Making it simple: Career coach helps seniors plan futures
Hardin became the career coach in October 2017 after serving for 22 years as a high school math teacher at Red Bay. It might seem like an odd swap, but Hardin said that as a teacher she was already helping seniors plan their futures.
“I’ve always enjoyed doing this for seniors, but as a teacher I just didn’t have the time to devote to it. Now, I get to do it every day,” Hardin said.
After earning a computer science and math degree from the University of North Alabama, Hardin first worked in the industry sector. She worked at Sunshine Mills first in the sales department with deductions then with accounts payable for Sunshine Trucking.
“I always thought I might go into business, but teaching is in my blood,” Hardin said. “My mom was a teacher. My brother and sister are teachers. It’s what I enjoy doing.”
Her first teaching job was computer and math classes in Franklin County. She would spend half a day teaching at Belgreen and half a day teaching at Red Bay. After one year, she transferred completely to Red Bay, where she stayed for the next 22 years.
Now, she gets to teach students in a different way.
“So often they’re unsure of what’s out there. I enjoy helping them plan and succeed,” Hardin said.
As career coach, her job entails assisting students in many different ways, such as with job shadowing, employability skills, résumé writing, interview skills, scholarship and FAFSA application, four year plans and career assessments.
“Every day, every hour, every minute is something different. It’s fun. I get to help students in different ways,” Hardin said.
She described her position as a “liaison between industries and schools.”
“I have connections from my time working in industry, and part of what I do now is talk to different industries and ask them how we at schools can better prepare students for the workforce,” she said.
One event she is planning that will be coming up in the next few months is a job fair in the Shoals area. She is collaborating with Lawrence, Lauderdale and Colbert counties to put it together, as well as the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.
“We’ll be helping students fill out their résumés beforehand and then fill out applications while at the fair. Hopefully students will come out of it with interviews or potential jobs,” Hardin said.
She still keeps her toes in the business field, too. A couple of times a year she hosts a consignment sale called 2 Little 4 Me, and she helps her sister at her business, Bay Tree Gift Company in Red Bay.
