Looking to learn more about the Office of Career Advancement?
By Mary Beaulieu, Assistant Dean and Director of the Office of Career Advancement
As a Harvard Kennedy School student, you’ll have access to a wide variety of resources. One such resource is the Office of Career Advancement (OCA). From setting goals to negotiating a job offer, OCA is our students’ partner as they move through HKS to their next professional opportunity. Together with HKS faculty members, staff, alumni, research center affiliates, and, most of all, their classmates, OCA helps students “ask what they can do” to help them pursue a career that makes a difference in the world.
In the Q&A below, Assistant Dean and Director of the Office of Career Advancement Mary Beaulieu discusses OCA’s offerings to students. In her role, she oversees career strategy and support for students and alumni—from individual advising and skill-building to employer partnerships and school-wide initiatives that expand opportunity. Her work spans both big-picture planning and very personal career conversations.
What does the Office of Career Advancement do?
We help students connect their HKS experience to the careers they want to build. Our work includes one-on-one career coaching, workshops, employer connections, networking opportunities, internships, and job search support. OCA meets students where they are—some arrive to HKS knowing exactly where they’re headed, and others are still figuring it out. Wherever you’re starting from, you’re welcome here.
Also, our support doesn’t end at graduation. Alumni continue to connect with us as their careers evolve, pivot, and grow.
What is your favorite part about working on the OCA team?
I love watching students realize they have more options than they thought when first coming here. Students often arrive with one plan, and then classmates, courses, internships, and conversations open new possibilities. Seeing someone say, “I hadn’t even considered that path—and now I’m excited about it,” never gets old.
Our OCA team genuinely cares about students. We take seriously the responsibility of helping them navigate big decisions thoughtfully and confidently.
“OCA meets students where they are—some arrive knowing exactly where they’re headed, and others are still figuring it out. Wherever you’re starting from, you’re welcome here.”
Mary Beaulieu, Assistant Dean and Director of the Office of Career Advancement
How do students connect with you?
Students connect by booking appointments through JACK, our online career management system. This ensures they have dedicated time to focus on their goals. Incoming students will get access to JACK in the summer. We also meet students at workshops, employer programs, and community events throughout the year.
Our team works hard to make career support feel accessible and welcoming—you don’t need to have everything figured out before reaching out.
What advice do you have for students considering HKS?
Come ready to explore, meet people who think differently from you, and try things you didn’t expect. Many students refine—and sometimes rethink—their goals while they’re here. That’s part of what makes the experience so powerful.
Also: talk to people. Some of the most important career conversations happen over coffee, not in formal settings.
What is your favorite HKS memory?
I love the full-circle moments—like when a student I’ve coached comes back a year or two later and says, “That conversation really mattered,” or when alumni reconnect and share how their path evolved in ways none of us predicted. Those moments bring a deep sense of joy and a reminder that HKS is one important chapter in a much longer story. Watching students grow into alumni and continue to build, pivot, and lead in new ways is one of the most rewarding parts of this work.
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