Antwerp Management School always goes for more and better, just like myCareerCompanion

We are very proud of our sustainable partnership with Antwerp Management School, a top Belgian management school in the heart of Antwerp. Since 2015, our successful cooperation is characterized by common motives, such as inspiring, learning, innovation and co-creation!

Thomas Marynissen is, next to L&D Advisor within AMS, also responsible for the Career Center and the Global Leadership Skills track for master-after-master students. Just like Thomas, our own Eva also graduated at AMS – for sure an ideal start for an interesting conversation about the cooperation between 2 booming organizations!

 

In the meantime, myCareerCompanion is no longer new to Antwerp Management School. Could you explain how the platform is part of what you offer to the AMS-students?

AMS has three clear mission pillars:

• Self-awareness
• Societal consciousness
• Global perspective

myCareerCompanion fits perfectly with the first pillar “self-awareness”. Strengthened by the focus on self-awareness, AMS previously created a Career Center and the Global Leadership Skills Program, two frameworks that also include your career coaching platform. The program thoroughly evolved during the years and focuses completely on personal development, just like your platform.

 

Was there a need for this?

Antwerp Management School always goes for more and better! A cooperation with a partner like myCareerCompanion was quite obvious and grew very naturally since we both focus strongly on an individual approach, quality and personal development.

At the start of the Career Center, during the months September till December, we strongly focus on knowledge sharing, information sessions and events. After this, we notice that the following questions arise for our students: “Who am I?”, “Who do I want to be on the labor market?” and “What is the right professional direction for me?”. myCareerCompanion helps every student to individually finetune their own interests and aspirations with regard to the labor market.

The personal myCareerCompass that every student receives, gives them all the necessary ingredients to consciously take the step towards the labor market. On top of this, students get aware of their added value and they get to know the correct vocabulary to contact companies and recruiters. myCareerCompanion helps the students to write their own personal story.

 

What do you appreciate about the platform and by extension our cooperation? Is this in line with the reactions that you get from the AMS-students?

The positive aspects of myCareerCompanion are easy to list:

• It is an individual tool, and hence very complementary to our own initiatives
• It is scientifically based
• Next to the high user-friendliness, the platform also has a pleasant look and feel

myCareerCompanion is in constant development, the platform is characterized by innovation and change, which we appreciate a lot. Antwerp Management School has the same goal in mind, i.e. the employability and personal coaching of our students. This common motive has been the basis for a nice and constructive cooperation during the last few years!

Recently, a master-after-master student Global Supply Chain Management shared the following quote on LinkedIn:

“Antwerp Management School gave us access to myCareerCompanion, a website which helps you figuring out which job fits with your interests and strengths, as well as what kinda company culture you should be looking for. In high school I never believed in these kinds of tests but looking at the result I must say I am impressed and surely on the right path with my master studies. I surely recommend this to all students entering the workforce soon to get some insights on what could be a dream job you have not thought of yet!”

 

myCareerCompanion also has a myCourses part, next to the myCareerCompass. What do you think about the courses that you can currently find there?

AMS has a large and valuable study program. During the academic year, we have a lot of courses, workshop and trainings in the context of our Global Leadership Skills program. I consider myCourses as an essential reference, a digital library that the students can use on their own initiative and at their own speed. It is actually a career content platform, perfectly complementary to the topics that we currently offer. The light that myCareerCompanion throws on topics such as ‘Discover yourself’, ‘Stand out during the job application process’ or ‘Score during a digital interview’ is extremely useful.

 

How do you see the use of the myCareerCompanion platform evolving within AMS?

The use of myCareerCompanion is carried by the broader ambitions of our school. The tool perfectly complements the “raison d’être” of our Global Leadership Skills Program; ‘Opening minds to impact the world’. This program grew fast over the last few years and myCareerCompanion really has become a fixed value. The popularity of the tool raises year after year, which enforces our willingness to cooperate and to deepen the platform.

I am curious about the future, but as far as I’m concerned, myCareerCompanion may be thé reference for our AMS-students to help them to orientate their own professional career.

 

Do you take any other initiatives to prepare your students for the labor market?

We take a lot of initiatives:

• Events where students get into contact with companies (such as company presentations, case evenings, job fairs, …)
• Workshops and trainings about applications (some of these topics resulted from the cooperation with myCareerCompanion)
• Networking with the AMS-alumni (e.g. by speed dating)

Next to that, there are some digital cooperations, where myCareerCompanion aligns perfectly.

 

If you were to name 3 reasons why an academic organization should work with myCareerCompanion, which would you choose?

1. Firstly, myCareerCompanion is an essential instrument for a school who wants to invest in the employability of its students.
2. As a second reason, I would like to mention the really pleasant cooperation. I really feel that I cooperate with an organization that has a common goal.

The added value of the tool can’t be ignored, our cooperation leads to co-creation and co-design, a win-win situation!