Career support, and, ultimately, career advancement, is one of the most important reasons for pursuing your MBA. While you’re learning about finance, marketing, data analysis, and accounting, you’ll also be learning about yourself and where you want to make your impact in the business world. Then, with your career goals set, you’ll take your next big step into a role with new challenges and countless opportunities to put what you’ve learned to work.
We’re here to help. With expert coaching and career advice, we’ll help you chart a path for your career. With industry workshops and communications training, we’ll help you build critical skills you’ll use to market yourself to potential employers. And, with campus interviews, career treks, and networking forums, we’ll help you meet recruiters from numerous companies and organizations ready to hire UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA students.
Learn what it takes to join the UNC-Kenan Flagler Full-Time MBA program.
How we’ll support your career
| WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE… | …HOW YOU’LL USE IT… | …AND HOW WE DELIVER IT |
| 1:1 coaching Unlimited access to expert, industry-specific career coaches who will help you navigate your personal career exploration and recruiting journey. |
With individualized advice, you’ll clarify your career goals, reflect on your personality and motivations, and gain a holistic view of what distinguishes you as a leader, so you’re positioned to communicate your value to employers and target your ideal career. |
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| Self-assessment tools Access a wide variety of UNC Kenan-Flagler and third-party assessment tools that deliver personalized insights to support your development and career planning. |
With quantitative and qualitative data and insights that evaluate you on a variety of dimensions, from character traits, to work style, to skills, you’ll identify strengths and interests that enable you to make more informed career decisions. |
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| Workshops and research Engage in facilitated workshops, training opportunities and access informational resources that help build your knowledge and skillset outside of the classroom. |
You’ll take learning beyond the classroom by participating in simulations, hands-on experiences, and taking a deep dive into topics that enhance your knowledge and allow you to gain confidence with new leadership skills, so you’re prepared to apply those right away in your post-MBA career. | |
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| Employer recruiting Connections to hundreds of employer partners and jobs eager to attract top UNC Kenan-Flagler talent, and coaching, advice and resources that help you find and pursue opportunities that are the best fit for you. |
Through on-campus and off-campus recruiting events, and the partnerships our team cultivates with key employers, you’ll gather information and make contacts that support you during the recruiting and interview process, so you can confidently convert and close on the best career opportunities. | |
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| Networking opportunities A wide variety of formal, informal, facilitated and organic networking opportunities, designed to expand your network of professional and social connections for personal growth and career opportunities during the MBA and well beyond. |
You’ll tap into alumni, fellow students, faculty, staff and employers to discover more about organizations, roles, career paths, interview advice and much more. This powerful network will give you an advantage as you pursue your post-MBA career, and will be there to support you throughout your career. | |
Complete list of career services offerings
1:1 coaching
Unlimited access to expert, industry-focused career coaches who will help you navigate your personal career exploration and recruiting journey. With individualized strategies, you’ll clarify your career goals, reflect on your personality and motivations, and gain a holistic view of what distinguishes you as a leader, so you’re positioned to communicate your value to employers and target your ideal career.
1:1 Career Coaching
Throughout your MBA, you’ll have unlimited access to expert career coaches, each dedicated to industries they know in-depth. Through personalized sessions, you’ll explore a wide range of career development resources, self-assessments, job search strategies and much more. With the support of the career coaching team, you’ll create a plan to pursue the right career paths and make sure you’re fully prepared to pursue them through a holistic search that includes both on- and off-campus recruiting opportunities.
1:1 Case Interview Coaching
Technical “case” interviews are standard practice in industries like consulting, strategy and tech, and the preparation and skills required to shine in case interviews varies from behavioral or “fit” interviews. Practice is critical, so our coaches are trained by industry experts to provide case interview feedback and support. Additionally, we engage outside experts throughout the consulting and tech recruiting cycles to ensure you can get your reps in with expert feedback.
Self-assessment tools
Access a wide variety of UNC Kenan-Flagler and third-party assessment tools that deliver personalized insights to support your development and career planning. With quantitative and qualitative data and insights that evaluate you on a variety of dimensions, from character traits to work style to skills, you’ll identify strengths and interests that enable you to make more informed career decisions.
CareerLeader Assessment and Debrief
All UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA students have access to CareerLeader’s assessment tool and data-driven insights, which help business students and rising executives make better career choices and decisions. With the support of your career coach and your CareerLeader profile, you’ll validate assumptions about your ideal organizational fit and career path with insights that help you shape and drive your targeted trajectory.
