Career Counseling Guides Alums, Students Through Tough Job Market
Some of Ellen Kelly’s clients are typical young graduates looking for their first jobs and some are making career changes 10 or 20 years after graduation. But one thing they all need: help finding a job in a recession.
“We have seen a lot more alumni coming back,” said Kelly, a career counselor at USF’s Priscilla A. Scotlan Career Services Center. “It’s such an emotional process, their ego is on the line. We try to provide support.”
The center has seen an increase this year in alumni—about 15 percent of its clientele—seeking services. Alumni range in age from 25 to 65, and they come with many modern motivations. Single women want a higher income to provide for themselves, careerists want to learn new skills, and older people want new job opportunities.
One of Kelly’s clients is June Cancell, a San Mateo resident and USF alumna who has looked for work for the past year. Cancell said her job search is complicated by her age, which she puts at “55 plus.” But Cancell said she is far from ready to retire. In fact, after careers working with disabled children and counseling the mentally ill, she wants to embark on a third career, one that marries her professional interests with her passion for the arts.
“I was starting to lose my motivation because the job market is so bad,” Cancell said. “But Ellen is very supportive in helping me look at alternatives.”
The center offers an array of tools for job seekers, from one-on-one interviews to assessment tests, for $50 per year. That’s a far lower fee than professional career coaches, who may charge up to $100 per hour, Kelly said.
“Career development is the idea of matching values, interests, skills, and personality with what people do on a day-to-day basis, whether that's through a job or extracurricular activities,” said James Catiggay, director of the Scotlan Center. “We’re interested in helping alums in the self-discovery process.”
Gaye Baldauf, a 1987 graduate in organizational behavior, said she decided to seek career help because she had hit the pay ceiling in her own 10-year career as a legal secretary. “I’m on my own. I need to take care of myself,” Baldauf said. “My biggest motivation is financial.”
Baldauf took a Myers-Briggs personality test and a Campbell interest and skill test at the center to figure out what jobs match her interests and talents. She is now considering enrolling in law school or seeking writing or editing jobs.
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