to thewind? Caution - University of Edinburgh Business School

professional developmentprofessional developmentABOVE: One traveller keeps connected to the job market back home like DianaFOLLOWING THE LAST DOWNTURN IN 2002, DIANAAND JOHN HIGGINS (BOTH CLASS OF 1996) TRAVELLEDTHE WORLD BUT KEPT UP THEIR NETWORKS WHILEAWAY, HELPING THEM TO SECURE POSITIONS ONTHEIR RETURN. DIANA TELLS THEIR STORYDuring 2002, John and I were both made redundantat the same time from different companies. Wedecided that it was an ideal opportunity to take acareer break, so rented our house out, transferredour redundancy payments and savings into ourcurrent account, and purchased our sixmontharound the world tickets.As well as taking the minimum werequired in our rucksacks, I also took one ofthe most valuable of all my assets for thejourney in my head – the password to myemail account which holds the list of mycontacts, including people I had done business with,both colleagues and counterparts. I wrote to a group ofthem before we left, informing them of our adventure. Icarefully withdrew from ongoing recruitment processesbut not without informing them that I would be backwith recharged batteries.Keepingin touchDid youknow?Becoming a speaker atthe School can help raiseyour profile and extendyour networkFrom time to time during the journey, I sent shortemails with anecdotes or a simple hello to some of mycontacts, including recruitment consultants. We had awonderful time and the trip was soon to take anunexpected turn. Two months after leaving Heathrow,after completing the four-day challenging Inca trail inPeru, we found out that we were expecting a baby!After adjustments to our plans, including prioritisingaccommodation over cost and spending money on doctorvisits, our cash dropped on a steep curve.It then crossed our minds that at some point (soon) wehad to find a job. With one month of the trip left, westarted to make phonecalls. From Australia, Icalled the recruitment agencies and found outthat the jobs I had been applying for weregone. John did his part, with news of the jobmarket being ‘very quiet’ and rates very low.We arrived back in the UK and quickly setup our home office, dedicated to look for apermanent position for John and a two-monthconsultancy project for me. I regained contact withthose who I had been corresponding with while travellingto let them know I was looking for work but also sharedthe news of my pregnancy. Although only a few werehappy to meet with me, and none offered me a job, I felt Ihad not lost any time or effort. At least they rememberedTOP TIPS: NETWORKINGVICTOR LOEWENSTEIN, FORMERLY WITH EXECUTIVESEARCH FIRM EGON ZEHNDER INTERNATIONAL, SAYSWHEN IT COMES TO NETWORKING…• Participate in external events within your industrysector or product range• Become active in Chambers of Commerce• Offer to be a guest speaker• If approached by a headhunter for advice – even ifyou aren’t interested now – spend time with them faceto face or over the telephone. You may need to contactthem in the future• Executive search firms tend to evaluate individualson their career progression. Should the progression beachievable within the current employer, it will be betterperceived than if through employment change.my name, the job I used to do, and understood that eventhough I was expecting a baby, I still meant business. Imade sure I thanked them for their time and also let themknow that I would contact them when I was ready to goback to work. From their perspective, I think they at leastwelcomed the story of our trip.Antonia was born and being busy in my new role as amum, all I managed to do was to send an email to my excolleaguessharing the news. A few months down the line,my ex-manager replied, mentioning that he would like tomeet me. His company was investing in a new venturewhich required a consultant with my skills for atemporary, part-time position. I contacted my excolleaguesto let them know that I was on a temporarycontract, but was ultimately looking for a permanentposition working flexible hours.A few months on, I had been through the recruitmentprocess in a different company. One of my ex-colleagueswas now working there, spotted my application andrecommended me for the position. As a result, I wasoffered the job on a part-time basis. It just goes to showthat even when out of work, it is vital to maintain one’snetworks, even from the other side of the world.REMEMBER TO GET LINKED INTo help with networking among the Edinburgh MBAalumni community, don’t forget that we now have agroup on LinkedIn, the online network of more than35 million professionals from around the world,representing 150 industries.Launched in 2008, the University of EdinburghBusiness School MBA Alumni group now has morethan 650 members.It allows you to contact each other andexpand your own personal and professionalnetworks, potentially leading to new business,job opportunities and knowledge exchange.To join the LinkedIn group, visitwww.linkedin.com/e/gis/3858CAREER HELP IS ON HANDGiven the difficult economicclimate, we are aware that anumber of you are facinguncertainty over your own jobsand/or potential redundancy.Others are perhaps looking tomove into a different sector orrole. With this in mind, thereare a number of ways in whichthe School can help you if youare facing this type of situation.Our career and personaldevelopment staff who supportthe current MBA students, arealso happy to assist alumni.This can range from one-to-onecareer advice, through topsychometric testing anddiagnostics. The School hasbuilt up a market reputation inthe latter area, havingconducted several hundredtesting and feedback sessionswith individuals and groups, inboth academic and corporatesettings. This includesCareerLeader for which we areoffering a discount for MBAalumni (see below).The School also provides a range of careerinformation online (www.business-school.ed.ac.uk/careers), including access to two internationaljob-posting platforms provided by MBA-Exchangeand TopMBA.TACKLE YOUR CAREER ‘ACHILLES HEELS’CareerLeader is a comprehensive and integrated selfassessmentprogramme used by more than 300businesses and universities worldwide.It focuses on identifying the ‘ingredients’ for yourcareer. Research shows that a person’s pattern of interestsis the single most powerful predictor of success andsatisfaction in a career.Three self-assessment tests identify your unique patternof business-relevant interests, values and abilities.The results are integrated to provide ‘career beacons’,specific career paths that are likely to be your best careerpath matches. CareerLeader helps you recognise and cureyour career ‘achilles heels’, which might unwittingly limityour career success.It also provides profiles of key MBA business careerpaths, including information about the interests, rewardsand abilities associated with each one.Finally, CareerLeader provides links to discover moreinformation about developing your career strategy,undertaking more research and preparing for interviews.HOW WE CANHELP YOU...We are delighted tooffer Edinburgh MBAalumni the chance toundertake CareerLeaderat a $20 discount. Theusual individualpurchase fee is $95 butfor alumni it is $75,payable directly viawww.careerleader.com/alumni/edinburgh.htmlA guided tour isavailable to give youmore information aboutthe service and althoughthe results are selfexplanatory, there is theoption to discuss themfurtherin orderto takeconcrete action toachieve your career goals– contact the AlumniOfficer on alumni@business-school.ed.ac.uk for details.16 | aluminate | april 2009 www.alumninet.man.ed.ac.ukwww.alumninet.man.ed.ac.uk april 2009 | aluminate | 17