Residential advisors coordinate activities in resident facilities in secondary school and college dormitories, group homes, or similar establishments. Order supplies and determine the need for maintenance, repairs, and furnishings. May maintain household records and assign rooms. May assist residents with problem-solving or refer them to counseling resources.

  • Communicate with other staff to resolve problems with individual students.
  • Observe students to detect and report unusual behavior.
  • Supervise, train, and evaluate residence hall staff, including resident assistants, participants in work-study programs, and other student workers.
  • Provide emergency first aid and summon medical assistance when necessary.
  • Make regular rounds to ensure that residents and areas are safe and secure.
  • Mediate interpersonal problems between residents.
  • Enforce rules and regulations to ensure the smooth and orderly operation of dormitory programs.
  • Determine the need for facility maintenance and repair, and notify appropriate personnel.
  • Collaborate with counselors to develop counseling programs that address the needs of individual students.
  • Develop and coordinate educational programs for residents.
  • Develop program plans for individuals or assist in plan development.
  • Provide requested information on students' progress and the development of case plans.
  • Confer with medical personnel to better understand the backgrounds and needs of individual residents.
  • Administer, coordinate, or recommend disciplinary and corrective actions.
  • Answer telephones, and route calls or deliver messages.
  • Counsel students in the handling of issues such as family, financial, and educational problems.
  • Hold regular meetings with each assigned unit.
  • Compile information such as residents' daily activities and the quantities of supplies used to prepare required reports.
  • Chaperone group-sponsored trips and social functions.
  • Order supplies for facilities.
  • Oversee departmental budget.
  • Supervise students' housekeeping work to ensure that it is done properly.
  • Process contract cancellations for students who are unable to follow residence hall policies and procedures.
  • Accompany and supervise students during meals.
  • Supervise the activities of housekeeping personnel.
  • Assign rooms to students.
  • Provide transportation or escort for expeditions, such as shopping trips or visits to doctors or dentists.
  • Direct and participate in on- and off-campus recreational activities for residents of institutions, boarding schools, fraternities or sororities, children's homes, or similar establishments.
  • Sort and distribute mail.
  • Inventory, pack, and remove items left behind by former residents.
Work Context
  • Electronic Mail — 61% responded "Every day".
  • Contact With Others — 64% responded "Constant contact with others".
  • Face-to-Face Discussions — 67% responded "Every day".
  • Work With Work Group or Team — 49% responded "Extremely important".
  • Telephone — 42% responded "Once a week or more but not every day".
  • Responsible for Others' Health and Safety — 47% responded "High responsibility".
  • Frequency of Conflict Situations — 41% responded "Once a week or more but not every day".
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Work Activities
  • Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
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Detailed Work Activities
  • Develop educational or training programs.
  • Teach daily living skills or behaviors.
  • Evaluate employee performance.
  • Train service staff.
  • Supervise service workers.
  • Manage budgets for personal services operations.
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Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
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Skills

Social Perceptiveness
  • Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Active Listening
  • Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking
  • Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Coordination
  • Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
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Abilities

Oral Comprehension
  • The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression
  • The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity
  • The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Clarity
  • The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
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Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Leadership
  • Cooperation
  • Concern for Others
  • Social Orientation
  • Self Control
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Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Office suite software
  • Microsoft Office Hot Technology
Data base user interface and query software
  • Data entry software Hot Technology
Word processing software
  • Google Docs Hot Technology
  • Microsoft Word Hot Technology
  • Word processing software
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