Climbing the career ladder in higher education can be a major challenge—especially in career services. From bureaucracy to internal politics and differing campus cultures and budgets, the path to senior leadership is not always clear or easy to navigate.
That’s why we recently talked with Dr. Audra Verrier, the Associate Vice Provost of Career and Professional Development at Loyola Marymount University in southern California. Verrier is a highly respected leader in the career services field with a passion for helping others grow in their career services careers.
Plus, Verrier knows the path to senior leadership better than anyone. Over the last 12 years, Verrier has worked her way up from a career services coordinator to her current role as an associate vice provost.
In this article, we’ll cover Verrier’s best tips and tricks for advancing a career in higher education career services leadership. We’ll share:
- An overview of Verrier’s career journey
- Five specific strategies career services professionals can use to grow their careers
- Tips for negotiating for salary, professional development, technology, and other benefits
Learn more from Verrier about how to advance your career in higher education career services leadership in her episode of the Career Everywhere podcast.
From coordinator to associate vice provost: How Dr. Audra Verrier climbed the higher ed career services ladder
Every career trajectory is different, and every individual who has a career in career services and/or higher education has their own unique story on how they got to where they are now. After all, there’s no degree for career services, right?
Verrier can relate well to this, having followed her own non-linear path into career services.
As a student employee during her college years, Verrier gained experience as a resident assistant, an advancement office staff member, a president’s office staff member, a mailroom employee, and more, soaking up as many opportunities as possible to expand her skillset and support her financial aid through work-study eligibility.
Wearing multiple hats throughout her college career gave Verrier an insider perspective on the functionality and leadership of countless niche areas of campus, student groups, and college organizations—and how they all work together.
After completing her graduate program in organizational management, she considered an international career but decided to stay closer to home due to financial concerns and other personal factors. This led her to higher education, where she began at the University of Maine working with students in community service and experiential learning.
From there, she transitioned to Brandeis University, continuing her focus on experiential education, which she sees as essential for students’ professional development. Her career path took off when she moved to California, working in the career space while pursuing doctoral studies. Starting as a career center coordinator at Sonoma State University, Verrier worked her way up, holding various roles as a director before ultimately achieving an AVP position at LMU.
Throughout her journey, she embraced every opportunity to integrate her passion for student success, experiential learning, and career development.
“I’m a success story that is here to tell all those other folks who are interested in pivoting their career … you can still make that possible in higher education if you want that. And I say that to other people too because career paths go in lots of different directions,” Verrier said. “They’re not always linear. And for our grad students, especially our young professionals, you can still pivot and make a decision that puts you on a different course.”
5 ways to advance your career in higher ed career services leadership
While there are many ways (and paths) to advance your career in higher ed career services, here are five steps Verrier recommends:
1. Map out your ideal career path
Having a strong understanding of your skills and interests and how they may align with certain roles and career paths is a huge advantage. Being able to consult others on their own journeys to see how it may compare and benefit your own search can instill confidence and give you a better idea about your own opportunities.
You don’t always have to know exactly what you want to do, and where, and when, but having an idea and the drive to make it a reality is a solid start to success.
2. Find and build relationships with mentors
Just as career leaders encourage their students to connect with mentors, any career services professional looking to advance their career should also prioritize finding a mentor (or multiple mentors).
Whether it’s a supervisor or a leader/peer at another institution, your mentor can be your gut check and help you chart your ideal career path forward and connect you to people and opportunities that may previously have been out of reach.
Mentors have played a critical role in Verrier’s career advancement, though she also emphasized the importance of staying true to what you want even if it goes against the advice of your mentor. After all, you know your goals, your vision, and your personal situation better than anyone.
“Finding those people who are willing to go out on a limb for you, who keep doing the work with you, and really being your advocate is so important,” Verrier said.
3. Get experience with budget and people management
Familiarizing yourself with the ins and outs of budgeting, management (for people and finances) and the way these work together in the sphere of higher education and career services can give you a cutting edge when it comes to industry knowledge, employability, and profitability.
Program development, launching new initiatives, being responsible for a budget, and applying for grants are all things that can loop you into the more advanced behind-the-scenes work of high-level education and career services professionals.
On the other end, allowing yourself to aid, mentor, collaborate with, or supervise others through your day-to-day work or professional development will massively improve your ability to lead in a more progressed role. Take it upon yourself to explore training, courses, and certifications. Have conversations with your HR colleagues. Open yourself up to new opportunities that may already be available to you in your current role, and reap the benefits.
