Ombudsman

Sometimes, two groups of people simply cannot get along. One side may be convinced that the other is cheating, and the other side may be convinced that the entire conflict has been blown out of proportion. As an Ombudsman, you step in and work as a Mediator between the two groups, investigating complaints and encouraging people to get along.

You may find work as an Ombudsman at a number of places, including long-term care facilities, police departments, and the government. At a long-term care facility, you interview people and ask them about the care they’re receiving. If you find a problem, you contact the owner of the facility and talk about resolutions. When you’re an Ombudsman you may also notify the family about what you’ve found, as well as the state if you can’t come to a resolution with the facility.

At a police department, you handle complaint calls. You interview the Police Officer who worked with the complainant, and also talk to that Officer’s Supervisor about the incident. Then you notify the complainant about what you’ve found.

If you work for the government, you take complaints about taxes, laws, or pending legislation. You investigate those complaints, then talk to Lawmakers about the concerns you’ve heard. You may encourage the Lawmaker to meet with the complainant so they can explain the issue more fully.

While you might be tempted to take sides, you know that there truly are two sides to every story, and your job is to help those two sides stitch their stories together. You encourage people to get along as much as possible. While you can’t expect them to hug and sing songs when your work is complete, you can expect them to find a workable solution and stop hollering at one another.