Alumni: Career Advisor for MMS

Program Goal
The purpose of this program is to help MMS students with a couple of key career activities that will allow them to gain practice and confidence for the job search. For many of the MMS students, this will be the first time they have put together a formal resume, a cover letter and/or conducted a professional interview.

CAM History
The CAM program began in 2010 with 40 MBA alumni providing career support to approximately100 students. When the program was first launched as the Volunteer Alumni Career Fellow (VACF) initiative, we relied on the support of just MBA alumni to mentor and guide the MMS students. In 2014, as the program grew and more MMS students became alumni, we were able to leverage the unique perspective of these recently graduated MMS students and subsequently updated the name of the program to the Career Advisor for MMS (CAM) program. Volunteer mentors are now referred to as CAMs. Over the years, MMS students have found the insights and expertise of these alumni to be beneficial to their job searches and future careers. In the past, CAMs have provided career guidance and opportunities to practice informational and mock interviews, and many have built strong and lasting relationships with their students. The following quotes demonstrate the overall perspective of many past participants:

“I found my experience with the CAM program extremely beneficial! My CAM, Sarah, took the time to provide constructive feedback on everything from my networking style to the mock interviews. She has helped me put my best foot forward and is still a source of support and mentorship today.” – Rufaro Mushavi MMS ‘18

"The program is very useful because you are in a safe environment where you are expected to learn from your mistakes, and the CAMs are here to assist you...The CAM program is safe, handy, and filled with serendipities, and it's one of the MMS-specific resources that Fuqua offers. I've learned a lot by working with my CAMs." — James Chen MMS '13 

"The Career Advisor for MMS Program provided the best preparation for my job search. I was paired with an extremely caring and knowledgeable personal mentor—an MBA alumna—who was very dedicated to providing assistance and advice. It was invaluable in getting me ready for the recruiting season." — Jeffrey Young MMS '11

"Mentoring MMS students who are starting their career search provides a tangible way for me to contribute to the school. Through the Career Advisor for MMS program, I provide resume, cover letter, and interview guidance to MMS students. It creates a unique mentoring relationship between MMS students and other Fuqua alumni." — Josh Cohen MBA '07

How has the program evolved? 
Since 2016, students now have the opportunity to opt into the CAM program, unlike years past where it was a requirement of Business Communication I. The program is optional to ensure that those who are participating are truly dedicated and engaged in this fantastic mentoring opportunity. Each student will be paired with one CAM but CAMs will have the opportunity to mentor more than one student, pending the number of volunteers.

As a Career Advisor for MMS, you are serving as an ambassador of the Fuqua brand. Students will see you as a role model and will be eager to learn. There are three important factors to remember as you advise the MMS students.

1. Your role in career assessment
   Your role is to help prepare the MMS students for the start of their professional careers. The two activities we focus on in the CAM program are interview preparation, both informal and behavioral, and networking skills. While informal mentoring relationships may develop beyond these two aspects, certainly it is not a requirement. Throughout the course of the program, you may be asked to assess a student's interpersonal skills and readiness for the job interview, and to address any insights or gaps you come across. Your feedback and guidance will be both important and influential, so please keep this in mind as you help direct them along their personal career paths.

2. You are handling personal and confidential information
   Throughout this process, you will have personal discussions and access to confidential information about your MMS students. In addition, you will be providing evaluations to the Career Management Center (CMC) on each student's readiness and interpersonal skills that will become a part of their personal CMC file. We ask that you keep this information confidential and avoid discussing students' experiences with others.

3. Your role as a Fuqua ambassador
   You are an ambassador of Fuqua and brand and continue to represent the school as alumni. We ask that you keep this in mind when you communicate with the MMS students. 

As a CAM, you will be asked to prepare and guide MMS students in networking and the mock interview process.

Each CAM will conduct two sessions with assigned students: one on networking strategy and one optional session as a mock interview.  Meetings can be arranged in-person, if location allows, or by phone or video-conference.

During the first session, you will get to know each other (ie: your backgrounds and interests, career path, time at Fuqua, etc).  Afterwards, you should discuss networking strategies to help in the job search, as well as strategies for informational interviewing. 

Your second sessions progresses to a mock interview scenario. Your student may ask you to act as an interviewer for a specific job or from a specific company, or you can do a more generic interview with behavioral questions.  It is up to you and your assigned student(s) to come up with a format that works best for you.

Please use the following chart as a guideline for scheduling your meeting time with your students. Please notify your student 24 hours in advance if you need to reschedule a meeting. You may refer to the meeting guidelines if you have to reschedule your meeting.

Schedule
We have provided guidelines as to when your meetings should occur. Students are expected to make initial contact with their assigned CAM in the designated timeline. The MMS students have a very tight schedule, and it is extremely important that each student completes their sessions during the times outlined. The actual date and time will be arranged by the CAM and students. We highly recommend scheduling your meetings in advance so you both may plan accordingly.

Meeting Cancellation Policy
We understand that other factors may impact your meetings.  We ask that you please provide 24 hours' notice if you need to cancel a meeting.  If you can reschedule within the given time frames, please do so.  If you cannot arrange a meeting during the given time frames, please contact mms-careers@fuqua.duke.edu so that we can try and find a substitute CAM.