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Admissions counselors recruit students, talk to referral sources, and must have good interpersonal, interviewing, and organizational skills. They must also be able to adapt to changes and recognize talent and ability in prospective students.
An admissions counselor is an important person for most colleges, especially those with strict eligibility guidelines. This person needs to recruit students and talk to referral sources so he has good interpersonal and interviewing skills. The admissions counselor must also be able to adapt to changes because he will speak to different people and groups, travel to different areas, and may work different shifts to complete the job. To keep everything in order, the counselor often needs organizational skills. If the college has tough acceptance guidelines, the advisor must also be able to recognize talent, ability, and sometimes various intangibles that the college looks for in prospective students.
One of the main tasks of an admissions counselor is to talk to people. He needs to talk to people to find out about certain events or students; he has to talk to students to see if they are qualified, recruit them and get an idea about their character; and he needs to talk to the parents to convince them that college is right for their kids. This makes the counselor’s interpersonal and interviewing skills important. He must be good with people or this career is likely to be quite difficult.
The position of an admissions counselor is fraught with change, and anyone wanting this career should be comfortable with change. Depending on the recruiting season, the counselor may have to work long hours, night and weekend hours, or varying shifts to complete the job. Each person the counselor talks to will be different, and he must adjust to this for effective communication. Traveling to different areas to attend college fairs or other events where he can find students to recruit is also important.
Organizational skills are important because it can be easy to get lost or forgotten in the midst of changing travel and schedules. An admissions counselor must be able to organize workloads, dates and events to ensure everything gets done. The faculty will want reports on recruiting activity; therefore, the advisor must be organized enough to prepare and deliver reports in a timely manner.
While some colleges have general acceptance guidelines, such as having a certain grade range, others have specific acceptance guidelines that can be difficult for students to meet. If there are specific guidelines, the admissions advisor should be able to identify a person’s specific qualifications and any intangibles that might make the student stand out from a crowd of students who have the same basic qualifications. This can be discovered by consulting the records, talking to reference sources, or talking to students and faculty. If the counselor fails to do this, he may pass on good recruits or recruit students who don’t fit the college mold.
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