Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors

For the interview, you should dress formally and research the school and its mission. You probably won't have to answer any of the "typical" interview questions like "what are your strengths and weaknesses?" or "where do you see yourself in five years?" since they know you are only being hired as...

Your schedule will look different than mine, based on when your classes are and when you can make it to the school. Typically, I had 1-3 projects I was working on at any time, and I was left up to my own devices to complete them. Your advisor (Mrs. Sophocles) will tell you anything specific she w...

Varies: Appointments Meetings with other departments, faculty/staff Program development Event planning and management Engaging with students regularly Drop In hours

If you have a good grasp on speaking about your own work experience, practicing this will help because they either want to know that you have relevant experience or are able to pick up a new job quickly and efficiently. Either way, speak positively the entire time, give them nothing negative to g...

The population we work with at YouthBuild Charter School of California is a unique one. We work with youth ages 16-24 that need that second chance of getting their high school diploma, and they all come from different backgrounds. YouthBuild Charter School of California will be looking for someon...

A day as an Academic Counselor is always different. Because YouthBuild Charter School of California partners with non-profit YouthBuild programs, every counselor will be working differently. Essentially, everyday will be purposed with getting the students equipped for meeting graduation requireme...

In order to prepare, I would suggest familiarizing yourself with majors, programs, and resources available at the University. Also, be prepared to share experiences of how you worked with student populations, faculty and staff, the importance of student retention and academic requirements of the ...

When I went out for this position , I had to managers and I was alone. They went over exactly what you will be doing and about the amount of student you can have at one time. The training was good but I believe they have new people over the training. I worked there from 12/2018-7/2019 as as acade...

You should be prepared to show how you genuinely care about a student's academic success, are organized, have strong social skills (you tend to have to counsel students in a number of instances), and are comfortable having difficult conversations. For example, if a student is placed on academic p...

The most important interview prep is getting to know the values and goals of the department or college. This is how you build connection with the team, demonstrate how you will fit in, and figure out how you might be able to make an impact in that group. The best way to get this information is by...

It depends on what time of the semester you're in. Just like with any job, there are busy seasons and slow seasons. During the beginning and end of the semester, you can expect a constant stream of questions from students and parents in all forms of media. Course registration times are probably t...

Like most interviews you want to have 3 or 4 narrative stories about successes you've had that relate to the job. These stories can pick out a particular aspect of the job or demonstrate a personal strength, such as reliability or problem solving. Practice these stories until you can repeat them ...

The interview process is primarily personality based to see how you’d work on a team. There are multiple interviews; typically a panel, a group and individual. You can prepare by practicing public speaking and knowing when to step up to the plate and not. I would gather and write down your leader...

Being on OStaff is exhausting and rewarding. During spring quarter you will be attending sessions to learn about the resources on campus as well as preparing the academic advising presentations. A typical day would be going to class and then attending training for a decent chunk of time. During t...

I would encourage the applicant to familiarize themselves with school resources since the position is oriented toward the school environment. Many of the questions being asked should be familiar to the applicant considering student-workers were elementary, middle school, and high school students ...

This would depend on a few things. As a brand new advisor, I would often stay late and come in on the weekends because I was not as efficient or fast when preparing files or I just wanted to look over everything twice to make sure I didn't make mistakes. After several week it dwindled down and af...

You don't have to be an extrovert, but do need to be able to communicate well with your students and co-workers. Clear written and verbal communication is at the top of the list. Technology skills with Word, Excel and the software programs are essential. Problem solving is another big one. You mu...

Your first step should be to thoroughly research the department. Every college has their own set up for advising and most leave the day-to-day structure up to the department. It will made a huge difference to the interviewing committee if you already have an idea of their structure. Get to know w...

Research the course curriculum for the department you are applying to. Also thoroughly research the institution. Thinking about what your advising philosophy is and what your goals are when you advise students.

To prepare for an Academic Advising position at Augsburg University, you can do some of the following things: Schedule an informational interview for 30mins with a current Academic Advisor to ask them how they got to this position. What did they major in. What skills do they need. Research about ...

The moment I walk into my office, I take these steps: Check my voicemail and return calls ASAP Look at my Google Calendar to see how many appointments I have for the day and start prepping for them As the day goes by, meet with students 1:1 to review their academic plans. Could be short term, lon...

UMUC has a non-traditional population of students. It is helpful to research the population the institution serves and to look into online education. Most of your advising will be through email and over the phone. As this is an entry-level position, it will also be important to consider your cust...

