generation reach their full potential by mentoring, inspiring and empowering them.
The program commenced last March 2023 with a pilot cohort of fourteen (14) participants specially nominated by the U.P. CAP from a mix of degrees, gender, and industry interests. The sessions lasted for ten (10) weeks and successfully culminated in a simple but memorable graduation ceremony last May 22, 2023. Here are some one-liners about the program from the graduates:
“I thought I was already prepared in pursuing my career until this program opened my eyes and filled in the missing pieces.”
“Thanks to the facilitators who shared their experiences and expertise which I couldn’t simply learn from attending classes.”
“I will be graduating this year and this program will be very helpful for me.”
“Thank you for investing in us and seeing our potential; we’ll make sure to make you proud.”
“I’m really excited to apply what I’ve learned in my career progression!”
“When we started, I had expectations and this program exceeded it!”
In her closing remarks, Dean Lizares acknowledged and thanked her “godmother” (Carol Dominguez) who unselfishly opened up and shared her resources (venue, facilities and people) and ideas, who just kept on giving and never expected anything in return, except perhaps that the participants do good in their lives. She added that if one would quantify the free investment that was put in the program and the benefits that it generated, we would probably be talking about thousands of dollars. She also cited the importance of the pioneers (the participants) of the program who, in effect, were co-architects in going through it and refining it. She hastened to add that it will probably be offered as a course with credits down the road. Addressing the participants in her conclusion, she stated that, as pioneers, they benefited much from the program and how, she wished, they’d remember to give back some day.
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