Deborah Federico’s work day on Monday, February 8, 2010.
I am a career counselor for undergraduate students in the School of Management at Boston University and have been in my position for two years now. I love my job! Having an MBA from Boston College, I used to work in the corporate world doing marketing and market research, which I really enjoyed, but I love working in higher education even more. I am also a prolific writer who loves to write in my career counseling blog for college students: http://career-calling.blogspot.com/
My day started on a great note (literally!) when two seniors came into the career center to ring the bell. Students come in to ring the bell when they have gotten a job offer. They pull the cord of this gigantic bell on the wall to emit a very loud “ding” and everyone comes out of their offices to clap for and congratulate the students and listen to their success stories.
After that, I read and responded to emails from students and colleagues, which is the way I typically start my day. The rest of my day is usually booked solid with student appointments and walk-ins, so when I had a few cancelations today, I welcomed the free time to prepare for my class tomorrow and to work on projects. I teach two sections of a career development class, which all management students must take.
My student appointments today consisted of critiquing and editing students’ resumes and cover letters and helping a student prepare for her upcoming telephone interview for an internship. After that, I reviewed the PowerPoint slides for my afternoon class. At 3:30 I taught my 50-minute class to 55 students. Today’s topic was interviewing, and I conducted mock interview questions with volunteers in front of the class. The other students then provided feedback and seemed to really enjoy and benefit from this exercise.
