A521.5.1.RB - Core Workplace Value Assessment

I have worked in the financial aid office for 4 years now and every day I still wake up excited to go to work.  I started as a counselor and have worked my way up to manager of direct loans and verifications as well as being the trainer for our call center.  I feel that this type of work really suits me well.  I get to problem solve, guide students, guide the counselors and expand my learning.  At the call center I get to interact with the agents and get their perspective.  At the same time they can ask me questions or get clarification on topics which in turn help with answering calls.

            When I apply for a job I try to think about what I want out of the position. For example, when I applied for my position at ERAU Worldwide I knew I wanted to work for ERAU again because of the benefits, summer hours, and chance of advancement.  I also knew that I wanted to be challenged and I did not know anything about financial aid and thought it would be a great addition to my knowledge base.  I heard about Worldwide and wanted to see how different it was from the residential campus.  The things I feel are important to me in any job I take are (based on the assessment I took):

·         To be challenged, working toward problem-solving

·         Have a balance with work and family, will there be time to explore both and be satisfied?

·         Job security (as much as one can hope for) and stability

·         Will what I do help others?

·         A fast work pace with variety

·         A chance for training and professional development that can lead to advancement within my department and/or the organization

·         Having the ability to make decisions and influence possible change for the better good of the department and organization overall

·         Great teamwork and developing great working relationships

I feel that these assessments are most important to my core values for my job.  ERAU holds its employees to a higher standard and I think that any job a person holds they too should hold that company to a higher standard as well.  A company needs to be about integrity, honesty, goals and values for its employees and its customers.  There can be some differences within an organization however.  These changes can be seen in different departments.  Certain directors may be only looking out for themselves and not the greater good of the organization only what the person feels they can get out of it such as financial gain, highly visible recognition.

My current position lines up nicely with the values of the organization.  My director gives us many opportunities to develop our professional skills with training and we get to help make decisions and most times are given the chance to be the one making the decisions as counselors.  As financial aid counselors we are constantly challenged and our roles are very fast paced.  Our job is to problem solve and our team is very close knit and we work well together most of the time.

There aren’t any differences in my values versus those of the organization.  The only big issue we face is that we do not have enough positions in our department so advancement is not easy to do at the moment as we are understaffed.  It can be frustrating when looking to move up within the department.  The one other issue would be that we need to be more “green” since it is something that the university is trying to move to it needs to be done across all aspects of the university not just the main campus.