What exactly does College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns® do?

College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns provides consulting and mentoring to help you reach your educational and career goals. With this strategic, individualized approach, you will create an individualized action plan to achieve your short, medium, and long-term goals.

What topics are covered as part of the college component?

• Prospective college students and families will learn about the connections between college disciplines and professional opportunities, explore career ideas and their compatibility with their skills and interests, select appropriate colleges that meet their needs, prepare admissions applications, explore financial aid and scholarship possibilities, identify potential majors and courses of study, and learn financial literacy skills.
• First-year college students will learn how to navigate the college maze effectively, how to get the most out of college life, develop survival techniques for dealing with unanticipated problems, find out how to interact with faculty to increase academic success, and learn how to handle stress.
• Transfer students will learn how to revise outdated plans and implement new ones if their original college choice didn’t turn out as expected. Transferring from one institution to another is fairly common. In fact, one in three students transfers to another college after the first year.
• Parents of first-year students will find out how to ensure a smooth family transition, how to keep their college student on track to graduate in four years, how to handle the middle-of-the-night phone calls, how to understand the changes in their child, and how to survive the emotional roller coaster of the transformational first year.

College components are related to future professional life and, as such, begin with an exploration of industry and employment trends, career concepts, and their compatibility with various skills and interests. This background serves as the foundation for the individualized plan of services each client receives.

What services are included in the career component?

Career seekers will explore industry and employment trends in a changing economic climate, learn how to search for, find, or change jobs, hone professional etiquette skills, and map out what training and education might be needed to make it all happen. Whether you are a mid-career changer or a recent college graduate, you will broaden your career options, update your résumé and interview skills, refine your professional communication, strengthen your negotiation and decision-making skills, and develop your action plan. These topics provide the foundation for increased career satisfaction and advancement.

Do you place people in jobs?

College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns® is not a placement or employment agency and does not “place” people in jobs. Rather, it helps individuals navigate their job search strategically, providing specific knowledge, training, and resources. College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns® provides a structure to clarify and analyze your qualifications and guides you towards careers in which you will be more successful. We show you how to conduct a strategic job search, how to put your best foot forward, how to network, how to get a job, and how to remain successful while on the job. We provide training on specific skills such as negotiation and decision making—two areas that bolster success in the long term.

How is College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns® different from other college-career counselors and consultants?

College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns® helps you create a lifelong, comprehensive academic and professional plan. It helps you clarify your needs, interests, and skills and moves you forward along a continuum to reach your particular goals—your definition of success. You may have a short term goal such as finding the right college fit or getting a promotion or a long-term goal such as getting a graduate degree or developing expertise in a new field. We help you create the foundation to succeed.

What can College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns® do that my child’s high school counselor can’t do?

College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns® provides a breadth and depth of assistance that goes significantly beyond what high school counselors typically provide.  College and Career Kon-ver-SAY-shuns® provides in-depth assistance not just on selecting schools that will be a good match, but on broader topics such as how to resolve academic issues, how to interact effectively with faculty and stay on track to graduate in four years, how to negotiate with a variety of constituencies, and how to avoid getting into too much debt. High school counselors provide short-term assistance of a more general nature, such as recommending which colleges to apply to and ensuring students understand the requirements and follow testing protocols. In reality, college counseling is just a small part of most high school counselors’ roles. Their primary duties often relate to class scheduling, testing administration, and accountability reporting.

Do you guarantee acceptance to particular colleges?

No, there are no guarantees for being accepted to a certain college or program within a college. Acceptance depends on a combination of factors—all of which are driven by the student’s academic, extracurricular, and testing record, professional and personal goals, and the college’s requirements. Beware of guarantees; they frequently are the purview of scam artists. College and Career Kon-ver-SA-shuns® provides the framework for the student to move through the entire college process in a more knowledgeable, less anxiety-ridden way. The goal is to motivate the student to identify, apply to, and gain acceptance to the institutions which will provide the best fit academically and personally. The better the fit, the more successful the college experience.

Do you write essays for admission applications?

No, and doing so would be dishonest. College admissions readers can easily spot essays that are not written by the student. Admissions officers know that teenagers might use a more conversational voice and some slang in their essay, and that is acceptable. The readers want to hear the student’s voice, skills, and personality shine through, and only an essay developed and written by the applicant is acceptable. It’s understandable that students might feel anxious about writing the college application essay. We walk them through every step of the process, provide structure, clarification, critique, and resources for successful essay writing.

How much do services cost?

The fee for services is based on an hourly rate. It includes consulting services, detailed research on your behalf, referrals as appropriate, college-career materials, action plan, and support throughout the entire process. Costs do not include application fees, travel, or other expenses you incur applying to colleges or for a job. For information, references, or a quote, please call 817.946.6162.