Career Launch

Sean O'Keefe
Founder & Partner

Sean O'Keefe is the Founder and a Partner at Career Launch and, since 2010, has been a professor of career development and communication courses at Santa Clara University, where he was voted the university's inaugural Career Influencer Award Winner presented by the Career Center. 

Before stepping away from his full-time faculty role to focus on Career Launch, Sean teamed up with his colleague, Professor Barry Posner, a researcher and best-selling author of The Leadership Challenge and The Student Leadership Challenge, to conduct research titled "Networking & Career Readiness of College Students: A Nationwide Survey."  The National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) published an article written by Sean in it's quarterly journal.  
Sean has also been asked to write for the Harvard Business Review based on research and data collected from students who went through classes that he taught or developed.  In 2019, Sean received several offers to publish Launch Your Career: How ANY Student Can Create Relationships with Professionals and Land the Internships and Jobs They Want.
Sean enjoys speaking at national and regional conferences. His reputation as a speaker is built on his openness to be vulnerable and communicate authentically. He loves to share both researched-back data and evidence-based success stories of our partners. He is a thought-leader with the ability to both inspire audiences and provide them with practical takeaway strategies. 

Sean started his post-secondary education at Diablo Valley Community College and he has a BA in Communication from the University of California at Santa Barbara, as well as a MBA from Santa Clara University.  Sean enjoyed 14 years in the private sector prior to his switch into higher education. His first job out of college was in the business development department for the Oakland A's baseball team. Then, he spent seven years as Vice President for Shamrock Office Solutions. During college, Sean earned internships with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland A's, and San Francisco Giants — without having any connections or the best grades. 

LEADERSHIP

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Schedule an exploratory call to learn more about partnering with Career Launch

Our Story

Sean O'Keefe is the Founder and Chief Impact Officer of Launch Your Career. He is an Award-winning Professor and Career Coach.

What began as a personal strategy to land a job with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland A’s, evolved over the years during his time as a Jesuit university professor into the official Career Launch Method. This method teaches students the power of cold networking for career success.

Many students have expressed immense gratitude for the career readiness accountability and empowerment that led to life-enhancing internships and jobs. Since 2018, we’ve paid it forward by providing coaching to thousands of students, of all ages, backgrounds, and programs of study. Our students have landed with companies and organizations across the globe in countless industries.