August 18, 2021 | Alberta

Jim G. has been a top-performing Assistant Director of Admissions at CDI College for over 12 years. He has done well for himself and his students, so his Director of Admissions recommended him as a featured employee.

With a Maple Leaf’s pennant flag hanging on his wall, Jim joked about playing practical jokes on his coworkers. Jim is an easygoing, down-to-earth person who genuinely cares about his students.

Changing Careers

After selling insurance for about 18 years, Jim decided he wanted to teach business. When he interviewed at CDI College, he was offered a job on the admissions team instead. Jim decided to take the job because he believed in the private college education model. He loved that admissions representatives meet with prospective students one-on-one to determine if the college is a good fit for their career goals.

Jim is also passionate about helping people gain a post-secondary education, and that contributes to his success. Helping students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to get a post-secondary education is what drives him to work so hard.

Student Admissions During COVID

One of the biggest challenges for Jim was not being able to see his prospective students in person. Nevertheless, the pandemic has brought about many positive changes to the workplace that have helped him do his job more efficiently. With all the admissions tests and paperwork now virtual, Jim can save his prospective students a lot of time.

Jim is optimistic that because of the virtual classroom environment, many more of his students would be able to finish their course load and graduate because they would no longer have to deal with commute and could have a flexible class and study schedule.

The Rewarding Thing about Working in Admissions

During non-COVID times, Jim really enjoys the bi-annual graduations. He takes pride and comfort in seeing the students he admitted to CDI College come up to him and share with him their success stories. Each time he helps a student realize that if they apply themselves to school for the 10 to 16 months, they’ve committed to CDI College and see them graduate and find a job in their chosen field, Jim feels a sense of immense satisfaction.

Advice to New Assistant Directors of Admissions

Jim gave a lot of good advice to anyone who wanted to work on the admissions team. He acknowledges that it’s hard work. However, the secret to his success was that he never tried to convince people to do something they don’t want to do. On the contrary, he gets his prospective students to convince him that they will finish what they started. He, then, is there along the way to help the students achieve their goals. Jim lives by the golden rule.

Fun fact about Jim: He’s a qualified ESL teacher. Ask him about his volunteer experiences overseas when you see him.

CDI College has many roles open on the admissions team. If you want to work alongside someone like Jim, look on our Jobvite site today and apply.