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From Employer to Career Development Professional

By Caroline Houchins posted 02-01-2018 08:21

  
Transitioning from a career as an employer to career development staff member is the best career move one can make. I did it.

 As an employer, you see the issues that a recruiter or hiring manager has to go through day in and day out. The things you learn as a recruiter are, include but not limited to: the difficulties with recruiting and hiring, how people really are within an organization and those whom you are interviewing, the intricacies of human resources policies depending on the company, and even how difficult it is to navigate a career development center at a university/college.

We all know how challenging it can be to navigate a university/college. This knowledge makes you a viable candidate to be in employer relations in a career development center.  You have that knowledge to help you understand the needs of an employer and come up with creative ideas that you wish you had as an employer. Who better for an employer to trust than someone who has been there and understands the work.

For me, having the background as an employer going into career development made me even more successful in my role. Employers knew my background and were  comfortable telling me what was “in between the lines” of a job description. They knew I understood the requests of hiring managers and the challenge. This made for a great partnership between my university and the employers. I understood the complexities of hiring a new employee and the channels the process would have to go through. I also could think as an employer and come up with ideas I wish I had the opportunity to have as an employer. I could talk to the talk with them, which helped the employer and kept them coming back.

That was the best move I could have made. My experience made my job “easy.” If you thought about transitioning to education and you are a recruiter, you are much needed in the employer relations side. Your expertise can help build great partnerships with employers to increase the likelihood of students gaining employment. Just think about it.

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Comments

02-16-2018 10:08

I also moved from a role in the corporate world to higher education. I started on our employer relations team where my background helped me immensely. I am now on our career development team and both past experiences i believe lend to my current success as a Career Coach.

02-15-2018 08:40

I have also just made the move from Industry to a career services professional.  What a rewarding position being able to maintain my industry contacts and assist students (future employees) prior to entering the workforce. 

I have begun reaching out to local colleges and joining groups within our state.  I am very interested in supporting programs or certifications which will allow me to gain credentials in the industry.  I am currently working on taking a Facilitating Career Development (FCD) Class which should qualify me to apply for national certification as a Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) and a Certified Career Services Provider (CCSP).  I would appreciate any other suggestions.

Our students seem to enjoy my no-nonsense quick first impression responses to their resumes which are supported by basic information for effective resume writing and comments from our employers and alumni.  I use a lot of red pen markings and direct comments to show them how easily their resumes can be discarded by potential employers.