Absolutely not! Just like with many jobs, there is a training process to prepare you. In the spring, you’ll hear from many campus departments and learn the history, traditions and some fun facts about Auburn. Whether you are new to Auburn or have been here multiple semesters, the First Year Experience team will prepare you to be successful in the role.

Definitely not! Since we work with many types of new students, the Orientation staff also needs different personalities to be successful. We’ve had extroverted and outgoing people on the team, and others who are quiet and reserved. We aren’t looking for a specific type of personality. Be yourself in the interview and let us see who you really are.

Absolutely! Whether you started here as a freshman or transferred in from another institution, anyone is welcome to apply. The FYE team values each student’s experiences. The diverse perspectives of all our students contribute to an amazing orientation team who serve our incoming freshmen, transfer students, and their families. We often have students who apply for this role during their first semester at Auburn and are very successful as Orientation Counselors.

Being involved at Auburn is not a requirement for our role. To us, it is more about your performance throughout the interview process than your resume. We are looking for people who genuinely want to positively impact our incoming students and their families regardless of their other campus involvement. In fact, being an Orientation Counselor has been the first Auburn leadership role many former counselors have had and can be a great way to meet new people and learn about future involvement opportunities.

Yes, but you will need to manage your time effectively to balance all your responsibilities. You will generally have the time commitments from us in advance, so it just requires some planning and coordination. We’ve had counselors who were leaders of other organizations, who worked on or off campus, or who took heavy academic loads. Consider also that the role and responsibilities of the Orientation Counselor varies by semester. In the 2026 spring semester, you will be in training for three hours each week and you’ll need another 2-4 hours each week to prepare for that training session. In the summer, the orientation schedule is very demanding. It will be difficult to enroll in classes, particularly those which meet in person, but we’ve had some success with counselors enrolling in online courses. In fall 2026, your commitment is very light outside of the scheduled SOS sessions.

No, one of the great aspects of the Orientation Counselor role is that you will have experience working with many different types of audiences. One session you may work directly with family members and the next you may have a student group of freshmen or transfer students. Not only does this variety keep the job exciting, but the skills you develop working with each group can help you in your future career. We’ll provide plenty of training, so you can feel comfortable, and many Orientation Counselors say they are pleasantly surprised by how much they enjoy working with the different audiences.