Career Services Office: A holistic approach to career management
27 Jun 2008More than a recruitment agency
The Career Services Office of Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School first opened its doors back in 2002. Since then the philosophy has remained the same: not only to advise full-time students as to a careers programme and coach them in their hunt for a suitable job and employer, but also to introduce companies to the students. The range of services provided has expanded considerably over the years. Mary Roll: “For our Masters’ and MBA students we hold our own career fairs, arrange recruitment events with companies and host business speaker events. In addition to this, our MBA students receive individual career counselling and are offered a full careers programme. Since 2006 we’ve also organised the MBA Recruitment Day, offering companies with a global outlook the opportunity to hire people with international profiles from a reputable local source. And of course we post job opportunities online for our students and have partnerships with other organisations such as MBA Exchange, QS Top MBA and the Carnet platform for career opportunities. Although recruitment is a key part of what the Career Services Office does, our activities are not limited to recruitment alone. Career counselling is another important aspect that can determine an individual’s career competencies, such as knowing how (skills and knowledge), knowing who (knowledge of the labour market and meeting people who could influence their career) and knowing why (clarifying or adjusting their career aspirations). So as you can see, Vlerick adopts a holistic approach to career management.”
Talent also needs to be marketed
The Career Services Office undertakes a lot of initiatives and activities throughout the year, but ultimately it is the student and the potential employer who have to decide if they are the right fit for each other. Mary Roll: “The students have to perform well during their job interview, but must also prepare well. Questions they frequently ask concern the quality of their CV or covering letter, and how to derive the most benefit from the relationships that the Career Services Office has built up with specific companies of interest, in terms of obtaining more information about these companies and about any openings available. Students also ask for advice on salary negotiations and salary expectations. If students get selected for a job interview, they need to come across well. We therefore organise mock interviews, which prepare them for an actual job they’re applying for. Consulting firms often hold case interviews, so we also use our resources to help students familiarise themselves with this type of interviewing method.”
Targeted recruitment
Customer orientation is one of Vlerick’s core values and the same principle applies in recruitment. Corporate partners of the School benefit from preferential access to the students and with some partners Vlerick is exploring ways to increase their visibility. Mary Roll: “We’re looking at how we can fulfil companies’ recruitment needs more effectively and giving them feedback on what students expect from prospective employers. Of course, businesses do have their own requirements. They’re looking to recruit well-qualified candidates, as a large pool of mediocre candidates is not nearly as valuable as a small pool of well-qualified candidates. They’re looking for people who satisfy the basic requirements of the job, but also have a track record of achievement and results, career goals in line with the job being offered, and a covering letter and CV that are attractively put together. Companies are also interested in candidates who have good managerial potential, which includes good communication and feedback skills, leadership ability, negotiating skills, presentation skills in the broad sense, etc. The MBA Recruitment Day is a very good example of a tailor-made initiative, for both students and companies. If we have students who are interested in a job in finance, for instance, we invite financial companies and send them the CVs beforehand.”
Changing hiring policies
As manager of the Career Services Office, Mary Roll keeps a close eye on how things are changing in the market. These trends naturally have an impact on the future of Vlerick students and bring new challenges for the Career Services Office. “The looming global recession can force companies to downsize or implement hiring freezes,” she explains. “Although companies will always need an influx of new talent, helping to find jobs for our students in a weakening economy can be more challenging for us. In order to stay competitive and fill their talent pool, many Belgium-based organisations realise that they will have to adapt their hiring policies in order to attract international profiles and place people with more years of work experience within their organisation, as many senior managers are due to retire soon and the influx of young talent will not be sufficient to fill that gap. This is a new trend that companies are adapting to. As Vlerick makes its mark more forcefully in the international education market, the Career Services Office will also need to expand its service from the local to the global market in order to encompass the international flavour of the School.”
Is there a war for talent going on?
“There’s no denying that a war for talent is under way,” says Mary Roll, “and the main reasons are related to demographics, i.e. the ageing workforce, and a shortage of trained professionals. However, it’s more subtle than just talking about highly trained professionals. Apart from these two predominant reasons, there are a lot of other factors that companies need to bear in mind for their frame of reference when hiring locally or abroad, certainly in a global and international market. A shortage of talent can be a restraint on the future. There’s a shortage of highly trained professionals such as nuclear engineers and IT and finance professionals, but there’s also a shortage of nurses, for instance. To generalise it across all sectors would be very wrong. It’s also a very dynamic phenomenon. There’s a shortage of finance people at the moment, but due to the financial crisis a lot of people are getting fired, so that begs the question whether there really is a shortage or a displacement to other global markets that are hiring these profiles, such as China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Cultural expectations are another factor. The labour market in Belgium, for instance, tends to be very conservative. If you look at employment law, companies are careful about who they’re hiring because of the restrictive rules on dismissal. This brings cultural, contextual factors into the equation. If you move into markets like Russia and China, there’s 0% unemployment. The average length of a job, staying in one position within a company, is 18 months, and every time people change jobs, they can jump to a higher salary. In the eighties and nineties, Indians were moving to the US to boost their salary; now they can earn more by staying in India. The same goes for Russians, and even in some cases for the Chinese.”
