I am the Eastern Region Financial Aid Counselor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide and my region has growing rapidly. I already had the largest campus region and now it’s almost the same size as the Online Region, which is becoming too big to handle for just one person. Luckily, I have a great support system and a group of coworkers with a team mentality. My team has been jumping in during the more chaotic time frames such as the beginning if the new academic year in order to give our student population good customer service; however with the regions recent rapid growth we have finally been approved for a new position in order to split my region in half.
The Financial Aid hiring process involves all of the key stakeholders also known as the counselors, Verification and Loan Manager, Scholarship and State Grant Manager, Manager of Financial Aid and of course the Director. We all have a say so on what we are each looking for from the future prospect and all of our input is taken into consideration once the final decision is made. When the Director brought it to my attention that I would be overseeing the entire process since I would be working with this individual the most, I was excited.
First off we posted the position online through Human Resources. Thus far we have already brought in at least 150 resumes in which I have already begun reviewing. Before I began reviewing the applicants resumes I with each of my coworkers looking for some ideas of what they felt an applicant should bring to our department. After talking with each of them I began reviewing each resume one by one. Looking over the resumes I was looking for someone who is coachable, as the ERAU financial aid system differs from all traditional universities and will require a lot of training. I was also looking for people who were listed characteristics involving working as a team since we are a very close nit team and it’s important to everyone that the transition will be smooth.
After choosing resumes I began going over them with the director and manager of financial aid. I explained why I chose the ones I did and we elected 6 out of the pile to call and set up one on one interviews. We have not yet begun the interviewing process; however having gone through it myself I know how they will take place. The interview will consist of me, the manager, the director and the applicant. We will each have a series of questions to ask the applicant and we will take turns doing so. We try to conduct the interview so that the questions will flow from one to the next in order to make the applicant as comfortable as possible. We do not want to intimidate them, but instead enable them to be themselves because ultimately that’s who we are really trying to get to know. During the interview we will write notes and then after each interview we will meet together to discuss what we liked and disliked about each candidate.
Once we have the position narrowed down to two applicants we will bring a couple different coworkers in order to get their feel about each candidate as we are a team we need to get the teams perspective. After the second rounds of interviews are over we will all meet as a department and discuss the future prospects getting everyone’s take.
Each counselor provides the department with specific qualities that help us stay successful. For example the Verification and Loan Manager is extremely knowledgeable in the different processes and procedures of the verification process. She will provide the majority of the verification training for the new hire. She is also a social butterfly and easy going. She has the ability to make anyone feel as if they are a part of her own family. The Scholarship and State Grant Manager is very knowledgeable in every state grant and is also in charge of all of the Worldwide scholarships. As a coworker, she is great at helping you articulate your words, meaning she can explain a process via email very well since she can see the logic in all situations and break it down in a straightforward clear concise way. The Online Counselor is very organized, the Central Region Counselor is extremely good at understand how the Pell Grant system works and the Western Region Counselor is really good at the political and business end of the department. He has the ability to see situation in a way others are not able to. Each of the stake holders are good at what they do, but they also bring other qualities that each of us may lack. This is why it is so important that we work as a team throughout this process of finding an additional counselor.
Going forward with our search for the new counselor, I am going to look at this situation through the lenses of each of my coworkers and I hope that I am able to find a candidate that will suite everyone’s needs. The conflict of this situation is having a region too large to handle alone. My attitude of resolution is being optimistic that we will find a suitable candidate that will provide our department with support and it will be a smooth transition process. Stories involve speaking with each of my coworkers listening to all of their concerns and hopes of the future new hire. Listening for a vision of the resolution will be after meeting with my coworkers and begin the interviewing process. I will be a neutral third party trying to find a candidate that will fit everyone’s needs, but I will also be an interviewer looking for someone I can work with since it’s my region I will be sharing. Getting current and complete will come after each interview when we meet discussing what we liked and disliked about each candidate. Once we have the position narrowed down to the two candidates we will conduct one more interview and then we will be able to determine at that point is we are reaching an agreement in the overall principle. Finally we will have our final resolution and a new Eastern Region Financial Aid Counselor. Choosing this candidate will be a relief for everyone in our department because it will be one more person to add to our support system!
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