Peer Career Advisors: Auburn’s Newest Leadership Role

auburn.edu/pca

The role of Peer Career Advisor (PCA) is Auburn University’s newest position of leadership and development available to students on Auburn’s campus. This new program - which stems from the platform of current Miss Auburn Millie Harrison and the advisors of the Career Development Services - offers students the possibility to reach out, educate, and advise fellow students through one on one interaction about majors, minors, and career advice.

A long-needed program on Auburn’s campus, PCA has been Millie’s brainchild for quite some time. Her desire to help fellow students with class and career advice dates back to her own struggle to choose a major her sophomore year. She knew she did not want to be another Auburn statistic, and now she wants other students to get out of the five and six year graduation plan too. She shared with me that, “sixty three percent of Auburn undergraduates earn a degree within six years, and out of that sixty three percent, only half of them graduate within four years. This is something that drastically needs to improve.”  Peer Career Advisors has the potential to change the way Auburn students become educated about their careers and what they need to do during their (hopefully) four years at Auburn to prepare for them.

The responsibilities, requirements, and benefits of this exciting new program are listed below:

Responsibilities

-give presentations

-review resumes and cover letters

-network with local and national recruiters

-direct and refer students to relevant resources or career counselors

-contribute to social media

Requirements

-Rising junior or senior status

-GPA of 3.0 or above

-extremely strong communication skills: both written and verbal

-self-motivated and strong interpersonal skills

-able to commit 5 hours of work per week

Benefits

-stipend

-advanced registration

-networking opportunities

-extensive training and leadership development

Looking into the future, Millie pledges that, “Peer Career Advisors will be a relevant and lasting program on Auburn’s campus. It is for students of all classifications and majors and will continue to assist the student body with career decisions after our time at Auburn has passed.” PCA is a great way to gain valuable leadership experience, learn about career development and the resources available through CDS, and help your fellow Auburn students. Applications are due April 8, 2011. Go here for more information and to apply!

CDS Intern ‘11