One way to do this, according to Verrier, is to apply for grant funding for a specific project. If you get approved, you’ll not only gain experience with securing and managing a budget, but you’ll also get experience with assembling and supervising a team and project. Win-win!
4. Learn how to navigate the bureaucracy of higher education
Managing feedback and progress, confidentiality and boundaries are all essential to prove that you’re worth your salt in any workplace—especially in the bureaucracy of higher education that can often complicate or slow progress and change.
The value of being aware of the context of your institution’s history, policies, structure, and dynamics cannot be overstated. Knowing how to navigate certain relationships, ideas, and difficult-to-have conversations is a must for anyone looking to advance in higher education, especially as they may have the ability to influence, or even change, the norm.
“The bureaucracy exists for a reason and a purpose, and people hold to those lines for some meaning, whether it’s for themselves or for the institution,” Verrier said. “You have to have context before you can change it and/or work around it if it’s not something you can change. So what do you have power and control over? What do you not at all? It’s about really understanding, ‘Where’s my place in this? What could I help shift? And what is probably not going to happen for me in my time and my leadership?’”
5. Model vulnerable leadership
Asking questions and opening up new dialogues with your colleagues, network, and others in leadership positions you may wish to reach is crucial. Knowing how to listen to others’ stories and apply their experience and knowledge to your own circumstances is invaluable. It allows you to be flexible, resourceful, passionate, and mindful about the direction of not only your own career, but the future of your shared goals in a team, office, or university setting.
Verrier also encourages career services leaders who want to advance their careers to model vulnerable leadership. And that doesn’t necessarily mean having to share everything about your life. Rather, it’s about being transparent with where you’re at and how you can show up for your team in this particular phase of life—and where you might need help.
“My team really reflects that back to me that they appreciate that vulnerability because then they can feel some level of safe enough to share their own vulnerabilities. And then we can work together to address those things and try to balance the work so that it all gets done and we can still move ahead. We have to acknowledge ourselves first,” Verrier said.
How to negotiate for salary, professional development, technology, and other benefits
Negotiating in higher education can be complicated, whether that’s due to budget constraints, university culture, public versus private institutions, how jobs and pay ranges are structured, etc. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try! As Verrier has discovered in her career journey so far, it’s important to always advocate for yourself
If you find that progress isn’t achievable at your current institution, it might be time to consider moving to another. Building strong relationships with supervisors, discussing your long-term goals, and taking on additional responsibilities without immediate rewards can help you prepare for future opportunities.
Being strategic, especially during the hiring process, is key as that’s when you have the most leverage. While institutions may have limits on salary increases, you can often negotiate for benefits like relocation funds, vacation time, equipment and technology budget, or professional development opportunities (like conferences or courses/certifications).
For example, when Claire Klieger interviewed for her role as Assistant Vice President and Executive Director of Career Services at Swarthmore College, she specifically negotiated for budget for uConnect’s virtual career center platform—because she knew that technology would be key to implementing her vision.
It’s crucial to frame these negotiations in terms of what you bring to the institution, focusing on solving business needs rather than personal circumstances. Keep honing your negotiation skills and gathering data on salary trends to stay informed and prepared for when opportunities arise.
“Go for the bigger roles. Just apply. Go through the process, interview. Even if it’s not something that you think is the right thing right now, you need to get the practice and get this feedback loop going,” Verrier said. “What are the gaps that you need to address? What are the needs that you need to address within your professional persona and brand and skillset?”
Conclusion
Advancing a career in higher education, particularly in career services leadership, requires strategic planning, mentorship, and self-advocacy. Mapping out a career path, finding mentors, gaining experience in budget and people management, and navigating the complexities of institutional bureaucracy are essential steps for growth.
By modeling strong leadership and learning from others, professionals can develop the skills and mindset needed to succeed. Additionally, negotiating for salary and benefits is critical, especially during hiring when professionals have the most leverage. Success ultimately depends on perseverance, flexibility, and a proactive approach to career development.
“There’s moments where you just have to sit back and be patient and then be ready for what the next opportunity is, or the next move that you can make, or the next key thing you could do that would add to your toolkit, your set of skills that you have to offer,” Verrier said.
To learn more from Verrier about how to best navigate career advancement in higher education career services, check out her episode of the Career Everywhere podcast.
