Life and Work Advisor

Reporting to the Director of the Center for Life and Work, the Life and Work Advisor will support the Center for Life and Work to deliver individualized and group career advising to CalArts students and alumnx. Seeking applicants with ability to motivate persuade and direct the behavior of students and clients toward present and future goals. Candidate must have the ability to work effectively in a team environment, particularly in the context of an arts education. The Life and Work Advisor is a student-centered, collaborative, and intentional professional who coordinates individual counseling sessions with CalArts students, group counseling, career-oriented workshops, events, and programs, and helps facilitate career education opportunities.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Career Advising (70%)
• Advise students and alumnx in career counseling appointments;
• Guide students and recent alumnx through self-reflection, career discernment, strategic planning, and career decision making on an individual basis through one on one advising sessions and correspondence;
• Assist students in selecting and successfully matriculating into professional and graduate school programs, and other post-graduate opportunities such as Fulbright scholarships and residencies;
• Help students develop application materials including resumes, cover letters, CVs, portfolios, LinkedIn profiles and conduct mock interviews;
• Advise students on job search strategy, interviewing, self-reflection, time management, financial self-management, personal branding, social media use as it relates to job search and professional presence;
• Maintain advising notes and statistics;
• Maintain educational tools, resources, and handouts for students;
• Create content and design online instructional material and plan programs and workshops (both in-person and online) pertaining to life management skills as it relates to the world of visual and performing arts.

Career Education Programming (20%)
• Support the Director with group advising counseling, workshops, and large-scale programs and initiatives;
• Research industry career center standards and create a menu of career education programs and resources for students and alumnx;
• Coordinate group counseling sessions, and innovate career advising practices using industry best practices like career meet-ups and career communities to accommodate more students;
• Coordinate technology-based professional development workshops pertaining to career and life skills and assist in producing online learning tools to increase outreach and marketing efforts for the Center for Life and Work;
• Create promotional plan and develop marketing strategies for online career education resources.

Administration (10%)
• Familiar with legal issues impacting career services and career counseling;
• Maintain schedule/calendar and coordinate with Center for Life and Work staff to ensure all students and alumnx career needs are met;
• Develop an annual report on Career Advising using the Center for Life and Work’s Assessment Plan and tools;
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Director.

SKILLS/ABILITIES:
• Demonstrated career counseling and graduate school advising experience;
• Understand the needs and concerns of visual and performing arts students with deep knowledge of performing and visual arts careers, event production, and arts administration
• Knowledge of existing and current trends in career development theory;
• Strong skills in establishing effective working relationships;
• Professional demeanor, with strong oral and written communication skills;
• Ability to work in a small team setting demonstrating initiative and dependability;
• Ability to handle multiple tasks with ease and have the ability to independently prioritize tasks/duties;
• Should be well-versed in college web-based career development tools and resources online;
• Highly organized and self-directed;
• Proficient utilizing MS Office (Word, Excel), WordPress, Google suite, Google docs, database management software, and Internet;
• Critical thinking skills required.

EDUCATION:
• Bachelor’s degree required with academic preparation in career counseling, counseling, career development, college student personnel, or a combination of academic and experience in performing or visual arts field;
• Understanding of career advising in an arts organization or educational setting highly preferred;
• Understanding of current job market trends for artists highly preferred.
• Three to five years’ previous experience counseling in a college or university setting, or within an arts organization or institution preferred;
• Record of career advising experience within higher education, or within an arts education setting required;
• Proven experience working with students of diverse communities;
• Knowledge of the entry-level and visual and performing arts job market;
• Understanding of use of electronic resources in the career exploration and job search process for undergraduate and graduate students.

Position is available immediately. If you are interested, please submit a cover letter and resume to clwjobs@calarts.edu. Please indicate in the subject line: Life and Work Advisor in order to be considered.