Graduates develop leadership skills by helping the next generation
Published on the 01 Apr 2015
UNSW Business School Career Accelerator is a new online platform giving UNSW Business School graduates access to the current generation of students. Graduates sign up to the platform as ‘advisors’ and connect with students via thirty-minute phone calls from wherever they are in the world. Career goals, anecdotes and workplace wisdom are shared and discussed, giving students valuable insights into the job market they’re preparing to enter.
But Career Accelerator isn’t just about accelerating students’ careers. Through the process of advising and talking to students, alumni will develop valuable coaching and managerial skills.“Research suggests that the skills associated with mentoring and providing career advice are closely linked to more rapid career advancement,” says Professor Nick Wailes, Associate Dean (Digital & Innovation), UNSW Business School.
“Even for fairly recent graduates - these are core leadership attributes that it is never too early to develop.”
UNSW Business School Career Accelerator is part of the School’s suite of mentoring initiatives that includes the UNSW Business School Career Mentoring Program. Abigail Goldberg (MBA Exec '03), who works as a Non Executive Director and Management Advisor, participated in the 2014 Career Mentoring Program and said the opportunity allowed her to learn from the distinct Gen-Y perspective of her student mentee.
"It was great to hear about how someone from a different generation is approaching things, and to work out together what the gaps and similarities are between our generations," said Abigail.
There is expected to be great demand for alumni from all business sectors and levels of experience with almost 300 students on Career Accelerator just several weeks after launch. Becoming an Alumni Advisor is an opportunity for graduates to promote their organisations and their value proposition to potential future employees and colleagues.
“Many of the senior executives we talk to see this as a key priority for their organisation,” says Professor Nick Wailes.
Career Accelerator also enables graduates to reach out to fellow alumni and request a career conversation with someone they themselves would like to learn from. The platform currently includes alumni advisors working across aviation, auditing, retail and investment banking to name just a few.