In advising, you deal with a lot of different people from various and unique backgrounds. Majoring in Anthropology and Ethnic Studies helped me in understanding students where they were at and in helping them find the best academic and career pathway based on their goals and experiences. If you a...

The most important part is to be as genuine as possible. The interview is fairly straightforward -- some questions about your strengths and weaknesses, examples of situations where you have had to work under pressure, and explanation of some of your strengths and weaknesses. The interviewers are ...

The flow of students and advising appointments differs upon which time of year it is -- the middle of the semester tends to be the quietest, but as students begin to think about their classes for the following semester, there is more of a rush. So, some days can be relatively quiet, maybe only on...

In order to prepare, I would suggest familiarizing yourself with majors, programs, and resources available at the University. Also, be prepared to share experiences of how you worked with student populations, faculty and staff, the importance of student retention and academic requirements of the ...

Learn about the department and the role you will play in the lives of students and your teammates (other academic advisors, directors of the department, faculty and staff in departments that will serve your students).Know why you think you would be the best person for that position. What could yo...

I think the best ways to prepare for an interview, is to come ready to talk about what you personally will bring to the space and why you want to work as a peer academic counselor. What are your passions? What do you want to gain from the space?

I would prepare for an Academic Advisor interview at Purdue University Northwest by researching the university and department, talking to other academic advisors about what is currently taking place in advising, specifically, at Purdue University Northwest, if possible. Find out the challenges an...

A day in the life of an Academic Advisor at Purdue University Northwest, during peek registration periods, may consist of the advisor meeting with eight to 25 students to make sure proper enrollment for courses takes place for the upcoming semester.Talking about vocational and/or personal goals o...

The company culture at the Learning Center is quite unique because the Academic Mentors and Tutors usually work individually just with their students. Since most of the work is done outside the office, community isn’t a main aspect of company culture. Although company culture may not be very prev...

When applying for the position as an Academic Mentor, applicants indicate their max hours of work they can take. The schedule of an Academic Mentor is also flexible as a mentor and mentee are paired up depending on matching schedules. This allows the mentor to keep a healthy balance between work,...

As an Academic Mentor, I’ve learned that empathy, clear communication, responsibility, organization, and time management are necessary skills to have in order to succeed. Organization is needed so that you can make sure that your own life is structured. Time management allows you to maintain a he...

Something that I disliked about being an Academic Mentor is that community really isn’t part of the job just because of the nature of the position. This could sometimes make the job a little isolating and lonely as there wasn’t much/any interaction with other co-workers. What I liked about being ...

Morning- Finish up remaining work from the day before and glance at the students you'll meet that dayGroup meeting- Spend 15-20 minutes getting to know the students you'll meet with individually later in the day. Answer any immediate questions about academics/Lerner/UD/college life in general.One...

Policy is all about understanding procedures and the rationale for them. This skill really came in handy in helping me remember what to do in certain cases and to be able to explain it diplomatically to students and parents when they had concerns. It also helped me draw logical conclusions about ...

Busy! The office is never quiet and students are constantly running in and out. You need to be able to handle disruptions gracefully and think on your feet. Often issues pop up that you've never run into before and you have to get creative and problem solve. Event planning is a really big part of...

I recommend reaching out to the Career Center and setting up an appointment with a career advisor. They help with resume and cover letter building and even mock interviews! Also, reach out to the Biology Advisor and ask questions about the position and how to prepare for the job.

1) Look at the job description and highlight key skills they are looking for (e.g. team work, counseling, leadership) -- they may ask questions that give you a chance to talk about those skills2) Reflect on your past experiences (work, volunteer, research, clubs & orgs, etc) and think of stories ...

Back when I was a Peer Academic Advisor, I would work 10 hours/week either providing academic counseling or sitting at the front desk, answering phones, etc. Students would sign up for 15 min appointments, and the other Peer Academic Advisors and I would advise them on majors, classes, etc. We wo...

Be prepared for a round table interview, with multiple people taking turns asking you questions. Be prepared to answer behavioral interview questions such as what are your strengths/weaknesses. Having a good understanding of the position will help you relate your previous experience to questions ...

Work load is split between taking student appointments, processing paperwork, data entry, and student communication. Depending on the time of year you can expect to do more of one thing to accommodate needs, for example, see only students all day during peak registration then catch up on processi...

Prepare by deciding on an idea that you would like to see implemented on campus regarding sustainability and write down a plan. Also, know why you are passionate about sustainability!

