Overview:
Career Advisors support students and/or alumni to identify and achieve their career and employment goals. They help them to identify their values, needs and skills and use this information to seek out, engage in, and extract meaning from a wide variety of experiences. Each career advisor tends to work closely with a particular group of learners, such as undergraduate students, graduate students, students who wish to pursue professional or graduate school and/or alumni. There are opportunities to specialize within the role in areas such as career indecision or change, continuing education, navigating the co-op process, career curriculum development, peer advising supervision, etc.
This role supports current Waterloo undergraduate students, alumni, and occasionally graduate students as they explore their interests in further education. Often those who access our services experience identity-related barriers in educational systems that are inherently and systemically oppressive. The Further Education team aims to centre safety and strives to lead with a person-centred and trauma-informed approach to support those with complex identities as they navigate their path to further education.
There is a qualified internal candidate in the role.
Responsibilities:
Support students and/or alumni in employment, career decision-making and strategy, further education, and/or co-op and work-integrated learning (WIL) contexts
Develop strong, supportive advising relationships that are adaptable to people from all identities and experiences
Cultivate trust with people in one-on-one environments, centering attention on the values and needs of the person seeking service and creating an environment that encourages the development of self-efficacy, resilience, and career optimism
Facilitate reflection through active listening and interviewing skills to help people identify and synthesize self-information for use in a variety of career, employment, and further education settings
Capably help people to find and access the tools and resources that will help them identify and/or pursue their priorities and goals
Support people to understand and navigate sometimes-opaque employment and institutional systems
Facilitate learning through group advising, workshops, webinars, presentations, events and resources to meet student/alumni needs, customized to the audience (e.g., specific associations/academic programs; in and outside of the classroom)
Guide people in accessing and using labour market and other sources of information to build their understanding of the world of work
Tailor approach to setting (in person, by phone, online) and the individual’s needs through active listening, application of counselling microskills, and relevant content knowledge
Plan and run effective, tailored career- and employment-related events
Enhance programming for prospective and pre-arrival students across campus
Strengthen on-campus reputation as source of curricular and co-curricular career learning and growth
Support other on-campus Advisors in developing best practices-aligned services encompassing career education
Coach other on-campus Advisors on a case-by-case basis to enable effective career supports
Build relationships with campus colleagues to educate on referral processes, resources, and train-the-trainer opportunities
Build or facilitate access to career resources that anticipate and target campus partners’ needs in supporting students
Deliver inclusive career education in partnership with CCA’s stakeholders
Design creative approaches to supporting and guiding a community of students and/or alumni in career, employment, further education, cooperative education and/or other experiential education settings
Ground career development approaches in contemporary career education and student development theories (e.g., Narrative, Design Thinking, Active Engagement, Planned Happenstance, Career Construction)
Maintain awareness of current career development issues and labour market trends
Develop and maintain a thorough knowledge of other University of Waterloo and community resources
Develop training and tools for fellow Career Advisors; share expertise; support cross-training
Support Faculty personnel (instructors and academic advisors) to develop their confidence and depth of understanding of how to facilitate effective career and co-op conversations
Influence stakeholder perspectives on career education, such as: the value and pervasiveness of non-linear pathways, emerging labour market trends, relevant career development theories/metaphors
Collaborate with the Faculty Relations Managers and the Career Education Strategy and Communication Specialist to develop effective storytelling for clients
Educate and support student-staff and other student and alumni leaders/influencers in employment topics; collaborate on targeted events (in person and online)
Promote awareness and understanding of CCA (e.g., through student orientation, outreach)
Bring functional leadership to key service(s) and portfolio(s). Areas of impact could include:
Alumni
Partner with Waterloo alumni, often in time-limited situations, to find or create meaningful work and learning opportunities
Career Exploration and Decision Making
Support clients through individual and group engagement methods to deepen student/alumni self-awareness
This portfolio may provide the opportunity to meet clinical experience requirements for College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO)
Undergraduate and Co-op Employment Advising
Support students to gain employment (resumes, cover letters, managing online presence, work search tactics, interviews, negotiating salary)
Guide and support students new to co-op in navigating the co-op employment process.
Further Education
Support people to identify and work toward their further education goals; often related to health employment goals
Research and organize profession-specific resources and admission policy information for graduate school, professional school and college programs
Graduate Students and Postdocs
Partner with Master’s students, PhD candidates and Postdocs to navigate the world of career and employment in any sector
Peer Advisor Programming
Support CCA’s Career Leader program, including recruiting, training, scheduling, coaching team of 10-20 student-staff; ensure quality of service
Support CCA’s training and mentorship role for student leaders across campus, including training, coaching Housing Dons and Teaching Assistants for Career Fundamentals course (PD1) and Coop Fundamentals for Engineering module
Additional functional leads also exist for special initiatives and curriculum development work.
