Collegewise is looking to partner with involved community members to work closely with our local offices. If you’re interested or know someone else who might be, all of the information is below. I hope to hear from you.
*Are you a parent who believes there is too much anxiety surrounding the college admissions process?
*Can you organize and lead people who care about the same things you care about?
*Would you like to make a difference in your high school and community by helping families enjoy their journey to college rather than suffering through it?
If so, you might be interested in working part-time with your local Collegewise office as a community organizer.
What is Collegewise?
Collegewise, a small but rapidly growing college counseling group within The Princeton Review, is trying to change college admissions. We do college counseling a little differently here. Our goal isn’t to get every kid who works with us into an Ivy League school. Instead, our college counselors show families just how many wonderful colleges there are, helping our families apply and get accepted to schools they’re excited to attend. We do it all with just the right mix of advice, encouragement, and occasional cheerleading to make the process exciting and enjoyable. Not everyone agrees with the way we approach the college admissions process. So our offices need part-time community organizers who can connect us with families, schools and local organizations who believe what we believe and might want to learn from us.
Here’s who we’re looking for
You’re the parent at school who makes things happen. Whether it’s a fundraiser for the hockey team or finding the chaperones for the junior prom, when something needs to get done, you don’t just volunteer—you jump in and bring others with you. You’re not afraid to speak up or to take charge. And when you find a service that does a great job for you, you speak up and tell your friends, “You need someone? I’ve got somebody!” Your kids may feign teenage embarrassment about Mom or Dad’s commitment to their school and their education but deep down they know you’re the good example of a parent who cares and wants to be involved. You need to be in the same community as one of our offices.
If you were working for us, here are some of the things you might have done in the last month:
• Hosted a meeting at your home where our counselor takes college admissions Q & A from a dozen of your friends and their kids.
• Spoken to your school’s PTA president to schedule Collegewise to speak at their next meeting.
• Referred three of your friends to Collegewise, and coordinated with our counselor to schedule their introductory meetings.
• Explained to three other friends why they’re not the right fit for Collegewise, and then recommended another counselor in the area who could do a better job for them.
• Organized a special presentation for our counselor to present to your student’s water polo team, National Charity League or AssisTeens group.
• Contacted your local library, church, synagogue, mosque, etc. to inquire about potential free workshops we could organize for their members.
• Announced our upcoming free seminars to your fellow parents (by email, Facebook, Twitter, text—whatever works for you!)
It’s about trust, not sales
This isn’t a sales position that’s all about the numbers. Yes, we need people to enroll for our offices to succeed and we want you to help us to do that. But short-term sales pressure doesn’t create long-term trust in our communities. Whether you connect us with families who meet with Collegewise, organizations who want us to speak, or schools who will share our books and guidelines with their faculty, we need you to connect us with people who would love and benefit from our approach.
How to apply
If your interest is piqued, get to know us a little better on our website. Find out more about what we do, who you’d be working with, and what we believe. If you like what you read, send an email to jobs@collegewise.com with the subject [Community Organizer]. Tell us where you live, why you want to work at Collegewise, and anything else you think will help you stand out. Share specific examples of how you’ve organized, led or otherwise made an impact in your school and community (that’s much more compelling than, “I know everyone!”). We love personality here, so don’t be afraid to be yourself—smart, thoughtful, or maybe even funny. Just don’t be generic.
We’re looking for people to start as soon as possible. If you have questions about the job, please email us at the above address rather than call us. We promise to respond to you quickly.
Thanks for reading our post. We’d love to hear from you, but if we don’t, we hope you find the perfect professional fit someplace else.