It's different every day, and I like it that way. The employees interact with each other a lot, and we like to help each other. The day really depends on where you are in your project, so you could be doing office work in the beginning - contacting people, setting up dates for your project. At th...

The best way for me to prepare for this interview was to work on being comfortable in an interview setting. I did a few practice interviews with my friends, and I feel that helped me to know a little more about myself. Accentuate your strong points and be aware of your weaknesses. In the end, the...

There are various tasks that go into your daily life as a Peer Academic Advisor. You: check that the log in pages are all up, meet with students that walk-in, answer phone calls, respond to emails, work on miscellaneous, ongoing tasks or projects in the office, and running any errands for the off...

You will be asked about any prior experience as a tutor, areas of specialty and your teaching style. It would be helpful to speak a bit about specific students you worked with and how you were able to discern their learning style and personalize your teaching approach with them. You may be asked ...

The schedule is very flexible and can vary based on your own availability. Hours begin from 3pm -9pm every week day with possible weekend work. If you plan to tutor for the SAT or SATII subject tests, the schedule picks up starting in January of testing year - June.

Good morning and great question!My advice for you is to do some research on the position; what it entails, requirements, expectations, ect. I would also do some research on the college itself; read over the mission and vision statement and reference it to how it applies to you. When you apply you...

For me it is a totally different experience than traditional advisors. I work under a contract held be KDOC and I am the academic advisor for two facilities in KS. I travel between Ellsworth Correctional Facility, Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility (now known as the young population progr...

To prepare for an interview for a Lead Academic Advisor I would proactively get involved with the College of Business and understand how many degree programs are actively available for students seeking a Business degree. I also would attend advising sessions to understand how an advising meeting ...

A day as an Academic Advisor consist of advising on average 15-20 students a day depending on how busy the office of professional development gets. It also consist of providing useful information in regard to engagement opportunities and degree choices based on the conversation you have with stud...

Talk about your soft skills. Things like listening, connecting, coaching. If you have any experience with Myers Briggs or holland codes, talk about that. Any experience with unique populatioms like foreign exchange students or veterans will benefit you. Your hard skill is liking going to data ent...

I perform some of the same tasks every day, including preparing papers for student meetings, filing paperwork, working with students' online information, and scheduling appointments. I also advise students---rather than merely setting up appointments, I use all the knowledge and resources I have ...

Make yourself familiar with the Banner system as much as possible. You will want to be ready to discuss these things: Computer skills, communication skills, privacy, appreciative advising. You can find out more about appreciative advising by visiting the NACADA website or doing a google search on...

Human Resources notifies applicants of who have made it to the interview process of interview dates and times available for you to schedule. When you arrive to your interview, check in with student services welcome desk. You will receive a copy of the interview questions you will be asked and wil...

My experience was a little different, since I was and academic advisor in the Center for Training and Development. The day could include answering incoming prospective or current student phone calls, scheduled advising, walk-in advising and case management. Case management included reviewing stud...

When interviewing for this position, the Academic Advising staff want to see that you are a well rounded student who is connected with your academic department, has qualities of a student leader, is able to problem solve, and is capable of working well with both students and faculty or staff memb...

A typical day working as a PAA will probably include appointments with students in their major who have questions about classes, registration, changing majors/minors/concentrations, transferring credits, or plans for graduation. During periods of the semester when students do not seek academic ad...

First, spend time researching Franklin. Information such as demographics, growth, industry and diversity. Then spend time researching the school district as well as the specific school you are applying to. Learn about their strengths to build on and who their students and families are.Finally, re...

Elementary school guidance counseling involves regular classroom lessons, much like teaching, but it is important to have concise lessons that allow students to have opportunities to speak and practice ie not just listen to another teaching voice. You will also creatively organize group counselin...

Find out the changes in how Trinity handles visits in the last decade, as I am sure it has changed since I worked there.Be personable - focus on the prospective student's needs first, and find a balance between that and the Admissions Office enrollment goals. The bottom line is that as much as yo...

Working as the International Admissions Counselor at Hampshire meant a lot of email communication, reading student applications and managing interviews with students via phone and skype. Much of the work is done on the computer, so being somewhat technologically aware would be helpful. I was not ...

In order to prepare I would encourage you to understand where the specific students are from. Specifically if they're from an urban or rural area in their home country and what amenities they might have access to that do or do not exist in the community they're moving to to attend the university....

