Gaining Insight into an Organization’s Culture

Deciphering the tenets of an organization’s culture is difficult, especially when much of it is unspoken. If you are preparing for a job interview or about to accept an offer, be sure to do your research to determine if this organization is the right fit for your values and professional interests.

Below are a few questions you can ask:

    • What does career advancement look like in your organization? What factors are considered when promoting employees?
    • In what ways are employees empowered to share new ideas?
    • What are some initiatives you have in place to promote an equitable and inclusive environment?

Find additional questions and tips in this Muse article to gain better insight into the norms and practices of an organization.

Building a Positive Professional Brand

Whether you’re job searching or starting field, let your professional brand speak for itself.

Your professional brand communicates your core values, strengths, and attitude in and out of the workplace and helps you stand out as a marketable candidate for future roles.

For your brand to be effective, however, the mediums through which you convey who you are and what you offer need to be consistent. This includes not only your job applications, Linkedin, and other social media activities, but also your personal interactions.

In assessing your brand, consider the following questions:

    • How are you presenting yourself and communicating with others online and in person? Do your email messages and nonverbal behaviors, for example, reflect the professional image and reputation you seek to project?
    • How do you respond to feedback, criticism, or conflicts and challenges? Do they demonstrate your willingness and initiative to adapt, collaborate, learn, and grow–attributes particularly critical to the post-COVID world?
    • How are you nurturing the relationships you have with others, such as with supervisors, classmates, professors, mentors, and leaders in your field?

Your professional brand will evolve as your career grows. What impression do you want to leave on others? Use this to guide the steps you need to take to refine your brand, so others can have a clear sense of what you stand for and why they should hire you.

JCCA Virtual Recruitment Session for Social Worker and Supervisor Positions | Thursday, August 13

Interested in ensuring the safety and well-being of New York’s most vulnerable children and families?

Attend our upcoming recruitment session with JCCA on Thursday, August 13, 1-2 PM ET. They are actively recruiting graduates for immediate openings across various foster care and prevention programs, as well as students graduating in Spring 2021 for openings anticipated in the future.

To receive a link to the event, register via Career Connect.

JCCA helps abused, neglected and traumatized children heal physically and emotionally through compassionate, quality care. Its 37 programs include foster care, residential treatment facilities, mental health services, case management, education programs and special services for children who have been the victims of sexual abuse.At this event, you’ll have the exclusive opportunity to:

    • Connect with senior leaders at JCCA
    • Learn about current and future social worker and supervisor openings across various foster care and prevention programs
    • Gain insight into their work and their investment in the professional development of their staff, including the opportunity to accrue hours towards the clinical license

Supporting children and families is incredibly important work and provides opportunities to build critical skills and experience that are transferable to all areas of social work, including knowledge of public systems. Learn more about their work and opportunities at https://www.jccany.org/who-we-are/employment/.

Questions? Contact us at [email protected]. See below for more information regarding the presenters.

INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES: Columbia University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend an event at Columbia University, please contact the Office of Disability Services at (212) 854-2388 or [email protected] at least 5 days in advance of the event. 

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About the Presenters

Lorraine Stephens, LCSW, Senior Vice President, Foster Home and Preventive Services
Lorraine served as the Deputy Commissioner of ACS’s Division of Family Permanency Services, and later became the first Deputy Commissioner of the NYC Department of Homeless Services. Lorraine was Vice President of Strategic Planning, Government Relations, and Special Initiatives at New York Women’s Foundation. She currently serves at JCCA’s Senior Vice President of Foster Home and Preventive Services.

Kirsten Cooper, LCSW ’05, Assistant Vice President, Foster Home Services
Kirsten has been with JCCA for 15 years. She began with her BSW internship at JCCA in 2004, and then went on to pursue her MSW from Columbia in 2005, when she returned to JCCA to complete her MSW field placement. Following her internship, she was hired as a social worker in the adoption unit where she worked for two years until being promoted to her first supervisory position as a Social Work Coordinator in after-care. She eventually moved laterally to a different supervisor role in therapeutic foster care and continued to be promoted to her current position.

Antoinette Bryce, LCSW, Program Director, Unaccompanied Minor Program, Adoption and KinGap Unit, Child Success New York
Antoinette started at JCCA in 2010 as a Case Associate and went on to earn her MSW through the support of JCCA professional development programming. Throughout the last ten years, she has held multiple positions both laterally and as a result of promotions. These roles included: Permanency Specialist, Family Preservation Specialist, Adoption Coordinator, Administrative Supervisor, Assistant Program Director, and finally Program Director overseeing three separate units at JCCA.

Lynanne Bruun, LCSW, Borough Director, Brooklyn Preventive Services, Brooklyn Child and Adolescent Guidance Center
Lynanne started with JCCA in 2011 as a social worker in the Foster Home Services (FHS) group homes program. She moved up to a supervisor position in the FHS CSNYC program in 2014. She then made a lateral move to be a supervisor at the clinic in 2016, and in 2018 was promoted to Borough Director where she now oversees a preventive program, FTR, as well as the clinic and Second Chances.  

Welcome Advanced Standing Students!

Welcome Advanced Standing Students!

The Office of Career Services and Leadership Management would like to extend a warm welcome to our Advanced Standing students!

We look forward to meeting you and discussing your career plans as you further your education and training to promote social justice, equity, inclusion, and the overall well-being of others as anti-racist practitioners.

Want to get a head start on the conversation? Join us on Thursday, July 30 at our Career Q&A session for new students! See details within your Orientation materials.

Career Connect

Later this week, you will be receiving access to our exclusive career management system, Career Connect!

Please keep an eye out for a welcome email from: [email protected] (It’s not spam!). It will include instructions on how to schedule appointments, register for future career events, access career-related resources, and more.

NYPCC’s Virtual Career Fair | Friday July 17

From our partners at NYPCC:


Calling all MSWs, MHCs, MFTs & CATs, You’re Invited to NYPCC’s Virtual Career Fair on July 17, 2020 from 12 PM until 2 PM.

In order to attend this virtual career fair, you must register by either clicking on our flyer (below) or clicking on the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIvcemrqz0tEtLE-JYXlK2CxEuJWF26ojGs

Please be advised that if you’ve already interviewed with NYPCC and/or were able to meet with someone during our last virtual career fair, we are still reviewing your resume and ask that you not attend this particular fair. We want to make sure to give those that we haven’t met yet the same opportunity that you received!

Once registered, upload your resume to one of the following links.

*Please note that we are hiring for all locations and you should apply to whichever location is most convenient for you:

For the Bronx: https://smrtr.io/467qf

For Bushwick: https://smrtr.io/45FtL

For Linden (East New York): https://smrtr.io/48LQS

What to Expect:

During our virtual career fair, once candidates connect to the zoom meeting, they will be placed in our waiting room and seen in the order of arrival. Please be patient with us as we are excited to meet with all of you and want to make sure that we are being fair and giving everyone the time that they deserve.