Today’s Wall Street Journal article (“Back to School for Career Advice,” by Joann S. Lublin) describes a 51-year-old woman who returned to her MBA program for career coaching. The coaching apparently focused on accountability (a staple of just about any coaching) along with career tips.
The article goes on to note that many universities still do not offer these services to alumni. You’re most likely to get help from a business school although some other professional schools may be stepping up.
Definitely worth a try, although you may have to pay for the alumni coaching.
If your career office doesn’t offer help, you can still get help from your alumni office. Ask for a list of alumni in your geographical area. Most likely you can use this list to develop an information network.
These days, if you find people who will return your calls when you seek an informational interview, you’ve struck gold. Of course, you can’t abuse the list and some alumni will not feel the connection is strong enough to justify a request for help.
As usual, you have to choose words carefully when you clarify your reasons for calling. And you need to follow the usual informational interview courtesies.