Running head: PERSONAL CAREER TRAJECTORY

Personal Career Trajectory

Sarah Schanck
Georgia Southern University

PERSONAL CAREER TRAJECTORY

Personal Career Trajectory

Critical Points in Personal Career Development
I had the unique perspective of growing up with parents who were extremely active
alumni of their university as well as advisors for their respective Greek organizations. I was
exposed to the student affairs field very young and was always aware that the higher education
experience was about more than what you learned in a classroom. My mother was the
recruitment advisor for the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority at Stetson University. I was able to see that
involvement in an organization in college would allow you to have friends and fun, but that you
would also learn how to be a leader.
I became extremely involved in leadership and volunteer activities in high school and it
was a natural inclination for me to find a higher education institution where I could continue this
type of involvement. In college, I was very involved in Greek Life, a community ministry
organization, intramural sports, and wellness. I did not view higher education as a career option
at that time although I enjoyed the vibrancy and the development opportunities of this
involvement. During my senior year, I was required to take a career development class as a part
of the College of Business curriculum. In addition, it was necessary for me to secure and
complete an internship. I was very engaged in the class and in my own career development
process. In hindsight, I can now see that my engagement was less about what I discovered but
more about how I discovered it.
After two jobs in the non-profit arena after graduation, I was seeking an opportunity to
move into a new industry and began looking at opportunities in the local area, including higher
education institutions. I was offered the position of Job Development Consultant in the
University Career Center at Georgia College. Coincidentally, my supervisor was my senior

PERSONAL CAREER TRAJECTORY

career development professor from my alma mater. I knew very little about the higher education
administration field when beginning this career, but relished the opportunity to try it on
without having to commit to graduate education quite yet. I was waiting for the light bulb
moment.
That moment came when I met a senior psychology student seeking career advising for
her job search. After several appointments to work on her resume and to discuss strategies, she
confided in me that she had a traumatic brain injury and that impacted her cognition and social
development. Over the course of the semester, I had the amazing opportunity to work with her
on everything from job applications to practicing her voluntary disability disclosure in an
interview setting. It was an honor to work with her and watch her progress. My experience with
this student cemented the already growing feeling I had that working with college students was
my vocation.
Career Aspirations and Goals
At this point in time, I would like to continue my career within the career services field. I
enjoy assisting students in articulating their career goals and creating plans to achieve those
goals. My ultimate career aspiration would be to serve in the position of Director or Executive
Director of Career Services at a large institution. In the short term, this will require a masters
degree. My goal is to graduate from the Georgia Southern University program by December
2015. While working towards this degree, I will continue my position at Georgia College.
Working in a small department allows me access to strategic planning and decision making
initiatives. I have the opportunity to provide input in the direction of the department and the
creation and implementation of goals. Exposure to these competencies will bring me closer to
reaching my aspirations.

PERSONAL CAREER TRAJECTORY

According to Lee (2012), a career counselor must develop cultural competency to

continue to be successful as the demographics of our society and college students change. I
believe that I have achieved some of the sub-competencies that Lee recommends including
ethical practice and foundational knowledge of career development theory (2012). I do believe
that I have the ability to grow more culturally competent by increasing my global literacy and
cross-cultural encounters. In this exists an opportunity for collaboration within my own
professional development. My responsibility is to seek out opportunities to increase this
multicultural awareness. I could achieve this by volunteering and interacting with diverse
student groups or by seeking learning opportunities at professional meetings and conferences
about working with multicultural students.
It will also be important to gain skills in the areas of supervision, administration, and
budgeting. As previously mentioned, I am able to play a role in the strategic planning of our
department. I have asked for opportunities to learn more about budgeting and I am beginning to
be included on more of those conversations. I currently mentor three student assistants, but it
will be necessary for me to continue to seek out more opportunities to increase my competency
in this area.
Steps in Career Trajectory
I will have the potential opportunity after graduating from Georgia Southern to be
promoted to Assistant Director of the University Career Center at Georgia College. Within a few
years of graduating with my degree, I hope to relocate to Tennessee or Florida. Being able to job
search in those states with the title of Assistant Director from my previous institution would
allow me to be considered for a wider variety of opportunities because of the increased level of
responsibility and competency at that level. I would like to continue my professional

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progression at another small to medium sized institution. At some point in my career, I would
also like to experience working at a private institution. In a long term sense, continuing to gain
experience at a variety of different institutions (varied in size, governance, and mission) would
position me best to attain my overall career aspirations
In order to learn more about the qualifications for future levels within my field, I
researched current openings at higher levels using Higher Ed Jobs online career database. Using
a posting for Director, Career Services at Florida International University in Miami, I was able to
narrow in on some specific skills and qualifications for the career that I aspire to. Budgeting will
continue to be a competency that I need to enhance. For this position (and likely for similar
ones), a knowledge of grant administration would be helpful. It would also be necessary for me
to learn more about how the departmental goals of a career services office can contribute to the
overall strategic goals of the institution and then how that relates to accountability to external
stakeholders. Assessment is a key competency required of a professional in a director-level
position.
Professional Development Plan
I am fortunate to work at an institution and within a Student Affairs division that places
great value on continuing professional development. In order to attain my goals, I will continue
and eventually increase my involvement in professional associations. Using current literature, I
will immerse myself in current trends and issues affecting the industry. Mentors have and will
continue to play an important role in my professional development and I will collaborate with
colleagues both within and outside my field to increase my professional competency.
Professional Associations
At this time, I am a member of five professional associations in my field:

