April 24, 2020, by Business School Postgraduate Careers

Career Coaching Services: Thinking that you need to pay for career coaching? Think again!

Are you making the most of what is on offer as part of your MSc from the Business School’s Postgraduate Careers Team?

• A series of online careers sessions to help you navigate the current situation.
• 1-1 coaching with an experienced Careers Consultant to discuss your individual career pathway, job applications and interviews.
• The latest insights and presentations from employers and alumni around the world.
• Access to a network of over 150,000 University of Nottingham alumni and experienced professionals.
• Placement and work experience opportunities.
• Practice sessions for video interviews, employers’ recruitment tests and online assessment centres and mock interviews.
• Weekly careers lectures to help you present yourself effectively and understand the UK recruitment process.
• Job search platforms including Student Circus which specialises in UK Graduate jobs with Tier 2 sponsorship and Passport Career and the EFMD Get Hired Global Talent Portal for Global job opportunities, networking and research.
• Access to online careers fairs, employer events and webinars.

This and much more at no extra cost!

So I don’t need to pay for career coaching?  No!

If you haven’t already, take a good look at our MSc Careers pages on Moodle and your MSc Career Development Handbook . You can see that you have access to:

• all the careers lectures and workshops that have been recorded.
• information on access codes for the subscriptions that we pay for you to use.
• lots of useful advice on how to network on LinkedIn, build your CV/resume, write an effective cover letter, complete an application form, perform well in online tests, interviews and assessment centres, prepare for case study interviews, carry out company research and much more.
• sign up lists for upcoming sessions.

We are reminding you of everything you have access to as we are aware that there are a number of companies out there who are contacting you about their chargeable services, perhaps suggesting that they can guarantee job offers, and charging large amounts of money for coaching services.

Be careful what you pay for

We know that many students have hopes and dreams to start their careers in prestigious multi-national companies and many can find the process confusing and complicated.  Perhaps this is why, when approached by career coaching companies on social media offering guarantees of jobs with top companies, that many students are tempted to sign up to expensive contracts.

In times of uncertainty a guarantee of something can sound very tempting. But can a career coaching company really guarantee a job?  In the UK, as with many countries, it is always the employer who decides who they offer a job to – if you don’t have the right skills, knowledge, experience or attitude, then no matter how much you pay, you won’t be offered the job.

Whilst career coaching companies can help you prepare for the recruitment process, it still requires a lot of hard work from you to develop the necessary skills to present yourself effectively in your application form and video interviews, pass online assessments and perform well in assessment centres.

Of course it is up to you if you want to use the services of one of these companies, but we would encourage you to do some due diligence before signing a contract. Here are some questions we would suggest you ask:

Is what they are offering available through the Business School’s Postgraduate Careers Team?

You MSc package already includes access to dedicated careers support from the Postgraduate Careers Team all detailed in the MSc Career Development Handbook

Can you find independent reviews about the company?

Whilst many of these companies will have case studies on their webpages or in their marketing material of students and graduates who have secured a job offer, can you find independent reviews from people who have used their services on the internet?  Can you find out how long their company has been established for (you can do a free search for UK companies at Companies House)? If it is a very new company, perhaps only registered this year, it is unlikely that they will have a track record of success stories.

Are you feeling under pressure to sign up?

You may have a number of companies contacting you about their services, all telling you that they can guarantee that job you’ve always wanted.  A reputable company should always provide you with clear details of what their service includes, have a clear pricing structure, should never pressure you to sign up to a contract and have a transparent cancellation policy.  If they are repeatedly contacting you, playing on your fears and emotions and offering time-limited deals, this could make you feel that you have to sign up without having time to think about it or discuss it with your family or other people you trust.  In the UK, services bought at a distance (online or over the phone) allow you a 14-day cooling off period, during which time you can cancel if you change your mind.

Does it sound too good to be true?

Unfortunately, as with most things in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  It is highly unlikely that anyone would be offered a job without having an interview, it is also unlikely that any company would ask for passport details and bank account details at the application stage.

If you are feeling unsure about what to do if you’re approached by a career coaching company, we are happy to discuss this with you in a confidential and non-judgemental careers consultation.  We are keen that you don’t pay out money unnecessarily but ultimately, the decision is yours to make and we can help you to ask the right questions and consider the information available so that you can make an informed decision that you are happy with.  You can contact us at businesspcs@nottingham.ac.uk  with any questions or to arrange to speak to a Careers Consultant.

 

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