CAREER COACH HANDBOOK - Summer Search

Getting Started: Building the Relationship
A. Goals
Understand student’s career goals and help them leverage the resources
they need to achieve those goals.
Establish an engaged and productive working relationship between the
Summer Search student and his/her Career Coach.
Set expectations for communication and interaction.
B. Ideas for Action
• Soon after being matched, meet together (in person if possible) or over the
telephone.
• Establish ground rules for how the Career Coach-Student pair will work together,
including timeliness of responses, consideration of schedules, etc.
• Career Coach and student meet for a business style lunch. Career Coach to
provide feedback on student’s business etiquette and behavior (e.g., arriving at
meeting place on time, dressed appropriately). If needed, Career Coach to train
student on business lunch etiquette.
• Discuss importance of student sending a thank you note or e-mail after lunch.
• Career Coach to instruct student to send a thank you e-mail. Career Coach to
provide feedback on e-mail style (e.g., grammar, spelling, and tone) and content.
• Have student identify 3-5 jobs or organizations of interest based on positions
available through Summer Search or internet search. Career Coach discusses
options with student and helps generate further search ideas based on student’s
interests. Begin discussion with student about networking.
C. Resources
1. Guidelines and Discussion Topics for the Career Coach-Student Pair
a. Career Coach should ask student questions to learn more about his/her
interests and background, such as:
• What is your major
• What classes are you taking
• What classes do you like Dislike
• Have you thought about what you want to do after college
• What’s your dream job
• Have you had internships/jobs before What did you like/dislike about
them
• What else interests you (Music, art, dance, exercise, nature, animals,
volunteering to help others, etc.). Explore any of those interests and
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