Director of Counseling and Psychological Services

Overview

Cal Poly Pomona was searching to fill a vacancy for the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services. The counseling field changed drastically in the past several years, with mental health and well-being expanding to include many more services. A strong leader with management experience was needed to innovate and partner with the newly formed Care Services initiative. With the student body growing to over 29,000 students, it was crucial for this role to be filled quickly.

The Challenge

Because higher education counseling is a very niche area, the hiring team found it tough to identify the right talent for the role. Most individuals who met the description were from out of the area and were not willing to relocate. Furthermore, adjustments to the department classification of the role and recent personnel changes added to the complexity. The hiring managers expected to find only two to three qualified candidates given the highly specialized requirements.

The Solution

Having heard about our success at Long Beach State and within other departments on their own campus, Cal Poly Pomona engaged us to create a sourcing plan that targeted psychology and mental health leaders statewide. We reached out to over 150 passive candidates and from this, provided the hiring team with a qualified candidate pool larger than expected so they had better choice.

The Result