Why early career ocean professionals can’t get enough of MEOPAR’s Career Coaching Program
Whether taking that next step in their career, exploring and cultivating strengths, or fine-tuning leadership and management skills, early career ocean professionals couldn’t get enough of MEOPAR’s Career Coaching Program.
About the Program
During the fall of 2022, MEOPAR offered a Career Coaching Program, presented by certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Robyn Roscoe for students and ECOPs in our network. Three one-on-one personal career coaching sessions were held for eight highly qualified participants who were chosen by application. The program also included three webinars on goal setting and strengths which were open to the MEOPAR community, with space for discussion. The program’s first cohort has wrapped up and MEOPAR and Roscoe are planning how to build on this success and hope to support additional coaching cohorts in the future.
Lisa Chen
MMM, BSc.
“Through MEOPAR’s Career Coaching Program, I was able to learn about my strengths and weakness and identify areas where I want to focus on growing both personally and professionally.”
What participants learned
The individual coaching sessions offered a customizable learning experience that covered many topics and skills, including:
- Career planning
- Job seeking and applications
- Networking
- Business development
- Strategies to improve decision-making
- Time management
- Prioritization and to-do lists
- Project management (as a skill and as a career path)
With guidance from the coach, participants also formatted and updated their resumes and LinkedIn profiles (an important professional platform for ECOPs for getting noticed and advancing their learning).
Emily Cormier
Master’s Candidate, Dalhousie University
“Some of the most important skills I learned were how to prioritize which opportunities I accepted and applied for in my current master’s program, and how to focus on opportunities which would help to improve on my current weaknesses. In discussions about strengths and weaknesses, I also learned what a weakness should actually be defined as, a skill that I could improve on that I need for my future career, rather than just any skill that I am not good at which may not even be applicable for my future career.”
Big Impact for participants
Participants expressed deep gratitude and satisfaction for the program, sharing that it helped immensely in navigating career development.
Notably, one participant secured a new full-time job with support from the coach in their navigation and negotiation of their contract. Two participants found it so valuable that they intend to continue with coaching after the program (if you’re interested, email Robyn).
“Through this program, I have now identified goals for both my career and my personal life, and will be entering the job hunt with considerably more confidence, a stellar LinkedIn profile, and a sharp resume! I am so grateful to all who made this program possible.” – Coaching Participant
Coaching Participant
“Through this program, I have now identified goals for both my career and my personal life, and will be entering the job hunt with considerably more confidence, a stellar LinkedIn profile, and a sharp resume! I am so grateful to all who made this program possible.”
Crystal Weagle
PhD Candidate, Dalhousie University
“Robyn helped me focus more on what I want and need out of my career and look past academic expectations of what a career “should” look like and define what it means to me. This has helped me immensely in both my professional and personal life. I’ve used what I learned around setting goals to set objective AND actionable goals for 2023 and I have also defined what I need and want in a career.”
About the Coach, Robyn Roscoe, PMP
Robyn Roscoe is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with nearly 20 years of experience in the management of large health research projects, and 30 years of experience in project management in the scientific and technical fields. Since 2011, Robyn has been principal of Lyric Management, a consulting company specializing in management and leadership training, event coordination and delivery, and career coaching and mentorship. You can find Robyn on LinkedIn and Twitter (@robynroscoe) by email at robyn@lyricmgmt.com.
