CAREER SERVICES PROGRAM ADVISOR POSITION DESCRIPTION
Division:
Department:
Position:
Reports to:
Student Affairs & Academic Affairs
Career Services/Liberal Arts in Practice Center
Program Advisor
Career Development Advisor of the Liberal Arts in Practice Center
The Program Advisors within the Liberal Arts in Practice Center (LAP-C) support programs of both the Office
of Career Services and the Office of Community-Based Learning. The Office of Career Services is a
counseling and direct services component of the Student Affairs division, housed in the LAP-C. The office
provides advising, resources, events and programs for all areas of career development, including career and
major exploration and decision making, internship, summer job and full-time job searches, resume and cover
letter writing, interviewing, networking, graduate school planning and application preparation, and related
career areas. Career Services also administers the College’s Non-Credit Registered Internship Program. The
Office of Community-Based Learning provides services and resources for internships and other communitybased initiatives and special projects, coordinate the support to faculty and students for the College’s Academic
Internship Program and Duffy Partnerships Program, and support faculty and students with curricular
community-based learning projects. All Center staff may work with students, administrators, staff, faculty,
alumni, parents, graduate/professional school representatives, recruiters, employers and community partners.
Program Advisors serve as vital and dynamic members of the staff in the LAP-C. These positions are
paraprofessional in nature – ‘para’ meaning “at the side of”; therefore, paraprofessional Program Advisors work
in a professional capacity along with full-time professionals in the office, but primarily with their peers. They
also work closely with all other College constituencies – staff, faculty, alumni, employers, and other friends of
the College.
Program Advisors will develop a full understanding of the goals, objectives, and programs of the LAP-C; act in
adherence with professional standards and ethics; maintain confidentiality; and communicate appropriately with
other staff.
Program Advisor Responsibilities:
Project Management:
 Design, create, reproduce and/or distribute/post internal and external promotional/marketing materials
 Coordinate and/or or contribute to the production and distribution of weekly campus emails, bi-annual
newsletters and other department literature
 Coordinate and/or contribute to the Center’s services, events or programs
 Coordinate and facilitate outreach programs/workshops on the Center’s resources and career-related topics
to campus-wide audiences
Advising:
 Assist peers with resume and cover letter writing, and deliver constructive critiques
 Advise students about experiential learning opportunities and resources, such as internships, shadow
experiences, and related fellowships
 Maintain familiarity with the resources that the Center provides (library, guides and handouts, graduate
admissions testing information, internship database, alumni networking resources, the LAP-C website,
miscellaneous World Wide Web resources, career assessments)
Service:
 Provide general reception services, including arranging and confirming appointments using GoogleApps
calendar, answering telephones and taking messages
Program Advisor Position Description Updated 1/12/10
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Assist students with using the Center’s resource materials; answer questions and give direction to resources
as needed
Assist Center staff with service delivery using Web 2.0 applications
Ensure all peers and community members using program/office services feel welcome, respected and
listened to
Provide staffing support and perform related duties for career fairs and other special events hosted or
coordinated by the Office of Career Services and Office of Community-Based Learning.
Administrative Support:
 Perform filing, photocopying, mass mailings and other related activities
 Perform data entry to add information to the Center’s databases for advising contacts, events/presentations,
internships, employer contacts, and job/internship/fellowship/volunteer postings
 Conduct telephone surveys, follow up calls and inquiries for information related to the department’s
services, events and activities (i.e. appointment reminders or follow ups, senior survey and alumni survey
follow ups, event confirmations, organization/company contact inquiries, prize solicitations for career fairs)
 Ensure that all peers using program/office services feel welcome and are appropriately assisted
 Perform other related duties as assigned
Additional Information
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Average 9 hours per week (including regular weekly office hours, occasional adjusted day or evening hours
for special programming, projects and PA interviewing, a weekly staff meeting, monthly one-to-one
meetings with their supervisor)
Mandatory training prior to the start of the Fall and Spring academic terms, returning to campus up to 7-10
days prior to Registration for Fall term, and returning up to 2-3 days prior to Registration for Spring term
(hourly pay, room and board provided during training)
Not required to work during the first week of each term, on symposium days, Spring Day, study days, final
exam days, or school holidays
Required Skills:
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Capacity to learn and develop strong helping skills
Telephone, public relations and hosting skills
Excellent creativity, composition, grammar, and spelling
Strong organization and coordinating skills
Ability to work effectively independently and in a team environment
Unquestionable ability to maintain and protect confidential information.
Prompt, timely in completing work assignments, independent/resourceful
Must demonstrate initiative and creativity with regard to outreach
Technology skills helpful
Program Advisor Position Description Updated 1/12/10
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