Career development

Whether you want to progress in your current role, move into senior management or change direction, the Leeds MBA is a decisive step in your career. 

You are an individual with your own aspirations and goals. We take a personalised approach to your MBA career development.

Our professional development programme is tailored to help you compete in the global marketplace, giving you the skills to manage your career for life.

Professional development on the Leeds MBA

As a full-time MBA student you will be encouraged to develop your self-awareness, understand your strengths and weaknesses, refine your career objectives and grow as an individual.

Some professional development activities are embedded in the core programme, whilst others are delivered virtually, run as a workshop, seminar or through one-to-one coaching.

Activities on the full-time MBA currently include:

• Core professional development modules to develop your leadership skills
• One-to-one executive career coaching during your programme and for one year after you graduate
• Career development workshops, seminars and talks
• Mentoring and support from our Leaders in Residence
• Taking part in Live Challenges that will stretch your thinking and abilities
• Live research in organisations, volunteering and ambassador opportunities
• Opportunities to connect with our corporate partners, from local SMEs to multinationals, both during the programme and at Business School events
• Panel events to showcase expertise and support your professional development
• The benefits of AMBA membership
• Talks from corporate partners who connect the theory you learn with ‘real’ business in practice
• Access to our alumni network
• Support for Entrepreneurs - start your own business with help from our Spark team

 Four key career management stages

During the full-time MBA programme, we guide you through four key stages to help you manage your career:

• Reflecting and orientating: This initial stage helps you reflect and plan your career. With guidance from your career coach you use evaluation tools to help clarify your career objectives, evaluate potential directions and produce a tailored action plan.
• Developing your skills: As a full-time MBA student you will be supported by a dedicated career coach. The Management Department also engages actively with organisations locally and globally to develop long-term partnerships, which add value to the organisations whilst supporting our research and student education. By working with our Advisory Board of industry leaders, we can be sure that the Leeds MBA programme meets market needs and continually offers engagement opportunities. This connects the theory we teach with real world expertise.
• Taking action: We help you identify ways to take realistic action by setting achievable career goals. These goals help you start working towards your long-term career aim.
• Continuous development: As a manager you need to keep up-to-date with industry developments and business ideas. Our business speaker and networking events provide the ideal platform to hear and discuss the latest issues with business leaders and alumni.