CliftonStrengths Assessment and Debrief
The assessment measures your unique talents and categorizes them into the 34 CliftonStrengths themes, based on how you naturally think, feel and behave. With an understanding of your Top 5 Strengths, you’ll be able to work with a coach to discover what you do best, how to turn your talents into leadership strengths and use the results to create a pathway to maximizing your potential.
Birkman Assessment and Debrief
The Birkman Method measures personality traits to provide insights into how you might interact in a team setting. The Birkman assessment can help you understand perceptions that shape your leadership style, and is an important input as you learn how to help organizations build more effective teams, develop talent and do better work.
Workshops and research
Engage in facilitated workshops, training opportunities and access informational resources that help build your knowledge and skillset outside of the classroom. You’ll take learning beyond the classroom by participating in simulations, hands-on experiences, and taking a deep dive into topics that enhance your knowledge and allow you to gain confidence with new leadership skills, so you’re prepared to apply those right away in your post-MBA career.
Access to Online Resource Hub
This online resource library offers access to diverse career guidance by topic and career goal, tools and templates representing recruiting best practices, and access to helpful topical resources, including subsidized third-party subscriptions, a webinar recording archive, and our growing library of identity-based resources.
Student-Led Career Club Support
Each of the Full-Time MBA career clubs has a Career & Leadership liaison who supports the club mission. Career Liaisons provide coaching and support for student-led activities including speaker events to get an industry-specific perspective, industry treks to visit prospective employers, and case competition preparation.
Business Communication Center
The Business Communication Center offers free consultations and workshops to strengthen your written and spoken communication, including assistance with creating an effective resume and cover letter, polishing verbal and written presentations, practicing interview skills, and planning and drafting papers or reports.
Subsidized Premium Career Resources
You will have free access to several well-known third-party resources to support your career development goals. Examples of these premium resources include Firsthand (general and sector-specific career advice from industry insiders) and LinkedIn Learning (digital library of thousands of technical, business, software, and relationship management courses).
Weekly Newsletter (events, jobs, resources)
The weekly e-newsletter from our Career & Leadership team outlines key resources, recruiting events, career webinars, and jobs (and much more) that you’ll want to know about!
Career / Industry Workshops
Our industry-specific professional development programs offer career preparation essentials that will supplement what you learn in the classroom, spark curiosity and build awareness of additional resources and strategies to support your career, and ensure that you’re ready to hit the ground running when you start your new role. For example, for students interested in finance, we offer seminar classes from Training the Street, the same organization that trains employees at top Wall Street firms. In the marketing and consulting programs, we work with key industry experts and organizations to offer unique and innovative opportunities for experiential learning.
Tactical Leadership Workshops
Leadership development is a key part of earning your MBA, and our coaches offer opt-in workshops that help you explore your leadership growth opportunities, develop strategies to improve your skills, and lead with the Carolina Way in mind. You might choose from topics like “Servant Leadership in the Workplace,” “Increasing Team Engagement,” “Defeating Imposter Syndrome,” and more.
First 90 Days Transition Coaching/Workshops
With the support of Career & Leadership Coaches trained in the First 90 Days methodology, you’ll create a plan for a high-impact transition into your next role or career pivot. Through resources, collaborative workshops with your peers and 1:1 coaching, you’ll determine how to more effectively lead new teams and projects, and create momentum to deliver results.
Veteran/Military Transition Support and Resources
You’ll have the support of designated members of our experienced Career & Leadership team who offer a variety of career strategies and transition support services to active duty and veteran students. Through collaborations and connections to the larger Carolina Veterans Resource Center and Veterans student associations, you’ll have the chance to engage with a robust community at the annual MBA Veterans conference (with access to pre-conference preparation), as well as other curated employer and student programming – including networking events – designed to provide key insights into veteran hiring pathways and experiences.
Preparation for National MBA Conferences
National MBA Conferences present exciting but overwhelming opportunities to network, interview, and learn about your intended targets, but you need to be prepared with a foolproof strategy to succeed. Through a series of workshops, 1:1 coaching, and resources, coaches and industry experts will empower you to identify your targets for the conference, develop strategies for casual and structured networking opportunities, and prepare and apply for early interviews at the conference.
Industry Bootcamps
Industry bootcamps take workshops up a notch by intensifying your level of preparation for the skills you need to succeed in the field. Where workshops might serve as a more introductory overview with tips on entering the field, Industry Bootcamps are developed to prepare committed seekers to succeed on the job by incorporating live experiences with alumni and industry practitioners, intense and meaningful practice sessions, and a valuable feedback loop to measure progress on critical skills development.