Qualifications:
Undergraduate university degree required
Courses, training, certification/degree or equivalent experience in Trauma-informed Counselling, Ethics, Career Development and/or Social Work would be a strong asset
Experience listening actively and using counselling/advising approaches and skills (preferably in a professional development or career development context)
Experience creating safe spaces for trusting/helping conversations
Experience setting aside any preconceived ideas, structures or assumptions of what knowledge or conventions would be best for someone else
Formal or informal experience navigating complicated bureaucratic systems
Experience/interest in facilitating reflection and learning within group settings, large and small
Established ability to develop creative, tailored curricula and resources
For the Graduate Student Support portfolio: deep appreciation for, and experience with, how the journey of earning an advanced degree intertwines with identity
Active listening and intentional verbal and written communication skills
Non-judgmental, empathetic and creative approach to working through challenges is a must
Ability to avoid sharing “expert” advice and instead focus on supporting people in their own learning and reflection
Commitment to deepening advising skill through individual reflective practice and professional development, as applicable
Awareness of own social location and how it affects the power and privilege in advising relationships
Ability to learn material and complex processes, and work within these structures, not just memorize information
Understanding of professional scope and able to make appropriate referrals to community, institutional, and student-run services, considering potential barriers that individuals might face in accessing them
Openness to group learning; interest in pedagogy, group learning theories and activity-based learning
Ability to build relationships and collaborate with colleagues both inside and outside the department
Ability to develop and coordinate projects and programs, delivering quality programming while meeting deadlines
Ability to manage own schedule and balance competing priorities in a fast-paced work environment
Appreciation of the purpose and value of quality work-integrated learning / co-operative education in preparing students for work/life is preferred
Ability to maintain working knowledge of relevant technology, including facilitation tools (e.g., polling platforms), social media and online platforms (e.g., e-portfolios; LinkedIn)
Ability and commitment to resourcefully research and maintain information relevant to the Advisor’s portfolio (e.g., labour market trends, admissions information for further education programs, services for making appropriate and well-informed referrals)
Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft Teams, Google Docs, and other online productivity tools (e.g., for webinars and one-on-one online engagement)
Working weekend, evening and/or irregular hours/schedules
Vaccination Requirement Statement:
Effective May 1, 2022, the University suspended its Vaccination Requirement. Prior to May 1, pursuant to this Requirement, all University employees were required to submit proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 (subject to the University’s obligations under the Human Rights Code to accommodate employees who were unable to receive a vaccination). The University’s Vaccination Requirement website can be found here: https://uwaterloo.ca/coronavirus/return/vaccination-requirement.
The pandemic is ongoing and public health advice continues to evolve. Accordingly, the University reserves the absolute right to reinstate the Vaccination Requirement on short notice, and upon such reinstatement you will be required to comply. You shall also be required to comply with any new health and safety policies/requirements implemented by the University from time to time, including new policies/requirements related to mandatory employee vaccination. As the University may need to reinstate the Requirement on short notice, it will continue to collect and maintain up-to-date information on employee vaccination status. Please submit your Covid-19 vaccine status (QR code) to: https://checkin.uwaterloo.ca/
Failure to comply with the Vaccination Requirement if it is reinstated, including failure to comply with any future amendments to the Vaccination Requirement, or failure to comply with new health and safety policies/requirements implemented by the University, including those related to new mandatory employee vaccination, shall result in discipline up to and including termination of employment.
The requirement to be vaccinated, if reinstated, will be subject to the duty to accommodate pursuant to the Human Rights Code. If you are unable to be vaccinated for reasons related to a ground protected under the Human Rights Code, you may submit a written request for accommodation with an explanation of the reasons and/or any supporting documentation. If you request accommodation, the University may follow up with you for further information if necessary.
Equity Statement:
The University of Waterloo is committed to implementing the Calls to Action framed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We acknowledge that we live and work on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River.
The University values the diverse and intersectional identities of its students, faculty, and staff. The University regards equity and diversity as an integral part of academic excellence and is committed to accessibility for all employees. The University of Waterloo seeks applicants who embrace our values of equity, anti-racism and inclusion. As such, we encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis and/or Inuit/Inuk, Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.
All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.
The University of Waterloo is committed to accessibility for persons with disabilities. If you have any application, interview, or workplace accommodation requests, please contact Human Resources at hrhelp@uwaterloo.ca or 519-888-4567, ext. 45935.