SA Job Listings
23
Feb 11
They’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers (About Job Searches)
Student affairs is in the throes of job search season with many of the placement events just around the corner. #SAChat hosted a special job search edition on February 10 during which all of the questions asked were submitted by job seekers. More than 39 people submitted questions and while we tried to get to many of them during the hour-long chat, we didn’t get to ask everything submitted. I’ve created a Google Doc of the remaining questions and am asking our community to chime in with their thoughts, insight and expertise. Take a few minutes and read over the questions still hanging out there. Adding your thoughts to even one or two of them will be a huge help to those who are searching! And, of course, feel free to add more questions to this living document.
As always, keep the conversation going on Twitter using #sachat and #sajobs hashtags.
Click here to view the document.
Best of luck to all of our job seekers in the community. Remember, it’s not a race — it’s a journey and it’s your own journey. We’re all here to cheer you on!
21
Apr 10
Job Search Success via Twitter? I’m a Believer Now
Social media as a job search tool? Sure I’d heard about it but didn’t really put much faith into it beyond employer/employee fact checking and social background research. By the time we had a position moving through our HR process in January I’d been contributing to studentbranding.com for a several months so I knew the networking expectations for both employers and candidates in the non-higher education arena. As such, I figured I didn’t have anything to lose by sharing news of our process on twitter.
While I had been engaged in the #sachat community not much came of this tweet (note no #sachat hashtag) until we progressed as a community into discussions on job searches, of course triggered by Ed Cabellon. Here is a sequence of tweets than ensued over the course of sixteen minutes.
As promised, when our position was finally approved right before #NASPA10 I sent a tweet sharing the news and our process from that point forward. I didn’t have a live link yet so several people requested the job description as a result of these tweets:
Several members of the #sachat and twitter community requested a job description after these tweets. Anyone who expressed interest in the position or had asked questions about the job, university and location via twitter was on the radar for us. As we progressed through the search, all search committee members, including me, unfollowed all of the twitter candidates to maintain the integrity of our process. Communication with candidates became more formal and traditional – email and phone – but by that point the networking had reaped its rewards.
Twitter can change the search process
While unexpected, twitter and the #sachat community fundamentally changed the search process by decreasing the size of an already small profession. Certainly candidates still had to successfully navigate the gauntlet of our search process but our knowledge of them through social media outlets was very informative.
As an employer our engagement on twitter, whether individually or through our office account, helped us put information in the public domain that we wanted to share about the future direction of our office and our work environment. Knowing that I was being followed by several candidates didn’t change how I interacted on twitter but it did reassure me that when we got to the point of fit questions that these candidates were probably better informed about us than those who were not accessing our information.
As a candidate you need to think through how you use twitter and what degree of access you want to provide. It can be hugely beneficial for employers to triangulate your professional perspective and network connections. On the other hand it can also be detrimental, particularly related to candidate authenticity and consistency in different settings if your interviews and application materials don’t align well with your presence in social media.
Social media expertise will be a required job criteria for all future searches
Our job description listed social media expertise as a preferred requirement. It became a more prominent factor in our search every step of the way as our discussions to balance expertise and needs within our office became more focused. In our next search social media engagement will be a required component.
In response to:
You may be asking:
Based on our candidate pool and how they identified their skill set as it related to our job description I would disagree that most people in gen-y have them in some form. Facebook doesn’t cut it anymore. That is now below the minimum – fan pages, connections, etc. Different institutions will measure social media skills differently based upon their needs and the expertise currently on staff. We were looking for someone who had the interest in and ability to give us traction in areas where we knew we needed to be engaged but were spinning our wheels – Facebook a bit, twitter, and blogs. (Again social media served as only two of thirteen criteria in our search process.) In particular, we were looking for a solid knowledge base of how to use twitter and, ideally, high quality engagement in the student affairs community and #sachat in particular.
Very few candidates provided social media information on their resume or in their cover letter (the best approach for me – hyperlinked to your profile in a PDF resume). Even some of the candidates we knew were on twitter didn’t identify that knowledge in their application materials. If you are engaged in the #sachat community your knowledge base sets you apart from the general student affairs community and you need to market that knowledge. Again, different institutions will measure social media skills differently based upon their needs and the expertise currently on staff but why make the hunt for that information difficult and allow employers to make inaccurate assumptions about your skill set?
