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Lehigh University offers a comprehensive career journey program, helping students transition from academia to professional life. Anne-Mette Halvorson, Director of Career and Professional Development, shares Lehigh’s strategies for graduate student career support.
When embarking on a master’s program, the journey is about more than academics. Anne-Mette Halvorson, Director of Career and Professional Development at Lehigh University, emphasizes this is a pivotal time for personal and professional growth. She describes it as “an inflection point,” whether you are starting, mid-way, or advancing in your career.
“This is a time when a person is pulling themselves together and thinking about where they want to go forward in their career,” Anne-Mette says. (01:44)
Getting the proper guidance during this transition period can be the difference between failure and success for early career professionals.
Lehigh University, located in Pennsylvania, US, integrates the career journey program into several of its programs. Both the MS in Management and MS in Business Analytics degrees incorporate career journey support. This helps to prepare students both academically and personally for their future careers.
Take Emma Eberhardt’s story as an example. After completing her neuroscience degree, she discovered that she was more passionate about combining science with business than pure research. She joined the management program and credits Anne-Mette’s guidance with helping her pivot into a biotech consulting role.
Anne-Mette explains that the focus on motivation, strengths, and storytelling prepares students for success in the job marketplace.
Understanding what drives you will help you find the ideal role. Companies want to know why you are motivated by your chosen path, and communicating that well is essential.
At Lehigh, the career journey program helps students identify and build on their strengths, fostering a sense of integration and confidence.
“We operate from a point of strength,” Anne-Mette says. “We see where people are really passionate, strong, and skilled. We want to build on that early success.” (02:21)
The program guides students to focus on their assets rather than less productive areas. This way, students present themselves as well-rounded individuals, ready to contribute to their chosen fields.
A core aspect of Lehigh’s program is its emphasis on storytelling, a soft skill vital for interviews and professional interactions. “The basis of interviews is actually professional stories,” Anne-Mette notes. (06:49)
Students learn to articulate their motivations, passions, and strengths through structured narratives.
“What we call ‘STAR stories’, structured ways of sharing results on projects where
students have been successful,” Anne-Mette says. “This is where the companies and institutions can start to infer how these individuals will act in their environments.” (07:11)
The job market is more competitive than ever, and navigating it requires a plan. Anne-Mette sees increasing challenges posed by modern talent management systems, which often rely on AI. “Applying to hundreds of jobs online is a mere distraction. It doesn’t work,” she warns. (10:35)
Instead, it’s better to take a targeted approach that tells a cohesive story, aligning the students’ goals with company needs. This means taking the time to research the company and practicing telling your story to communicate your enthusiasm.
Anne-Mette says that as students follow the career journey process, “they create options, and they find companies that work for them.” (11:54)
Storytelling helps in interviews, and it’s also useful in networking. By developing a robust network, students can leverage connections to get their foot in the door of companies that appeal to them. Understanding how to move in and out of networks and activate them is a skill students develop along with storytelling.
Then, students can give an engaging answer when someone asks, “Hey, what are you interested in?” (08:55)
Lehigh University’s strong alumni network is crucial in supporting current students. Anne-Mette describes the relationship with alumni as “mutually beneficial” and “highly engaged.” Alumni participate in mock interviews, panels, and recruiting events, offering invaluable insights and connections. (13:15)
“Our Lehigh community is one of the reasons why our students are able to be successful,” Anne-Mette says. (14:47)
For students looking to pivot in their careers, the alumni can also act as industry mentors. For example, it can take a lot of work for a mechanical engineer to transition into business. An alumni mentor can help determine which skills and positive attributes are relevant from an engineering background in the business world. (15:56)
This personalized support helps students integrate their past experiences with new career goals, presenting themselves as well-rounded candidates.
Lehigh’s approach to supporting students’ career journeys is comprehensive and holistic. Integrating career strategy, networking, and alumni mentorship ensures students are well-prepared to make meaningful contributions in their chosen fields.
By the end of the career journey program, graduates are emerging leaders, ready to make an impact.
Discover more about Lehigh University or connect with one of our student ambassadors to further learn about student career journeys.
