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<\/a>That\u2019s one reason why the Owen Alumni Career Services office <\/a>under Nelson has expanded its services. It wants to ensure that it is just as helpful when veteran executives undergo transition as when graduating students enter the job market.<\/p>\n \u201cI often say that our goal at Owen is not simply helping students find that first job, but rather helping them navigate a career,\u201d says Dean Eric Johnson. \u201cIt is the successful transitions between jobs two, three, four and onward that define the overall arc of a career.\u201d<\/p>\n Expansion of alumni career services began with a mandate from Johnson and the arrival of Nelson in January 2014. Nelson is the former proprietor of her own career and leadership development coaching firm, Now2planB, which had been utilized by Owen\u2019s Leadership Development Program to work with first-year MBA students for several years. She filled in during two leaves of absence of employees from the Vanderbilt Owen Career Management Center and also worked with students from Vanderbilt Law School privately before being recruited to Owen permanently.<\/p>\n \u201cSince learning career development theory in graduate school at Peabody, I\u2019ve been fascinated by the intersection of people and work,\u201d Nelson says. \u201cI listen when alumni talk about what they love and what they naturally do well. I believe that everybody has that sweet spot where their interests, abilities and personality intersect and I like to help our alumni find what that is.\u201d<\/p>\n When Nelson joined the center, she also gained an experienced ally in Associate Director Sylvia Boyd. The dynamic between Nelson and Boyd lends Alumni Career Services a combination of stability and coziness balanced with state-of-the-art industry smarts.<\/p>\n “Generally people in a career transition are overwhelmed.” \u201cMy passion and what makes me tick have been the alumni and this place, Owen,\u201d Boyd says. \u201cI\u2019ve been here for 23 years. I\u2019m a familiar face, so many alumni were already coming to me in some form or fashion for many things. Now it\u2019s all things Alumni Career Services.\u201d<\/p>\n Boyd is much-loved among alumni, Nelson says. \u201cShe is a calm influence when they first reach out, because generally people in a career transition are overwhelmed,\u201d Nelson says. \u201cShe makes them feel cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n As well as expanding services, Alumni Career Services was also tasked by the dean with scaling its programs and serving alumni around the world. It also was charged with working with current Executive MBA students, a group that needed additional career services programming.<\/p>\n Some reorganization to improve efficiency was the first step. Boyd designed a triaging process to assist alumni who need immediate access to career services. Nelson began doing more phone consultations, which increased the number of alumni who could be served daily.<\/p>\n In addition, the office emails job search tips and career information every Friday via its newsletter, Subjects for Seekers, and Boyd and Nelson keep up with and learn the latest in job search techniques, including the use of LinkedIn and other social media.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to provide a bank of resources that alumni can access anytime, day or night,\u201d Boyd says.\u00a0\u201cOur resources include r\u00e9sum\u00e9 samples, interviewing tips, a salary calculator and many other helpful tools.\u201d<\/p>\n Avery Fisher, MBA\u201911, returned to the job market a few months ago, seeking a corporate position after a deal between his company and a hospital holding company fell apart.<\/p>\n \u201cIt had been 10 years since I\u2019d had a boss who was not a board of directors or a client,\u201d Fisher says. \u201cMaking the move into a corporate environment was a big switch.\u201d \u201cRunning a small company, you get a keen sense of how to cope with and navigate ambiguity, which is desirable but hard to present to an employer,\u201d he says. \u201cLacy and Sylvia helped me tailor my story for this new environment.\u201d<\/p>\n Two weeks after starting the job-hunting process, Fisher landed \u201ca really great role with a growing company,\u201d signing on as director of product management for Cognizant, a leading provider of information technology, consulting and business process outsourcing services.<\/p>\n \u201cLacy and Sylvia are warm, friendly and great at boosting your confidence,\u201d Fisher says. \u201cGetting that tangible support is so helpful in undergoing that process.\u201d<\/p>\n “Our goal is to provide a bank of resources that alumni can access anytime, dayA special dynamic<\/h3>\n
\n\u2014Lacy Nelson<\/p><\/blockquote>\nA happy alumnus<\/h3>\n
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\nThe skills it takes to run a small company can be hard to define on a r\u00e9sum\u00e9, he says.<\/p>\nNew website<\/a><\/h3>\n
\nor night.”\u2014Sylvia Boyd<\/p><\/blockquote>\n