In January I never would have guessed the impact social media would have on our search process. I’m a believer now though. Without getting into further details of our search I’d be glad to discuss your process as it relates to my perspective on social media and the role it can play in a successful search process for you.
What do you think? Make it a good day.
Mike Severy is the Director of Student Involvement and Leadership at UNC Pembroke. You can connect with Mike via Twitter.
5
Jun 09
Higher Ed Employment Indicators
HigherEdJobs.com has posted an interesting report at their site, examining recent trends in job postings by colleges and universities. Job seekers in higher ed will find this enlightening.
Key findings of the report include:
- Despite a dramatic fall-off in general U.S. employment over the last 18 months, the total number of
jobs in higher education has remained relatively stable. - While
higher education employment has remained relatively stable, the number
of advertised job openings in the sector has decreased significantly. - During Q1 2009, colleges and universities shifted their hiring towards faculty and away from administrative hires.
- Colleges
and universities continue to hire an increasing percentage of part-time
employees, decreasing their percentage of full-time employees.
An interesting read and certainly something to know if you are in the job market, or thinking about it right now. You can also follow HigherEdCareers on Twitter.
4
May 09
Student Affairs Job Posting: Director of Residential Life
Fort Hays State University seeks a Director of Residential Life to provide
leadership and vision for the Department of Residential Life and create a
residential environment consistent with the goals of the University and the
Division of Student Affairs. Fort Hays State University is a liberal and
applied arts, state-assisted institution with an enrollment of more than 9,000
students and is located in Hays, Kansas.
Under the administrative
direction of the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, the Director of
Residential Life:
- Is responsible for all
programmatic and operations management of four halls and two apartment
complexes, housing approximately 1200 residents. - Supervises two professional Hall Directors,
one graduate Hall Director, one undergraduate hall director, three undergraduate
resident managers, three undergraduate assistant hall directors, two
undergraduate apartment managers, two professional administrative assistants and
40+ student paraprofessional staff members. - Directs residential learning initiatives,
training, assessment, and operations. - Possesses a strong understanding of student development theory, as well
as issues facing student populations, utilizing this information to shape the
Departmental activities and interactions with staff and student residents.
Below you will find the position description. The
position will begin July 1, 2009. We will begin reviewing applications on June
1, 2009, with applications received by this date receiving priority
consideration. Applications received after this date may be considered until
the position is filled.
If you or potential candidates have any questions about FHSU,
Hays, the position, or selection process, please feel free to contact Shana Meyer at slmeyer@fhsu.edu or at 785-628-5824.
DIRECTOR OF
RESIDENTIAL LIFE
POSITION DESCRIPTION
General
Description
The Director of
Residential Life is responsible for providing leadership and vision for the
Department of Residential Life and creating a residential environment consistent
with the goals of the University and the Division of Student Affairs. Under the
administrative direction of the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs,
the Director of Residential Life: s responsible for all programmatic and
operations management of four halls and two apartment complexes, housing
approximately 1200 residents. Supervises two professional Hall Directors, one
graduate Hall Director, one undergraduate hall director, three undergraduate
resident managers, three undergraduate assistant hall directors, two
undergraduate apartment managers, two professional administrative assistants and
40+ student paraprofessional staff members. Directs residential learning
initiatives, training, assessment, and operations. Possesses a strong
understanding of student development theory, as well as issues facing student
populations, utilizing this information to shape the Departmental activities and
interactions with staff and student residents.
Responsibilities
1. Directly responsible for the hiring, training
and supervision of all Residential Life staff.
2. Sets standards and policies for residence hall
professional staff including Resident Assistants, Community (desk) Assistants,
Student Academic Mentors, Resident Managers, Hall Directors, Assistant Hall
Directors, Faculty Associates, and student employees.
3. Develops and implements Residential Life
policies and procedures, ensuring compliance and annual procedural
reviews.