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Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers (GACE)

Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoAce)
National Association of College and Employers (NACE)
MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA)
Georgia Careers Consortium (GCC)

My greatest depth of involvement is with GACE and GCC. I serve on the Board for both of
those organizations, as 2014 Annual Conference Co-Chair and Secretary respectively. The
purpose of GACE is to connect career services professionals and professional recruiters through
networking and professional development opportunities. In addition to networking events and
drive-in workshops, our two signature events are the College to Career Fair and our Annual
Conference (www.gace.org). As conference co-chairs, my counterpart and I lead a committee of
approximately 20 members to plan a 3-day statewide conference with an approximate attendance
of 110 people and a $45,500 budget. Involvement in GACE allows me to hone my skill set in an
environment outside of my office as well as build a positive reputation in my field. GCC is a
consortium of career services professionals from the small (less than 10,000 students) 4 years
colleges and universities in the state. Our primary purpose is to network and plan the Career
Opportunities Fair every fall. This fair allows our students opportunities to network with large
companies that may not visit all of the individual members' campuses. I am currently the
secretary and a member of the executive committee for GCC. This allows me to learn about the
administration of a professional organization.
At this time, I do not plan to expand my professional association involvement. I have
attended professional conferences and meetings for all five of the organizations I am a member
of and will continue to do so. I have also presented at several conferences. I will be serving
another term as secretary of GCC and will likely continue my involvement on the GACE Board

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of Directors. After graduating from Georgia Southern University, I will look at additional ways
to increase my involvement.
Current Literature
In order to maintain my knowledge of the current issues and trends facing the field, I
follow multiple publications. I like to seek out this information digitally. For the career services
field, I often refer to the National Association of Colleges and Employers Knowledge Center
(NACE Web). This website contains a wealth of articles relating to career development,
employer relations, and other areas of knowledge essential to the career services profession. For
information related to the overall field of higher education, I read the articles found in the
Chronicle of Higher Education. Reading articles in this publication grants me insight into the
industry as a whole as well as trends and challenges affecting other functional areas.
Mentorship
I maintain several informal mentoring relationships with colleagues. My involvement in
professional associations has allowed me to develop relationships with knowledgeable
colleagues in my functional area. These mentors have shared best practices, assisted me as I
created solutions to problems I have faced, and encouraged me to get more involved in ongoing
professional development. More formally, I have developed a mentoring relationship with
Charlene Leach, Associate Director of Career Services at Mercer University. We both sit on the
Boards for the Georgia Careers Consortium and the Georgia Association of Colleges and
Employers. Charlene has given me advice and insight into our profession. We set goals for my
involvement including presentations at conferences and involvement in the administration of our
associations. She counsels me in taking steps to achieve the desired outcomes. This mentoring
relationship will continue as I develop more depth in my individual career and within the field.

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Collaboration
As aforementioned, it will be to my advantage to immerse myself in multicultural
opportunities to increase my competency in serving increasingly diverse students. In addition to
this area, I also believe that it will be important for me to gain exposure to other functional areas
of higher education, as right now my career in this industry has been limited to career services. I
am currently trying to achieve this goal by serving as an advisor to the Psi Gamma Chapter of the
Chi Omega Fraternity at Mercer University. Serving as a sorority advisor has allowed me to
learn more about the unique challenges facing these students and the staff members that serve
them. I have also begun collaborating with Leadership Programs on the Georgia College campus
to learn how leadership and career development integrates into a students overall development
in college. I serve as career advisor to students completing these programs and I have learned a
great deal about the challenges facing these students. Continuing my collaborative efforts and
seeking out new ones will assist me in reaching my professional development goals and overall
aspirations.
Conclusion
As I seek to reach my long-term career aspiration of becoming a Director or Executive
Director of Career Services at a large institution, I will need to continue to be aware of my
progress along a professional development plan. This plan will allow me to increase my
competencies in areas that will give me the qualifications to be hired in such a position and
succeed. My professional development plan will consist of continued involvement in
professional associations, review of current literature, mentorship, and collaboration.

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9
References

Florida International University. (October 23, 2011). Director, career services job description.
https://pslinks.fiu.edu/psp/jobs/CUSTOMER/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL?Pag
e=HRS_CE_HM_PRE&Action=A&SiteId=1000
Georgia Association of Colleges and Employers. (n.d.). About GACE. http://gace.org/
AboutGACE.
Georgia Careers Consortium. (n.d.). About us. http://www.georgiacareeropportunities.org/
#!about-us
HigherEdJobs. (n.d.). Career counseling and placement jobs. http://www.higheredjobs.com/
admin/search.cfm?JobCat=22.
Lee, C.C. (2012). A conceptual framework for culturally competent career development practice.
Career Planning & Adult Development Journal, 28(1), 7-14.
National Association of Colleges and Employers. (n.d.) http://www.naceweb.org/
knowledge/index.aspx.