Prompted: The Financial Guidance Counsellor

Write about an amazing imaginary brand or organization you'd love to work with. What would their pitch to you look like? What would your post say?

The Company: The Parish Secondary School

The Parish Secondary School is a new school, opened in 2013. It was the brainchild of a new generation of educators, who understood the need for a flexible and progressive curriculum. It is a private school, with a staff of around 35 teacher to teach 500 students ensuring that each child gets lots of individual attention.

It is a unisex school which caters for children from the ages of 11 to 18.

The School is located right next to a sprawling West Coast beach in the Parish of St. James.

The main school is a brick and mortar building which is painted a rich green and gold and seems to shimmer in the sun. It has three storeys and large white windows which are strategically placed so that all of the classrooms and the administrative offices are filled with natural light and sea breeze.

There several other small buildings painted in the same colour scheme dotted around the lush green landscape. Palm trees, and shade trees intermingle with a few fruit trees. Rows of low hedges create paths around the school and the garden beds are filled with hundreds of colourful flowers in bloom. There is also a greenhouse, filled with produce that is grown by the students in the agricultural department and used by the students in the home economics division as well as the school canteen.

The school focuses on building a sense of community responsibility in its students and the teaches lead the way, volunteering in various charities and making sure that the entire school is a green environment.

The Parish prides itself on being progressive and they want to hire a counsellor that would provide the students with practical financial skills along with the usual emotional support for their growth into adulthood.

This is not their first attempt at being innovative. They have introduced classes in social media marketing, photography and marine biology to name a few.

They have a reputation for being fair employers who put the staff the at ease. They provide good benefits and a generous pension plan.

Their Pitch:

Dear Bajan Budgeter,

I was given your business card when I mentioned to an acquaintance that I want to find a financial counsellor to add to our already versatile staff.

The Board of Management of the School had indicated that they believe this would add great value to the package being offered and requested that I look into the matter and report back to them with any suitable candidates.

I have perused your blog and passed some of your articles along to the Board Members and they have agreed to hold a preliminary meeting with you to gauge you suitability and level of interest in holding a part-time position as a financial counsellor.

Please respond to this email if you are interested in this opportunity.

Yours,
S. Mitchell
Recruiter
Parish School

My Response: What would I do?

If this opportunity came my way I would be ecstatic. I love the idea of teaching young minds to have a good relationship with money before they make some of the mistakes that I did when I got my first job. If I can help at least half of my students avoid the pitfalls of credit card, I feel that I would have done a good job.

For my interview I would prepare a sample class and several class outlines that would showcase the key areas I believe are important to build skills in: financial planning, budgeting and impulse control.

I would also indicate that I would like to provide financial counselling services to the other members of staff as this information could be useful to people in all stages of their lives.

I would be very happy with it being a part-time position so that I have time to pursue my other passions.

The picturesque setting of the school and the sense of community that is fostered there would make it a lovely environment to work in.

I believe that by teaching my concepts and ideas to fresh young minds, I myself would learn more about the subject matter and get better at my craft.

I can see that I would grow as a person as well and feel more in line with my purpose.