This position is very much reactive. Students travel several thousand miles from home to attend University and have needs that feel very urgent to them. Many are not used to places like Walmart. They also come from countries where in order to have cell phone access they simply need to buy a sim c...

Find out the changes in how Trinity handles visits in the last decade, as I am sure it has changed since I worked there.Be personable - focus on the prospective student's needs first, and find a balance between that and the Admissions Office enrollment goals. The bottom line is that as much as yo...

You will have certain degree of freedom in scheduling your lecture sessions. Back then, we had a minimum quota for each week, but you can schedule as many if available. I use to save my morning for counselor sessions and grading homework/preparing for classes, and take lecture sessions scheduled ...

Understand the Fresh Air Fund's mission: to bring greater education and experience to underprivileged students than they could get in NYC. FAF sees their experience not just as a brief escape from city life, but an educational experience that can stay with kids for the rest of their lives. Admin ...

Every other week, you meet with your mentees in a group activity for a couple hours. The other weeks, you call/text them individually and attend a one hour meeting with your other mentors and leaders on one night of the week. Periodically there are some social events you are required to attend. T...

The University of Portland is a very mission-driven organization and I would suggest reviewing the mission and thinking about how you could see it influencing your work with clients. Additionally, have concrete examples of how you would do outreach to other parts of campus and alumni, how you wou...

The majority of a Career Counselor's day is spent meeting directly with student or alumni clients, discussing various aspects of career development ranging from major and career exploration to networking and internship/job searching. It's great to hear the diversity of clients' experiences, but d...

I'd recommend stopping by our drop in hours and talking with a current peer career advisor to get their perspective about the experience! Peer Career Advisors are amazing and serve a variety of roles beyond just advising students during drop in hours. They also work within our Handshake system, r...

When I worked as a peer career advisor my day consisted of greeting students, staff, or guest that were coming in, answering the phone, booking appointments, answering emails, and there were two days a week where I would have walk in hours to support students with their career goals.Something I w...

Each day is different as you are working with various students with different academic and personal achievements in locations that might have knowledge about the college admissions process or might lack any resources for college admissions. You might come in, answer emails in the morning, attend ...

As a Health Programs Admissions Advisor, you spend most of your time meeting with students, reviewing their transcripts, and talking about how competitive they might be as an applicant to a particular health program. You need to be able to clearly communicate admissions requirements, the applicat...

I think when I first started preparing for my interview, I felt like I needed to review everything about the school that I was told years ago by admissions counselors: statistics of financial aid, how we rank with other private Christian schools, areas of study we offer, etc. But really, the most...

So much fun! But the days changed from month to month because the job tasks were seasonal, which I really enjoyed. The beginning of the fall semester was a lot of data entry and signing up to run a booth at college fairs (which was my favorite part of the job)! Towards November and December the t...

Hello! For any admissions office positions, a major indicator of interest will be a familiarity with the program offerings. The interviewing staff will want to see that you've done some research and know a little bit about the programs that they are marketing to students, and what audience they t...

Admissions will be a great deal of emailing and processing paperwork, along with following up with people who have inquired about the school, and those that have applied. Typically there will be daily tasks like calling through a list of students who want to get questions answered, then there may...

Psychology helped me immensely in this role. At the end of the day, admissions is marketing and sales. You are trying to get people to trust that you're knowledgeable about the school, and to gently persuade them to consider applying and enrolling. The ability to read people, listen to people, an...

The interview for this position is as any other position. Be prepared to bring stories with you on experiences of you balancing work and school, of leadership, and just personal times where you endured through a situation. Obviously you want to bring your resume. I went through the process of han...

This is the admissions process: Online application screening, phone interview, main interview. The main interview consists of: Interview with the Director, writing portion, presentation and interview with the Associate Director. The writing portion: covering a typical email we get and how you wou...

We have different 'seasons' here. In fall, counselors are out traveling all across the US visiting schools and going to college fairs. In the spring, you are making a lot of calls to talk about student's financial aid packages.The typical day is: Checking in families CU presentation tours one on ...

Recruit recruit recruit! Evergreen Admissions Counselors spend a lot of their time on the road at local high schools, out-of-state high schools, and college fairs meeting with students in person to promote Evergreen's degree options. When in the office, Admissions Counselors will meet with studen...

An admissions counselor's primary responsibility is to service students and the University. Typically, there are a few types of days in admissions work: (1) on the road (recruiting), (2) in the office and (3) special events. Sometimes it is a blend. There is a lot of planning that goes into admis...

