OCD Update: Challenges and Rewards of Career Counseling
Former OCD Career Counselor
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Administration
Think of a job that allows you to meet new people every day and help them in making decisions that can shape the course of their lives. Think of a very visible position in which you are expected to have opinions, and your suggestions are taken seriously. Finally, think of a role where your sincere efforts are instantly recognized, and you are thanked often and thanked sincerely for your contributions by the people you work for. This is a very brief, if inadequate, description of the role of a Career Counselor at the Ross
School of Business.
Before RSB, I had worked with students in India applying for graduate level academic programs and helped them prepare for different aspects of the application process. I knew that I really enjoyed helping people to make educated decisions about their careers and to work towards accomplishing their professional goals. Hence, when I was offered the opportunity to work as a Career Counselor at the Career Center of the business school I was happy to accept it. I have been a counselor since the Fall and would certainly rate my experiences in this role as one of the high points of my experience at the Ross School of Business.
The Career Counseling Center is managed by a very efficient and professional team. The staff trains incoming counselors, facilitates their transition into the new role, and provides all the support needed by the counselors. Working as a counselor comes with its own set of challenges. The role involves a regular time commitment; one has to block a few hours each week to set up formal appointments and to meet people at the Career Counseling Center. Of course, there are also the offline appointments that may be set up anywhere else in the school or beyond. This is not easy when one takes into account the demands of coursework and one's own career related activities, in case one is planning to interview for full-time positions.
But the amount of effort the role actually demands from an individual goes beyond this time commitment. Each student has unique needs and comes to the Career Counseling Center hoping to meet a person who would understand their needs quickly and assist by addressing them. This role cannot be handled with a cookie-cutter approach. There have been times when I have met fifteen students (including 1st and 2nd year BBAs and MBAs and MAcc students) in the course of a single day. Had I tried the one-size-fits-all approach, I would have had some very unhappy people leaving my room that day! You need to REALLY listen to the students to understand what their concerns are. But that is just half the job. You have to draw upon your knowledge, training, and experience to come up with what you think is the best advice.
School of Business.
Before RSB, I had worked with students in India applying for graduate level academic programs and helped them prepare for different aspects of the application process. I knew that I really enjoyed helping people to make educated decisions about their careers and to work towards accomplishing their professional goals. Hence, when I was offered the opportunity to work as a Career Counselor at the Career Center of the business school I was happy to accept it. I have been a counselor since the Fall and would certainly rate my experiences in this role as one of the high points of my experience at the Ross School of Business.
The Career Counseling Center is managed by a very efficient and professional team. The staff trains incoming counselors, facilitates their transition into the new role, and provides all the support needed by the counselors. Working as a counselor comes with its own set of challenges. The role involves a regular time commitment; one has to block a few hours each week to set up formal appointments and to meet people at the Career Counseling Center. Of course, there are also the offline appointments that may be set up anywhere else in the school or beyond. This is not easy when one takes into account the demands of coursework and one's own career related activities, in case one is planning to interview for full-time positions.
But the amount of effort the role actually demands from an individual goes beyond this time commitment. Each student has unique needs and comes to the Career Counseling Center hoping to meet a person who would understand their needs quickly and assist by addressing them. This role cannot be handled with a cookie-cutter approach. There have been times when I have met fifteen students (including 1st and 2nd year BBAs and MBAs and MAcc students) in the course of a single day. Had I tried the one-size-fits-all approach, I would have had some very unhappy people leaving my room that day! You need to REALLY listen to the students to understand what their concerns are. But that is just half the job. You have to draw upon your knowledge, training, and experience to come up with what you think is the best advice.
Be the first to comment on this story