Career services in Russia and China
Vlerick has also offered a full-time MBA programme at its campus in St Petersburg since 2006 and will launch the first international full-time MBA at Peking University in October 2008. Providing career services for MBA students in St Petersburg involves close cooperation between Mary Roll and her Russian colleagues. As for Beijing, Vlerick is currently exchanging best practices with the existing career services office there. Ultimately the idea is to work together more closely and enter into partnerships. The recruitment market in Russia and China is very different from the Western European market, however. Mary Roll: “Hiring in Russia and China is very different from hiring in Belgium. You have to be very aware of the frame of reference and of the cultural baggage you take with you in terms of hiring. In China you have to woo people to come to you because they have so much choice and the salaries are very competitive. Turnover is less than two years. Here, you might hear about the differences between the X and Y generation, but the market is still very conservative. Masters’ graduates might switch the first year, but they will stay longer in their second job, whereas in China or Russia people think you’re crazy if you stay. That causes a huge problem with hiring and retention. Companies tend to use head-hunting organisations more. There’s zero unemployment but a high turnover, so head-hunters make a lot of money because they get their fee for 18 months and at the end of it the employees concerned simply hop companies again. The question is whether that’s sustainable because it creates a salary spiral. In the end it’s added on to the cost of products and services.”
Figures
- 83% of students took up employment within three months of graduating
- 11% of students took up employment with the firm where they did their in-company project
- 59% of students found employment in Belgium, and a further 26% in Europe
The three main areas of employment for these graduates were in Banking/Finance/Real Estate (27%), Consulting/Corporate Services (18%) and Manufacturing & High Tech (22%)
Neena George, full-time international MBA student, Leuven
“I joined the MBA programme with a fairly clear idea of what I wanted to do afterwards. The courses I did during my MBA further strengthened my resolve and helped bridge the transition from ‘where I was’ to ‘where I’d like to be’. Working on problems that have no easy solutions brings out the best in me. That’s the kind of challenge I’m looking forward to in my future career. I’m fascinated by the power of strategic marketing. In fact, my in-company project (as part of my MBA) covers this very subject. The Career Services Office at Vlerick has been very supportive and has provided me with a lot of information. In a world where knowledge is power, it’s important to know how things work in the Belgian job market. Coming from India, I’ve noticed a huge cultural divide; bridging that gap, especially when job hunting, was very important. As part of the career service we had mock interviews with Workmaze. The feedback provided proved very useful in my actual interviews. One of the key elements when you’re looking for a job is networking. I’ve met a lot of people through specific career events and company presentations. This helped me in my search, and also enabled me to assess the market. You also need to work on your CV, because at the end of any networking event someone will say: ‘Here’s my card. Please send me your CV’. It then depends on that piece of paper to do the rest of the selling for you! Apart from the one-on-one sessions with Mary Roll, the wide selection of reference material available in the Career Services library and access to career websites like MBA Exchange and Vault were also helpful in drafting a good CV and in preparing for interviews.”
“MBA students make a conscious choice, which fits in perfectly with our long-term strategy”
Luc Van Aelbroeck, Partner Delaware Consulting
Delaware Consulting identifies, plans and implements IT solutions tailored to the business strategy of its clients. The company currently has 260 employees, but needs to increase its workforce by 15% a year in order to support its expansion, and is therefore constantly on the lookout for new talent.
These days some sectors, such as IT, are struggling with a shortage of talent. Has this affected Delaware Consulting?
Luc Van Aelbroeck: “At the moment we’re managing to find enough people with the right qualifications and/or experience. But it’s not straightforward. We’re making ongoing investments in attracting young talent and experienced personnel. We take a two-pronged approach: we target school-leavers and new graduates via campus recruitment and we organise information sessions for people with experience three or four times a year. Some of our employees come along to these sessions and talk about why they took a job with Delaware Consulting and how it’s all worked out. This gives people with a lot of operational experience the chance to explain how they made the move into IT consulting. We’re not looking for people with a specific profile. Usually they’re trained economists, engineers or computer scientists and/or young professionals with business experience in production planning, financial planning, financial controlling or logistics management. We then give them training in the technological know-how relevant to our business. Conversely, we train people with a technical background to bring them up to speed on business strategy.”
What is Delaware Consulting looking for in an international group of MBA students?
Luc Van Aelbroeck: “The MBA students from Vlerick are a perfect fit for the profile we’re looking for: they’ve already gained some work experience and a degree of maturity, yet are still young people seeking a new challenge. Some have a technical background, while others have more business experience, but they all share a broad, open-minded outlook on the business world. As a company, it’s fascinating to engage in dialogue with them, even though that doesn't necessarily mean they'll end up working for us. MBA students who decide to join our team make a very conscious choice, which fits in perfectly with our long-term strategy. Vlerick is not the kind of school that produces the business sharks of the future. This is a group of young, sensible, honest people. The fact that it’s an international group, with more than 20 nationalities, is another plus point for us. Delaware Consulting now has an office in China with 35 employees, and another in the US employing 10 people, and plans to expand into other countries as well. MBA students provide us with the link we need. Some want to stay in Belgium for a while before returning to their native land. That also opens up promising perspectives for us.”
How do you feel Vlerick’s Career Services Office differs from other recruitment channels?
“Actually, as far as I’m concerned, it’s not so much a recruitment channel as a discussion forum. Conventional career events are organised unilaterally by a school or a company and people are then invited along. Vlerick creates an open discussion platform where students and companies can meet and chat, with no strings attached. Vlerick's approach is much more neutral and honest. MBA students are not a product the School wants to sell, as in the ‘people industry’. That’s a crucial difference in my book.”
Orator 28 - June 2008
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