Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Boston, MA...Beginning this month, four brand new career development courses are being offered to part-time MBA students at Boston University’s School of Management. Moving beyond traditional class requirements, the goal of these courses is to arm students with the tools necessary to assess their abilities and develop a plan for the next stage of their career. Topics include career self-exploration, networking techniques, self brand-marketing, and communication skills for the professional landscape.

"Once they graduate from the MBA program, students have to either enter or re-enter the working world. These courses will bring focus on preparing for their career search as they take that step," said Randi Bussin, who is developing the new course curricula, "It’s exciting to bring these tools to the part time students, who have traditionally lacked access to these types of resources."

Bussin, Founder and President of Aspire! career coaching firm, was selected by BU to head up this program due to her vast experience in the MBA services industry. With more than 25 years of business, entrepreneurial, and career counseling experience, Randi’s expertise is coaching mid-career professionals as they identify and pursue career opportunities best suited to their abilities and lifestyle. She plans to draw on this experience as she aids students in their post-MBA career planning.

"Randi is an outstanding addition to our department and we are pleased to have her available for our students," stated Lloyd Baird, Chair of the BU Organizational Behavior Department, "This new program is a key component in teaching our students how to market themselves once they have earned their degree; Randi’s experience and expertise makes her an ideal instructor for this new program."

Tim Hall, Management Professor in the BU Organizational Behavior Department, is collaborating on the content for the new courses, which he says will address the unique needs of part-time evening students.

"The part time MBA students tend to have a wide variability in terms of backgrounds and career needs. They also attend school in the evening, when resources such as the Career Center aren’t available," says Hall, "These courses are not only quite specialized, they also allow evening students to pick up career planning tools in a focuses, workshop-style setting, which is much more efficient for them."

Part time MBA student Scott Palumbo definitely sees the benefit. An active duty U.S. Navy pilot transitioning to a private sector business career, Scott says he has already been able to apply what he has learned through the new classes. "Using the professional network matrix to organize my networking contacts into three tiers, I have already completed an informational interview with the Vice President for Human Resources of a Boston company, and I have another one scheduled for later in the spring. Randi’s approach to ‘networking’ is highly effective and has already changed the way I manage my professional relationships."

Randi Bussin, founder and president of Aspire! is a career coach who assists mid-career clients in creating a professional and personal life consistent with their values, passions, strengths, and goals. Having personally experienced several major career transitions - from the corporate world, to small business, to entrepreneurship - she understands the strategy, tactics and commitment involved. Randi holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainbleau, France, with concentrations in Organizational Behavior and Entrepreneurship, an MA from Tufts University. She has completed her coach training program at Coach University and also recently completing the DISC Behavioral Assessment program. To find out more about Aspire! visit www.aspireforsuccess.com, or call 617-489-7738.

The Boston University School of Management, through its faculty’s research, develops new ideas and insights for business scholars and practitioners. The School also prepares undergraduate and graduate students to become innovative, ethical leaders in a globalized world. By fusing the art, science, and technology of business, the School creates leaders with deep competencies in traditional business disciplines and in the application of new technologies for strategic and operating advantage. To learn more, visit http://management.bu.edu, or call 617-353-9720.