The Higher Education Administration (HEA) program is critical to my understanding of all the moving pieces within the University (roles, relationships, economies, ecosystems, etc.). It affords the student to connect individual roles and functions to larger contexts within and among the community ...

I worked on a small team of people.I meet with prospective students one on one.I would also travel around the state going to high school visits.Review applications to the university.

Think about why you want to be a Student Admissions Counselor. Ask yourself what are your favorite parts of your experience as a Geneva student and what are some of your least favorite parts? Think about how you would want to convey your positive thoughts to future Geneva students. Be willing to ...

You will spend most of your time calling people in the office. There is a lot of cold calling, which can be nerve racking but once you do it a couple times you get used to it. You are basically there to tell students about Geneva and show your enthusiasm through a phone call. This also involves l...

The way you can prepare is the following: Be yourself, that is nothing better than coming to an interview and be yourself. Read about what the services the Admissions Office gives to the students at BYU-Idaho and think on ways on how you can help the students obtain this services, and have a grea...

The day life is awesome. You are there helping the students as well as the potential students that are planning on attending BYU-Idaho. There are rotations during each shift, sometimes you are at the front desk and sometimes you are on the phones. You learn about your schedule while you are there...

The biggest thing is knowing why you want to work at The Humane Society- people who work there are not in it for the money, the truly are passionate about the work they do. The other thing to keep in mind is that you don't want to say things like "I hate people and love animals." We deal with peo...

It really varies- but it's definitely fast paced! The admissions department is one of the hardest departments to work in because you're dealing with people and pets on their worst day- someone lost their home and can't keep their pet, their dog bit their child and they don't feel safe keeping the...

People skills! As well as animal handling skills.You will need to have good risk assessment as well as be able to stay calm in highly stressful situations. People bringing in their pets are having a bad day and sometimes they take it out on staff when they don't hear what they want to hear. So be...

Like: the feeling of accomplishment I have, the good work I do, the animals, my coworkersDislike: seeing the worst of people(I like to keep in mind that most of the people that own pets in Utah are not trying to relinquish them and that I'm only seeing a small percentage of the pets and people wh...

Outline what questions you may be asked, such as things that you like or dislike about Calvin, and especially questions specifically about the international community at Calvin. Practice articulating your perspective as one of the international students, and simply be honest with your responses, ...

Think about what attracts you to working in an Admissions role. It requires a lot of interaction with families and prospective students. Are you the kind of person that feeds off of the energy of other people? Are you interested in connecting people to resources that will help them get to college...

It depends on the month, and even the week of the year! My responsibilities fall into several areas: music admission, advertising, social media, and the Summer Music Academy (to name a few). I usually work in several of these areas on any given day, but the time of year will determine the relativ...

I sincerely believe that my success in my current role was largely because of the Music Education program. There are a large number of skills that transfer directly into my day-to-day responsibilities.To name a few specifics: musicians spend an incredible number of hours shedding runs, developing...

Research KCAD's 17 undergraduate programs, our admissions requirements, and student life information. Also research the typical concerns of a student searching for college options. Read the job description thoroughly and develop examples of how you meet each of the requirements.

In the Fall (September-November) and Spring (February-April) we're on the road visiting high schools and community colleges, and attending college fairs and National Portfolio Day events. At these visits and events we present information about KCAD to small and large groups of students, talk one-...

Find out the changes in how Trinity handles visits in the last decade, as I am sure it has changed since I worked there.Be personable - focus on the prospective student's needs first, and find a balance between that and the Admissions Office enrollment goals. The bottom line is that as much as yo...

During my tenure as visits coordinator, I spend a lot of time talking with parents about Trinity's offerings and creating individual visit schedules for each prospective student who came to campus. Each visitor was assigned a campus guide who spent time with them throughout their 2-3 hour visit t...

Well, to prepare for an interview to become an Admissions Counselor, there are multiple different skill sets that you'll want to highlight during the interview. You want to make sure you highlight your experience working with people directly; Admissions Counseling is all about creating connection...

As an admissions counselor, you are constantly balancing different priorities at once. You want to focus on reaching out to students to discuss their career goals, while setting up initial interviews with them and their families. These are great ways of meeting students and also working with them...

If you have a good grasp on speaking about your own work experience, practicing this will help because they either want to know that you have relevant experience or are able to pick up a new job quickly and efficiently. Either way, speak positively the entire time, give them nothing negative to g...