Laura Rijks: "Positive and tailored advice on career issues is important to us!"
Alumni Career
Laura Rijks studied Kinesiology and Sport at ETH. She is also a member of the board of the ETH Alumni Association and has been responsible for careers since 2015. Since graduating, Kristin von Lüdinghausen has worked in the fields of HR development for major companies and human resources and career advice for national and international specialists. They talks to us about the new program for the ETH Alumni Association and the opportunities it presents for ETH alumni.
The ETH Alumni Association has launched a career coaching & consulting program. What does it involve?
Kristin: The career coaching and consulting program recently launched by the ETH Alumni Association makes experienced career coaches available to ETH alumni to answer any questions they may have about their careers and to offer professional guidance. The program can assist at any phase of a member’s career and aims to help them successfully get onto the career ladder and progress in their chosen profession. To launch the program, the ETH Alumni Association is offering two “career packages” to meet different needs. There are already plans to expand and build on this.
The ETH Alumni Association is therefore expanding its career services. Why has it been motivated to do this?
Laura: For a long time, the ETH Alumni Association has wanted to provide its members with professional support. Since launching our career services, we have helped companies and job seekers find one another through our positions vacant service. Throughout the calendar year, we also give our members the opportunity to attend interesting seminars and workshops on topics of relevance to their careers. We are expanding our service by launching this new coaching opportunity. We hope that it allows us to provide even more support at an individual level.
Our alumni have enjoyed an excellent education at ETH Zurich. Through the career coaching service, we hope to consolidate our position as a partner in career development and to expertly support our members, enabling them to unleash their full potential and overcome the challenges of a volatile world of work.
Kristin: Globalisation and advancements in digitalisation are also important factors influencing employees. These are constantly evolving and shape how we learn and what specialisms and skills we need in the working environment of today and tomorrow in order to remain competitive in the long term. Now more than ever ETH Alumni are having to establish their careers in competition with people who have gained impressive international qualifications.
In the past, careers were much more linear and people tended to stay with one company for many years or even decades. Whereas these days, we are increasingly seeing people change company more frequently or take career breaks in the form of sabbaticals. It is also no longer uncommon for people to undertake a career change at some point in their working life. The needs, expectations and aspirations of new generations have shifted. Business has adapted its recruitment requirements to reflect this and technical knowledge alone isn't enough, instead companies are looking for what are known as soft skills or management qualities, like emotional intelligence.
We are aiming to prepare ETH alumni the best we can for shouldering responsibility at work or later on in their careers to help them find a new job, change career or go back to work after a career break.
Who is the new service aimed at?
Kristin: Our individualised consultancy service, provided by experienced career coaches, is aimed in particular at the needs and aspirations of ETH alumni. Our programs always focus on the individual strengths, interests and values of the person in question, taking account of current trends on the labour market and providing tailored recommendations so that ETH alumni can purposefully navigate their way through the labour market.
What can alumni signing up for this process expect to receive?
Laura: A successful job search depends on various factors. We cannot guarantee job interviews or that our career packages will secure a job. But the highest priority of the career coaches is to support our alumni on their journey towards this. The advice provided focuses on preparing for the application process and the current labour market. We would invite ETH alumni to get in touch and provide feedback on the career coaching service so that we can continually improve and develop it.
More information about career coaching & consulting and the career packages