Pre-MBA Diversity Conference Prep/Coaching (Forte, Consortium)
Pre-MBA Diversity Conferences offer eligible soon-to-be students a unique opportunity to gain exposure to the market, recruiters, and interviews early. Your coaches and industry experts will walk you through the process to prepare your exploration, networking, branding, and interview strategies, all while building critical community within your cohort of peers. This support extends to on-site coaching and follow-up coaching to help you determine your best next steps.
Premium Casing Resources
For those students with a demonstrated commitment to recruiting in the consulting, strategy, and tech industries where case interviews are required, we subsidize access to premium preparation resources like RocketBlocks, David Ohrvall’s Zintervu case prep and coaching, and more.
Free Nationwide Business Journal Access
Our subscription delivers full digital access to all 46 regional Business Journals including Raleigh/Durham, Charlotte, Austin, Silicon Valley and 42 more. The 46 regional Business Journals provide daily business news so you can stay up to date on topics and trends that prepare you with knowledge you’ll use in recruiting and employer conversations.
Identity-Based Resources, DEIB Guidance
UNC Kenan-Flagler is committed to providing equitable opportunities and resources for all students and alumni. We cultivate lists of and links to organizations, events, and resources serving the diverse and myriad identities, ethnicities and statuses represented within our community to ensure that our entire community is well-served. These lists are annually updated and often augmented by student suggestions and discovery. Additionally, we link to expert guidance on the general and growing field of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
BlueSteps Workshops, Job Board, Discount
As a UNC Kenan-Flagler student, you’ll have access to BlueSteps resources, including connections to leading executive recruiters, interactive workshops, career assessments, job postings & career coaches worldwide. UNC Kenan-Flagler students and alumni have access to a discounted membership to BlueSteps’ premium resources, job board, and communications.
Employer engagement
Connections to hundreds of employer partners eager to attract top UNC Kenan-Flagler talent, alongside coaching, advice and resources that help you find and pursue opportunities that are the best fit for you. Through facilitated on-campus and off-campus recruiting events, and the partnerships our team cultivates with key employers, you’ll gather information and make contacts that support you during the recruiting and interview process, so you can confidently pursue and close on the best career opportunities.
Access to Career Connections (12Twenty) Portal
The designated platform for all Career & Leadership activities, Career Connections connects you to the UNC job board, registration for career and leadership programming, facilitated recruiting engagement, and sign-ups for one-on-one coaching appointments.
Employers also use the portal to post positions to the School’s internal job board, review candidate resumes, access student resume books, and promote their recruiting opportunities. Via Career Connections, you’ll learn specific details around employer connectivity, and research broader hiring, salary, and market recruiting trends. This mix of historical and real-time employment data will help empower you as you make your career decisions, and lead negotiation/compensation conversations with employers.
International Student Support
In addition to the wide array of career search and other resources tailored to supporting international students, you’ll have access to Interstride – an integrated platform designed to elevate career opportunities and holistically support international students through the life cycle of their experience and career journey. You’ll also benefit from efforts the Career & Leadership team makes to increase the visibility of our international students – creating access to opportunities for learning, internship and full-time roles – through proactive employer outreach, collaborating with peer schools and partnerships with student clubs.
Resume Review Support
Creating an effective resume is a key step in standing out to employers and securing your dream job. You’ll have access to a variety of resources including workshops, your career coach, and our Business Communication Center, where you’ll hone in on how to communicate your experience and value to employers, craft an effective resume and cover letter, and even benchmark and score your resume to identify areas of improvement.
Signature C&L Employer Events: Early Access Experience and Networking Forum
The Early Access Experience (EAE) is designed to connect our core employer partners with the incoming Full-Time MBA class. Through these connections, you’ll gain early exposure, education, and access to key organizations in advance of the campus recruitment process. The EAE (which includes employer led industry discussions and networking) is typically held in person during the Full-Time MBA orientation.
The MBA Networking Forum is held in the fall each year and allows you to network (in person) with a core set of our key employer partners during the peak of the recruiting cycle. While other career fairs focus primarily on resume submission, the Networking Forum allows you to connect with key recruiters and employer contacts (many of whom are UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA alumni) in a relaxed, conversational environment.
In addition to our premier/signature facilitated events we also collaborate throughout the year with peer school and vendor partners to promote external (virtual) career fairs.
UNC Kenan-Flagler Career Connections Job Board
Hundreds of employers use the UNC Kenan-Flagler job board to market available opportunities to our MBA students each year. These employers work with our Employer Engagement and Recruiting team to post open roles (and may choose to design customized recruiting plans), ensuring you can target companies and opportunities that are specifically seeking UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA talent.
