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Sacramento Career Services Advisor Takes Her Own Advice

Paris Kidd is a career services advisor at Carrington College in Sacramento. "At Carrington College we focus on guiding students to become passionate and prepared health care professionals. As a career services advisor, I connect students with externships to give them additional hands-on training, provide interview tips, help with resume writing - whatever support they need to reach their goals." Externships are experiential learning opportunities generally offered by career colleges that give students short practical experiences especially recognized as such by the particular institution.

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(Photo Courtesy of Paris Kidd)

Kidd asserts, ​"Communication is the most important factor in this position. You are a connector, interacting with many people internally and externally and you have to be able to listen, apply and adjust to things quickly. Being open to continuous learning is also key to success. You can learn something new every day, so be open to what others are there to teach you."

She too, counsels to "stay active and be engaged in the learning process because the field of career counseling is constantly evolving. Don't be afraid to make changes. If a process is working but could be done better, don't be afraid to speak up and explore new ways to improve it."

Taking her own advice, after having earned her associate's degree in social science from Sacramento City College, she continues to pursue a bachelor's degree in technical management with a concentration in human resources at DeVry University.

A success story Kidd would like to share? "A few years ago, I was working with a student who was nervous about her future. She was happy with her career choice as a medical assistant but she was afraid to start the interview process, as she had never interviewed before. With some coaching, encouragement and preparation, she landed a great job in a local doctor's office. Last week, she called me from that job (where she's received multiple promotions) and asked if we had any available externs to hire. She said she wanted to give back to the educational process and school that did so much for her."

Karen Hansen M.S. Earth Sciences, has been an educator and consultant who is currently an analyst regarding land and other public information records. She lives and works in Sacramento, CA. She has been writing about earth and the environmental sciences for Examiner.com since May of 2010. Find her work in several sections of the publication. You can find her work at SF Solar Energy Examiner, SF Environmental News Examiner and Environmental News Examiner 

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