McCombs Alumni Network News

Amy (Sherrill) Wittmayer, MBA ’04, chose to pursue an MBA in order to advance her career at Dell, but she ended up choosing an entirely different path as a result of her education.

In addition to her work in finance and audit while at Dell, Wittmayer often ran women’s mentorship panels, and was active in interviewing and hiring others. At McCombs, she helped form an informal women’s networking group for her classmates in the Texas Evening MBA program, then only in its second year and with few student organizations.

Seeing a trend in her extracurricular activities, Wittmayer decided to leave Dell and join the McCombs School as assistant director of MBA Career Services.

“I realized that advancing others’ careers was the most rewarding thing I could do,” Wittmayer says. “With career coaching, my product is a person, and my success is tied to their career. I love being a part of those pivotal moments in people’s lives.”

In May of 2008, Wittmayer branched out to form her own career coaching firm—AW Consulting. She works with clients on every rung of the corporate ladder, from MBA students to executives. Wittmayer coaches individuals on resume writing, interview preparation, presentations and career strategy. She also delivers workshops to current and prospective MBA students on presentation skills, image management and career planning.

She also helps clients with what she calls the “big issue” questions. “I have a lot of clients coming in saying, ‘I’m not in the right job, and I don’t know what to do about it,’” Wittmayer says.

When faced with this question, Wittmayer tries to help clients pin down a specific goal they can reach. She asks them what their dream job is—the answer often reveals a theme such as autonomy or entrepreneurship that can help chart a new course. She also asks clients to describe their “job from hell,” which can be just as informative.

“People commonly confuse their capabilities with their interests,” Wittmayer says. “I try to get people to pay more attention to the latter, because it’s often overlooked. After all, I’m a perfect example of what can happen when you pursue what you’re passionate about and you are open to new things.”

For more career advice and details on Wittmayer’s services, visit the McCombs Career Resources Web site.