Over 50 years ago, Children’s Crisis Treatment Center was founded as a research demonstration project in the basement of The Franklin Institute. Over the past half century, CCTC has been a safe place for healing for over 100,000 children in crisis.
CCTC embraces the The Sanctuary® Model and is committed to creating a trauma-informed culture of open communication, nonviolence, emotional intelligence, social learning, shared governance, social responsibility, and growth and change.
This week, Campus Philly had the opportunity to interview Carli Glen, Talent Management Specialist at CCTC. We learned more about her role at the organization and her passion for the CCTC approach, and got to hear her advice for college students and recent grads interested in pursuing a similar career path.
Check out our interview below, and learn more about open roles at CCTC here.
It’s great to connect, Carli! We are so excited to learn a little about you and hear about your career with Children’s Crisis Treatment Center. Before we jump in, tell us a little about yourself.
I moved to the Philadelphia area back in 2015 as a freshman in college. I went to a small private school in Langhorne—Cairn University—that had a first-year program. I was a part of the Urban Ministry first-year program where I got the opportunity to study the systems of Philadelphia and visit agencies that were doing amazing work with people!
From there, I became interested in a specific study of childhood trauma, and my professor from the program urged me to look for agencies in the city that focused on trauma work and early intervention.
I searched online and also spoke with some of the upperclassmen at my university—and this is how I discovered Children’s Crisis Treatment Center.
From there, I did some research about the agency and eventually pursued my first junior-level internship there, while also pursuing my Bachelors in Social Work! I then completed my senior-level internship with them. Fast-forward to present day, and I am preparing to pursue my Master’s Level internship for my Master’s In Social Work through West Chester University with CCTC, and I have been a full-time employee at CCTC since I graduated in the summer of 2019.
During my time here in Philadelphia, I have become acclimated with the city and its agencies, and the experiences that fill it and make this city all that it is. Moving from a small town in central Pennsylvania to this city was a big jump—but I would not want it any other way.
That’s fantastic to hear. Can you share a little more about your role at CCTC? How did you find and land the job?
I originally started as a full-time Behavioral Health Worker in our Therapeutic Nursery in 2019, then I moved to the Staffing Coordinator position shortly after; now I am the Talent Management Specialist!
In my current role as the Talent Management Specialist, I oversee the process of hiring and recruitment for the Behavioral Health Technician position at our agency. I also attend and manage career fairs, maintain relationships with community and university contacts, and track recruitment trends in our department. I am part of our staffing department, as well—and we all work as a great team.
That is one of the things that I value about the agency: they promote internal growth.
My supervisor, Franco Roman, sought me out and encouraged me to pursue joining his staffing team and I remember being so excited to try something new. I was doing direct work with kids prior, so it was a difficult jump to move from working with little ones to working with the HR department, but it has made me a well-rounded individual and employee.
What a great overview of your journey so far. Thanks, Carli! Can you also share some of the key takeaways you’ve learned so far on-the-job?
Yes! A key takeaway that I have learned from my role is the importance of relationships. A lot of what I do is meeting new people and making connections with them. I have had the chance to visit other agencies and representatives, visit college campuses and speak with students and faculty, and work alongside many teams in the agency in regard to recruitment efforts. This job would not be possible if I was not able to go outside of these walls and go to new places to meet new people.
It also wouldn’t be possible if I did not foster the relationships I have here with my coworkers. It has given me a better understanding of how partnerships and collaboration ultimately allow an agency to be the best it can be for its clients.
Another takeaway is that I have become much more keen to what is going on in outside agencies, especially when it comes to recruitment trends. The world is progressing in big ways and understanding the climate around us and how it effects recruitment is key to truly knowing the best avenues to recruit by. It has given me an interest and understanding in how to stay up-to-date on these things!
Let’s talk about your education a little more. How did your college courses and other activities help to prepare you for this role?
Pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in social work, as well as studying systems of the city in my undergrad classes, really set me up to understand how to work with people and live in community. The art of communication has slowly dwindled ever since remote positions became more prominent and Covid spaced us all out—ultimately creating a lack in communication between people, in my opinion. Coming out of undergrad, I had a firm understanding that people needed each other to thrive and live, which laid the foundation for me and was a reminder of why I pursued this degree in the first place. I remember it any time I feel discouraged, and I credit my professors, undergrad, and now grad level experience to that.
Such great advice! Speaking of: Do you have any advice for college students or recent grads looking to expand their professional network?
One of the largest ways that I have made and grown my personal network in Philadelphia is through universities. Through my job I have been able to network with people across many universities, which actually helped me in choosing my grad school option as well.
Networking with college-level candidates and understanding the flow of students searching for work and internships is targeting a prime group of social workers and philanthropists that are so necessary to the health of this city. Also, networking through agencies that I studied in undergrad, including public health agencies, small businesses, churches, and community organizations, have given me a well-rounded view of the city that we live and work in.
What’s some advice you’d give a student seeking a job at your organization this summer?
Advice that I would give to a student seeking a job at CCTC is to do your research on the agency and position before applying or interviewing. As someone who conducts interviews, I find it so helpful when the person comes in knowing what they are here for and it shows initiative on their part! It personally helped me a lot to know the mission and vision of CCTC when I first applied, and it shows that you are truly there to do the work.
I would also say to remember that you are a human being first, and an employee second. We are all passionate about our work and it is a blessing to have a job. But at the end of the day, we all struggle and need breaks. We all fail at some point. But being surrounded by people who will encourage you and pick you up when you fall short is an important thing to look for in an employer.
We couldn’t agree more! OK, last question: What does a day on the job look like? What can hopeful candidates expect from a career like yours?
My day-to-day may look like interviews with various candidates, traveling to community and university career fairs and networking with students and job seekers, attending internal meetings with various departments or scanning recruitment platforms and resumes for new candidates, and more! It is a busy job in that you are in many different places at once, but it is great if you enjoy making connections with people and chatting about the agency and what we do. Over time I have had to become very familiar with rates, onboarding processes, and more—so it really keeps me on my toes!
Interested in learning more? Here is the link to join our team and to learn more about CCTC’s career opportunities!
