5 Characteristics of an Effective Admissions Counselor

The one constant in the enrollment process is change. Admissions processes have always been in flux and complicated because these teams assist prospective students, who are always evolving. All Enrollment Team leaders are familiar with the difficulty of building—and rebuilding—strong enrollment teams.

(Read our post on the Five Necessary Ingredients of a Strong Enrollment Team.) There are tangible and intangible benefits to finding the "right fit" or career admissions counselors. In this post, we’ll consider the asset a Right Fit admissions counselor can be to the institution.

These are valued team members in whom a leader may have invested quite a bit of time and money to develop and encourage their growth. They often have high career potential and represent a large asset to your organization through the value they create, cultivate, and deliver.

A Right Fit counselor creates a culture of value inside the institution. 

A Right Fit admissions counselor makes a positive impact on the entire organization, especially within the enrollment department. Their work ethic encourages and inspires others around them. Their temperament adds to the department's culture and positively influences interpersonal relationships with others.  They can promote productivity and, in turn, increase the results they, their department, and the institution can produce.

          A Right Fit counselor cultivates relationships of value outside the institution.

This is especially true of admissions and any outward, prospect and/or customer-facing individual. Placing a Right Fit counselor in a direct revenue-creating or results-producing role has the potential to greatly impact the institution's revenues by attracting prospects, netting applications, and maintaining the relationships that continue to do so. Also, they often come with existing relationships or a broader network of contacts that can bring value to the institution.  

A Right Fit counselor utilizes their strengths to provide value for the institution.

A Right Fit counselor comes with both the IQ and the EQ to make a difference for your organization. Their knowledge, experience, relational skills, and expertise can consistently solve problems, innovate new solutions to old problems, and create a synergy with other team members that can provide exponential growth and value for the institution. (Read blog post: 7 Secrets To Hiring Right-Fit Counselors.)

A Right Fit counselor can attract other Right Fit counselors.

A Right Fit Counselor can attract another Right Fit Counselor, improving the overall dynamic and chemistry of the team and the results they can all produce. Cushioning a Wrong Fit counselor can drive off a Right Fit counselor—they won't stay where resulting drama is valued above results. (Read blog post on How To Attract and Retain "Effective" Enrollment Teams.)

A team staffed with Right Fit admissions counselors is worth the investment because of the results they bring—not only in yield per counselor but also the more intangibles of a drama-free team, inspiring passion, and their ability to uphold the transcendent values of the institution itself.

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The Team at Value Based
ValueBased.com