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Full-Service College Counselor & Essay Editor for High-Performing Bay Area Consultancy

Employer
Blue Stars Admissions Consulting, LLC
Location
California, United States
Salary
Salary Commensurate with experience
Date posted
Feb 2, 2021

If you are an educational professional with experience coaching competitive students for college planning and admissions, this might be the perfect position for you! Blue Stars seeks an experienced counselor who is interested in ongoing mentoring and training as part of a long-term commitment with our organization. 

Who we are

Blue Stars is a premier Bay Area consultancy now in its 11th year. We are a high-performing team with a consistent record of supporting students (and their parents) through the elite college admissions process. Our success comes through a multifaceted, nuanced approach to all stakeholders and an unshakable core focus on teen personal growth. Blue Stars Admissions Consulting provides college readiness mentoring and admissions assistance to college, university, art-school, and grad-school applicants. Because of our proven record, Blue Stars has become known for admission to top-tier schools such as Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, Caltech, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, Rhode Island School of Design, and School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Experience and Skill Requirements: Direct experience coaching competitive high school students in the college planning and admissions process, including editing student essays for applications to top colleges. Student admits to top colleges including Ivy League. Superior academic record including an undergraduate and/or graduate degree from one of the top 100 colleges or universities. 3+ years of combined experience in the admissions or college prep industry, college counseling, teen mentoring, teaching, or related professional setting. Demonstrated ability to work independently and manage multiple student cases simultaneously. Strong communication skills, demonstrated ability to persuade students and parents effectively. Demonstrated leadership skills. Strong research skills, ability to seek out resources for students. Excellent writing and editing skills, strong attention to detail. Facility with digital tools such as Google docs, Excel, Chat, Meet, and Zoom with an ability to adapt to new technology. Interest in or experience with marketing and excitement about participating in our storybranding marketing efforts. Flexible schedule, availability to work remotely on Pacific time schedule. Preference for candidates located in the San Francisco Bay Area, or candidates who are familiar with Bay Area high schools and students.

Experience and Skill Bonuses: Experience with consultative sales or an interest in learning about joining our sales efforts (those on the sales team earn a commission on sales!). Direct experience with or solid working knowledge of financial planning for college (a new area of expansion for us). Experience teaching small groups and/or interest in online workshop design and facilitation (another area of projected growth). Proven record of professional growth in a small business environment. Proven ability to broaden one’s skill set in response to evolving professional conditions.

Essential Functions of the Job

A Blue Stars Full-Service Counselor goes beyond providing typical college counseling services by approaching their role as a life coach, leading families as they envision and realize their child’s full potential. Candidates who thoughtfully analyze teen life, the high school experience, and the admissions landscape in terms of a broader societal context and then apply that understanding to effective service delivery will be strongly considered. 

Blue Stars provides services to students from junior high through grad school, keeping counselors/editors busy year round. For now, all Blue Stars services are one-on-one and administered remotely, although we anticipate creating online workshops for the summer. Counselor/editors work directly with individual students, occasionally meet with parents via video chat on a regular basis, and report directly to the company owner.

College Planning services (for rising 9th-12th graders) continue throughout the year. Counselors may work with students on a variety of college prep-related tasks, including schedule planning or summer program applications, at any given time. Admissions services (for rising seniors, 12th graders, and sometimes college students) are generally administered starting in the summer, with the bulk of work occurring in the fall. Students typically apply to 5-10 schools each, and counselors/editors should expect to work with each student for approximately 2-6 hours a week, depending on the stage of the application process.

Because of the level of training and experience required to excel in a counselor/editor role, new hires should be prepared to initially take on a limited number of students. New counselors/editors undergo several hours of paid training in advance of working with their first student, and will also participate in ongoing training. Consequently, we seek a candidate who is able to work limited hours for the first 1-3 months, and have the schedule flexibility to take on up to 10 students (20+ hours a week) within 6 months of joining Blue Stars. 

Office hours are flexible and non-traditional. Because we work with high school students and their families, we tend to be most active afternoons, evenings, and weekends. However, there is a fair amount of flexibility in terms of the counselor/editor’s exact schedule.

Responsibilities include: Meeting with students via video chat for regularly scheduled coaching sessions (scheduled between counselor/editor and student). Guiding students through research on colleges, courses of study, and professional path. Researching and sourcing leads for extracurricular and pre-professional opportunities Guiding students through pre-writing exercises, outlines, and essay writing. Working with students individually on time-management, stress-management, and healthy work habits. Coaching students on resume and cover-letter writing. Serving as an intellectual mentor, bringing fresh ideas and resources to students' attention. Keeping students organized and on task. Corresponding and meeting with parents. Maintaining student records and work. Working collaboratively with owner and other team members. Developing content for teaching tools, new curricular, and marketing efforts with owner and other team members.

How to apply

1) Attach your resume to this job post 

2) Complete the mandatory questionnaire: https://forms.gle/EXhHkHQCLzRnCAM8A

3) Provide the following in attachments: 

  • Submit two nonfiction writing samples, including at least one student essay that you have edited (if available). Other written materials related to college counseling and teen mentoring are also encouraged, including journalistic and/or academic writing.
  • Submit written responses to these prompts (250 word maximum):
    • Explain how your experience aligns with the qualifications for the position, and your reasons for applying for this role.
    • Tell us about your most triumphant or memorable teen coaching experience.
    • How do you approach coaching work with students? How do you define your role?
    • Discuss your experience editing student essays. What is your methodology? How were you trained?
    • Share a time that you got frustrated in a professional setting, and how you dealt with it.

We will accept applications for the position until 3/15/21.

Compensation 

This is a part-time employee position. Senior level counselor/editors can earn over $60,000 annually for approximately 1,200+ hours of work (an average of 30 hours per week). New counselors earn $25-50/hour, depending on experience. Expect to set aside approximately 40 hours for orientation, which is compensated at $25/hour.  

Blue Stars Admissions Consulting is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any classification protected by federal, state, or local law.

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