UNC Kenan-Flagler Hot Jobs Resource
In addition to postings within Career Connections, you will have exclusive access (via the Career Connections portal) to the Hot Jobs link which houses a list of full-time and internship opportunities sourced directly by our team from the UNC Kenan-Flagler alumni network, employer partners (typically promoting non-UNC Kenan-Flagler specific roles), newsletters, external sites and more. These MBA-level roles (not posted in Career Connections) can range from part-time to just-in-time/full-time opportunities (not posted in Career Connections) and are added on an ongoing basis.
Resume Books
Hundreds of company partners have access to curated class resume books (via Career Connections), which they use to connect with and recruit UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA talent. The UNC Kenan-Flagler employer engagement and recruiting team leads a robust process around maintaining and promoting resume books (designed to help you best position yourself and your experience) and works directly with employers as they filter these books based on profile, areas of interest, etc. and lead direct outreach.
On-campus Interviewing (facilitated)
More than 100 companies engage during the recruiting cycle with a high volume visiting campus each fall and spring to recruit and hire UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA students. Along with learning information about career opportunities, and attending receptions where you can network with company representatives, you will have the chance to apply and potentially interview with those employers hosting facilitated interview schedules for internship and full-time roles.
Employer Strategy Sessions | Industry & Market Insights
The Career & Leadership team continuously measures the impact of core employer relationships by monitoring engagement, tracking year-over-year outcomes and trends, and soliciting student and stakeholder feedback. Annual Employer Strategy Sessions are held with key partners to debrief, consult on recommendations and plan for the upcoming recruiting year.
As an MBA student, you’ll benefit from these relationships as the team facilitates productive employer-to-student interactions, and shares company and market-specific insights that you can leverage as you navigate your recruiting journey.
C&L Coaching/Employer Engagement Drop-In Hours
You’ll engage with dedicated members of the Career & Leadership team as they get to know you, and support your career and recruiting needs with both formal and informal touchpoints. During the fall and spring cycles, the team hosts a series of “Pop-up” or “Drop-in” Office Hours to answer questions around recruiting, navigating the self-directed job search, leveraging the Career Connections platform, and discussing both internship and “just in time” hiring opportunities, and more.
Networking opportunities
A wide variety of formal, informal, facilitated and organic networking opportunities, designed to expand your network of professional and social connections for personal growth and career opportunities during the MBA and well beyond. You’ll be empowered with the skills and opportunity to tap into alumni, fellow students, faculty, staff and employers to discover more about organizations, roles, career paths, interview advice and much more. This powerful network will give you an advantage as you pursue your post-MBA career, and will be there to support you throughout your career.
Alumni Engagement / Networking Opportunities
With a vast network of active alumni champions, you’ll have numerous opportunities to engage with alumni through curated opportunities. You’ll learn from a diverse set of connected alumni who are always eager to share their career paths, experiences and industry insights through programming that includes panels and classroom discussions. Many alumni also strongly engage in and help to lead recruiting efforts for their companies, participating in premier Career & Leadership events, as well as on-campus facilitated recruiting activities.
Alumni Directory Access
At UNC Kenan-Flagler, we pride ourselves on the strengths of our community, built on an internationally recognized education and our core values. As a student, and beyond, you’ll leverage a network of 51,000+ UNC Kenan-Flagler and over 360,000 UNC-Chapel Hill alumni for connections, advice and mentorship in your career search.
HeelsEngage Alumni Networking Platform
This campus-wide online networking platform connects you with Carolina Alumni – as well as fellow students, faculty, and staff – who can share their professional expertise and knowledge to assist you in exploring career options, offer professional advice and identify recruiting opportunities. Through this interactive platform, you can search for alumni, seek mentorship and join community groups (including one specific to UNC Kenan-Flagler) that allow you to explore career-specific questions, industry trends, hiring practices and more, to improve your job search success.
On-campus Recruiting Engagements, Company Presentations and Coffee Chats
To maximize your interactions and one-on-one engagements with potential recruiters, we organize and facilitate a large volume of events that bring employers to campus so that you can network and learn more about their companies, organizational culture and open roles.
Company Presentations: We host roughly 110+ employer partners (primarily in the fall – both virtual and in person) for company presentations each recruiting cycle. In these sessions you’ll engage with recruiters and alumni representing an array of employers and industries/functional areas and learn directly from them about the work that their organizations are driving forward in the market, their company culture and teams, and insights into their recruiting processes.
Facilitated Campus Coffee Chats: In these smaller groups, or one-on-one touchpoints, you will have the chance to connect more intimately with recruiting/employer partners. Employers will often plan to host Coffee Chats in parallel to their company presentation. In these sessions you’ll have the opportunity to share more about your experiences and interest, and ask your targeted questions about the role (s) the company is recruiting for.
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