There’s a well-sewn thread that intertwines the work of the St. Gallen MBA corporate relations and careers teams. Having already heard from team members about the importance of isolating a set of values, tapping into the hidden job market, and manoeuvring with diplomacy and tactful communication, Dominique Gobat emphasised the interconnectedness of these various parts along the MBA journey.

“The hidden job market offers organisations a practical and cost-effective solution by alleviating concerns around hiring the wrong profile,” said Dominique. “Some have calculated the cost of hiring risk, others feel it intuitively, through experience. Investment into the recruitment process, onboarding, and training, compounded with the effects of disruption to other employees and departments, can be upwards of CHF 50,000,” he added.

The outcome is that, very often, managers hire people they know or are referred to, regardless of whether the job is advertised or not. The goal of networking is, therefore, to be in the right place at the right time. “The process involves stepping out your comfort zone to understand where your intrinsic motivators lie. After that, the challenge lies in approaching the right industries, organisations, and people,” explained Dominique.

The corporate relations and careers teams have a five-step process that allows students to “own their career decisions,” as Dominique put it. “A typical journey involves self-analysis, online research, exploration, application, and experience – those first three months in the job. We spend considerable time on exploration: teaching self-awareness, polishing soft skills, such as active listening and body language, and fostering meticulous preparation to ask the right questions.”

It sounded comprehensive. As if I needed convincing, Dominique left me with this to ponder: “Reputation is one of the key success determinants in networking. Studies have shown that it takes seven seconds to make an impression and 90 seconds to form an opinion. We’re not leaving anything to chance here!”

Dominique Gobat is our Senior Career Advisor, dedicated to working with our Full-time MBA participants.