Caroline Dowd-Higgins – Director, Office of Career and Professional Development
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published January 27, 2011
Donna McGill
Few academic career coaches are as versatile as Caroline Dowd-Higgins. She specializes in networking and building professional relationships. This, of course, has lent itself to building foundations with law firms and other businesses throughout the U.S. - all with the goal of maximizing opportunities for graduating college seniors. She is clearly one of Indiana University's Maurer School of Law's best assets. Her efforts have resulted in more than one hundred of the nation's top law firms committing to participate in the various on campus recruiting efforts for Indiana Law.
Before she became a force to be reckoned with at Indiana Law, Dowd-Higgins attended Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she received her B.M. in 1989, followed by her M.M. in 1995. She is a member of several organizations and has certifications in many diverse backgrounds, including:
National Speaker's Association
American Counseling Association
Career Development Professionals of Indiana
Qualified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Interpreter
National Association of Legal Professionals; and
Qualified Strong Interest Inventory Interpreter
While she has been with the University of Indiana for several years, it's only been in recent years that she's made the transition to the law school. Since 2000, she has provided career coaching for the campus in its entirety. With her outreach and professional development workshops, she offers students the opportunities to not only prepare themselves for the outside world, but also ways to do so in a positive, focused and confident manner. One former student said, ''You know, you just don't find those kinds of qualities in your school's career office. We were fortunate to have her and she was gracious enough to offer all of her experience for each of us''. This student echoes those of so many.
Dowd-Higgins believes her experience and time spent in an international career has made her ''keenly aware of the importance of transferable skills''. She says she is focused on teaching career-bound students the importance of communication and the lost art of professional poise. She has published a book, This is Not the Career I Ordered, which speaks to professional women considering a transition in their careers or even re-inventing them in their entirety. She hosts a blog NotTheCareerIOrdered.com, and here, she offers wise tidbits of information, including ''don't be afraid to take risks'', ''find your passion'' and ''don't take on the problems of other people''.
This well-rounded, realistic and focused teacher of life provides the tools for anyone to take advantage of; however, as any good career coach worth her salt will tell you, ''it's up to you to take advantage of it''. We can't think of anyone better qualified to take our lead from. For more information on Caroline Dowd-Higgins, visit Indiana University's website at Law.Indiana.edu, and to learn more about Dowd-Higgins, visit her blog at NotTheCareerIOrdered.com.
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