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Program advisor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Sally Childs

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical program advisor skills. We ranked the top skills for program advisors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 29.3% of program advisor resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a program advisor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 program advisor skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how program advisors use customer service:

Review inquires and determines action necessary to provide requested information or to resolve a problem and provided extensive customer service.
Elevated company operations through key contributions to launch Customer Service system enhancements to streamline customer interactions with FedEx.

2. Persistence

Here's how program advisors use persistence:

Track student attendance and academic performance to counter persistence issues, refer to support services and ensure timely graduation.
Served on campus committees designed to enhance the success and persistence of students.

3. Intellectual Disabilities

Here's how program advisors use intellectual disabilities:

Provided direct service to and supervision of individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities living in assigned program.
Acted as liaison to individuals with intellectual disabilities.

4. Veterans

Here's how program advisors use veterans:

Provided appropriate academic/vocational/technical counseling and referral services to eligible Naval and Marine Corps personnel, veterans, retirees and military dependents.
Worked with educational VUB Instructional Specialist to identify at risk veterans to ensure retention and completion.

5. Project Management

Here's how program advisors use project management:

Provide project management and on-site evaluation of facility construction systems and components.
Project Management for an international technology product roll out.

6. PowerPoint

Here's how program advisors use powerpoint:

Created PowerPoint presentations for Prospective Student Fairs and assisted with providing in-person assistance during those fairs after each presentation.
Developed innovative PowerPoint presentation used by the Office of Admissions to market executive support programs to potential students.

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7. Technical Assistance

Technical assistance is the non-financial assistance provided by local or international specialists. The purpose of technical assistance is to maximize the project's implementation and quality of the final product. Technical assistance consists of sharing information, the transmission of working knowledge, and other transfer of technical data which would aid the administration, management team and help build the project. The technical assistance focuses on particular needs identified by the beneficiary country and is delivered in the form of missions.

Here's how program advisors use technical assistance:

Deliver high quality and consistent training and technical assistance using multiple modes of communication and coaching.
Supervised and provided technical assistance to classroom teachers, building administrators, and school district administrators.

8. Financial Aid

Financial aid refers to cash released to an educational institution to help a student pay the school fee. The issuance of financial aid, whether scholarships, grants, or loans, aims to make access to education affordable to all students irrespective of their backgrounds.

Here's how program advisors use financial aid:

Provided participants with information and support with their post-secondary options and assistance with college applications and financial aid.
Advised veteran-participants with decision-making, career exploration, admission to college programs, and financial aid resources.

9. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how program advisors use professional development:

Evaluated teaching candidates in the areas of Professional Development, Instructional Design and Delivery and Classroom Management and Culture.
Prepared monthly clients reports for management, participated in the company's weekly teleconference and professional development training.

10. Educational Programs

An educational program is a program primarily concerned with the provision of education, including but not limited to early childhood education, primary and secondary education, post-secondary education, special education, vocational training, career and technical education, education for adults, and any program managed by an educational agency or institution.

Here's how program advisors use educational programs:

Informed students about educational programs available for women.
Career counselors assist people with the process of making career decisions, by helping them choose a career or educational program.

11. Student Services

Here's how program advisors use student services:

Collaborated with other student services offices in the development and execution of co-curricular programming including major specific career and internship fairs.
Helped direct and guide student services personnel on campus to provide a high quality comprehensive student services environment.

12. DOD

Definition of Done (DoD) is a set of deliverables that are needed to devise software. These deliverables are valuable to the system and can be exemplified by writing code, coding comments, unit testing, integration testing, design documents, release notes, and so on.

Here's how program advisors use dod:

Advise military and DoD students in conducting security/antiterrorism in accordance with US and international laws.
Managed warranty parts inventory levels for the DoD in Kuwait, Guam and Korea

13. Support Services

Support services are services that support the organization internally and are usually non-revenue generating. Examples include, IT, admin, HR, etc.

Here's how program advisors use support services:

Referred qualified students to Disability Support Services for assistance.
Coordinated and implemented campus recruitment and retention programs, special events, and support services for underrepresented groups.

14. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how program advisors use community resources:

Identified community resources for expanded support to students.
Assist in the identification and use of community resources.

15. Law Enforcement

Law enforcement is the task of certain members of the community who work together to uphold the law by identifying, preventing, rehabilitating, or prosecuting others who break society's laws and norms. The phrase refers to the police, the judiciary, and the correctional system.

Here's how program advisors use law enforcement:

Developed and delivered grant management and compliance briefings to law enforcement executives in English and Spanish.
Provided advice and counsel to state law enforcement agencies on matters related to the management of community policing grants.

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What skills help Program Advisors find jobs?

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What soft skills should all program advisors possess?

Dr. Sally Childs

Faculty/Advisor Parks and Recreation Degree, Lake Superior State University

Some of the most essential skills that will be necessary for professionals in this field to be successful are frequently identified as "soft skills." These skills are often difficult to quantify. Regardless of the setting, professionals working in this field need to be very comfortable working with all people of all ages and abilities. Communication skills are essential; active listening, patience, tolerance, and being able to present a non-threatening, non-judgemental demeanor has a strong positive impact on being able to successfully respond to visitor/client needs and wants. Problem solving is essential. Being task oriented but concurrently, being able to easily deviate from routine is important. Professionals in this field frequently need to make decisions without having immediate access to supervisors. These people need to be very aware of agency goals, policies and protocols and be confident in their ability to independently represent these through their behavior and the behavior that they encourage/enforce in others. The "hard skills" that are required will depend in part on the particular job/agency/setting. Computer and IT skills will be essential for everyone, although there certainly will be a fair amount of latitude regarding the degree of expertise required. Basic construction skills; plumbing, framing, concrete, and electrical will be an asset for anyone working in a park or an area that has been even moderately developed for outdoor recreation purposes. Mechanical skills, everything from small engine repair all the way to vehicle upkeep and maintenance will also be a skill set which is in demand. A basic understanding of the requirements for maintaining a healthy resource base; forestry, watersheds, ecosystems, wildlife habitat, will also be necessary for professionals managing everything from campgrounds to wilderness areas. Many Parks have a strong historical and or cultural component. Facilitation and Interpretation skills will be needed if the professional chooses this portion of the Parks and Recreation continuum. If the professional is intent on becoming an instructor or guide, then whatever technical skills are associated with "best practices" in that particular activity will be essential. It is also likely that they would be expected to be credentialed in Wilderness First Aid, and other backcountry "survival and safety" skills. Law enforcement skills are also in demand in parks and recreation settings.

Do you want to know more?

List of program advisor skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a program advisor resume and required skills for a program advisor to have include:

Customer Service
Persistence
Intellectual Disabilities
Veterans
Project Management
PowerPoint
Technical Assistance
Financial Aid
Professional Development
Educational Programs
Student Services
DOD
Support Services
Community Resources
Law Enforcement

Outbound Calls
Business Development
Substance Abuse
Academic Programs
Event Planning
Student Recruitment
Student Organizations
Alcohol Program
Social Justice
Leadership Development
Weight Loss
Promotional Materials
Program Monitoring
Career Exploration
Community Events

Community Organizations
Enrollment Process
Advisory Boards
CPR
Career Development
Local Community
Drug Abuse
HR
FedEx
Redundancies
Cultural Events
Syllabus
Facebook
Mentoring Students
Leadership

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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