Talk to a Career Coach

The Career Development Office (CDO) has a team of career coaches who work with students 1:1 to directly support students in achieving their career-related goals. This looks different from student to student and session to session. We use a coaching model centered around what the student individually needs at the moment.

Coaching sessions might be questions-oriented, a review of best practices and resources, a review of documents’ content, reflection on well-being in the job search, and practice.

The CDO also hires and trains a team of Peer Career Coaches to meet with BSI and master's students at UMSI. This is a valuable opportunity to receive peer coaching from students who have successfully gone through the internship/job search process. These students have applied their UMSI knowledge to diverse roles and industries.

$LaTeX: \downarrow$ Options for coaching appointments and preparing for a coaching session are below $LaTeX: \downarrow$

Schedule a 1:1 Appointment with a Career Coach on CareerLink

1:1 appointments with a coach are an opportunity to ask questions, explore resources, review materials, and practice topic areas.

Check out this handout for support in scheduling an appointment

Attend Drop-in Hours

Drop-in hours are for quick (10 min or less) career-related questions. These questions might relate to your resume, using CareerLink, setting a goal for your job/internship search, getting LinkedIn tips, etc. No reservation is required!

Join the Queue Here: https://officehours.it.umich.edu/queue/1022/
- Check out this handout for support on joining the virtual drop-in queue
- Learn more about using Remote Office Hours Queue as an attendee
You can find current drop-in offerings in CareerLink events. Typically drop-in is offered during the residential academic year (i.e., September-May).
Note: Students will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot always guarantee you will see a coach during peak times.
- If you have an immediate need, please email umsi.careers@umich.edu or umsi.internships@umich.edu and/or join the queue at the next available window.

$LaTeX: \ast$ Preparing for a Coaching Session $LaTeX: \ast$

Career coaching is a collaborative process that empowers students with the knowledge and confidence to take the next steps in their career journey. Appointments are tailored to address your individualized career goals and the challenges you're facing.

Students play an active role throughout the process, engaging in self-reflection, asking questions, brainstorming possible solutions, and implementing the action plans co-created with your career coach. Through career coaching, coaches will challenge students, provide a safe space to try new things, and be by students’ side to celebrate their success.

How to prepare:
- While preparation is encouraged, CDO coaches do not expect students to always come completely prepared. We welcome the ‘messy’ questions
- Pause & Reflect on your goals
  - Where are you in the process?
  - Be timely- think about what is your most pressing concern
  - Be honest- what are you worried or anxious about
- Define your objectives: Try to name the priority items and identify what you need or are seeking help on
  - **If you don’t know that is ok! Coaches will work with you to discern this
- Mentally prepare for feedback and questions
Tips for success in career coaching
- Bring a growth mindset & anticipate being challenged to grow
- Prepare to be vulnerable
- Brainstorm questions to ask or concerns you have
- Bring any materials you want reviewed with you (and be ready to share)
- Document in a way that makes sense for you- take notes, add to your project management tool, etc.
- Follow up on action items & schedule additional follow-up sessions (or attend drop-ins) (see instructions above $LaTeX: \uparrow$ )