For over fifteen years, Sheila Curran has been a leader in the career services field. With a broad understanding of academia, Curran Career Consulting was founded in 2008, as a way to bring holistic, state-of-the-art career strategies to higher education. Sheila is the former executive director of Duke University’s Career Center and served in a similar role at Brown University. With a national reputation for being one of the most forward-thinking and innovative people in her field, Sheila is known for her ability to align cost-effective solutions to institutional priorities.
Recent academic consulting assignments include developing plans for an innovative new career center; articulating characteristics required for 21st century career leadership and hiring top talent; defining measures for success and accountability for career services; benchmarking and analyzing the effectiveness of career initiatives; strategic planning and transition management; and, coaching senior leaders.
While Sheila partners with a wide variety of colleges and universities, she has particular expertise relating to liberal arts institutions, students and graduates. Her undergraduate degree, from Durham University in England, is in Russian and Persian, while her graduate degree is in Education from London University. Along with Suzanne Greenwald, Sheila has published a highly acclaimed book entitled Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads: Finding a Path to Your Perfect Career. (Ten Speed Press, 2006.) A frequent contributor to the national media, Sheila authored a column titled “Curran on Careers” for Business Week.
Sheila’s ability to forge new paths relating to career services has much to do with her earlier educational and professional background. She holds the highest qualification in human resources, the SPHR (Senior Practitioner in Human Resources). Sheila’s experience in organizational development, recruiting, and training, along with her educational background and experience, provide her with a unique perspective among those who consult on strategic career issues.
Sheila Curran is one of the top career consultants in the field. She understands what a hiring team seeks in applicants and advises them quickly and with depth. I credit her with my job at Google.
— Sara, mid-career professional