4.Oversees programming
and residence education, including the First Year Residential Program (FYRE),
National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH), and the Residence Hall Association
(RHA).
5. Monitors Residence
Life budgets.
6. Establishes
regular evaluations, goals, and objectives for all Residential Life programs and
staff.
7. Evaluates and assesses
housing operations utilizing StarRez software management system to monitor,
forecast, and manage occupancy, the room selection processes, room assignments,
and room changes.
8. Participates in coordinating contracts with outside vendors, such as laundry
machine vendor and snack/vending machine service provider.
9. Oversees the physical environment in
conjunction with Facilities staff, to maintain a safe, secure, and healthy
living environment.
10.Collaborates with the Director of the Kansas Academy of Math and Science
(KAMS), which is housed in Residential Life facilities.
11. Ensures the security and safety of students
through appropriate training and following procedures for crisis and risk
management.
12. Assesses and
oversees residential living / learning communities and the First Year
Residential Program (FYRE) with best practices in student development and
research to create engaging, community-focused, learning environments.
13.Develops and manages technology
initiatives including department website.
14.Generates and prioritizes auxiliary
improvements projects.
15.Researches and develops specification for bids, approves department
requisitions.
16. Administers
and recruits summer conferences and camps.
17.Effectively communicates and collaborates
with parents, students, administrators, staff, and other constituencies in a
positive manner through mediation and conflict resolution.
18.Conducts weekly professional staff
meetings.
19. Reviews and
approves all marketing materials, forms, and signage, to include brochures,
posters, handbooks, contracts, and more.
20. Participates in Residential Life programs,
University visit days and special weekends.
21.Serves on various Student Affairs and
University-wide committees.
22.Represents the Department of Residential Life and establishes collaborative
relationships with other University departments.
Qualifications Required:
Preferred:
higher education administration, student personnel, or other closely related
field.
of progressively responsible management experience within a comprehensive
residence life setting.
Salary/Benefits:
annual and short-range facility planning
residential life cleaning and maintenance operations and food service
facilities
communication and interpersonal skills.
with students, faculty and staff.
with budgets, facilities issues, and housing placement systems.
to the development and welfare of students.
ability to work successfully with and for persons of diverse backgrounds
administrative, planning and supervisory skills.
development and training of professional/paraprofessional staff.
Salary
commensurate with education and experience.
Appointment Date:
Position
is available July 1, 2009 or as negotiated. Screening of candidates will begin
June 1, 2009, with applications received by this date receiving priority
consideration. Applications received after this date may be considered until
the position is filled.
Background Check:
Successful candidates will have consented to and
successfully completed a criminal background check.
Application
Procedure:
Submit a letter of interest, resume and the
names, addresses, telephone number, and email addresses for three (3) professional
references. Applications should be submitted to:
Shana Warkentine Meyer
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs
Fort Hays State University
600 Park Street
Hays, KS 67601-4099
FHSU is an AA/EO Employer
23
Apr 09
They’re just not that into you…handling rejection in your job search
Most
of us have experienced rejection at some time or other in our careers.
Many of us have experienced it multiple times. Whether you are an
experienced professional or someone just starting out, rejections bring
forth a variety of feelings, ideas and thoughts. It's frustrating and
at times, gut-wrenching, and likely to at least put in a ding in your
self-esteem.
How can you persevere through this, so you can
continue getting out there and trying your best? As someone with
extensive experience on the topic, from both sides of the process, I 'd
like to offer some of my thoughts on ways to sort through rejection.
- Accept it graciously and thank the interviewer/hiring official for his or her time. After
all, not everyone who applied was actively considered for the position.
Even fewer were invited to talk to their staff about the position, and
a much smaller number actually invited to come to campus. Even if they
didn't hire you, bringing you to campus wasn't some costly scheme to
insult you for their staff's amusement. And they did invest their time
and money in bringing you in. So they liked you, at least in theory,
and felt you were worth consideration. This is always a compliment. Though rejection can sting like a back-handed swat in the face, don't assume that a rejection for a particular position is a repudiation of you as a person or professional.
- Don't ask for feedback about the interview during the rejection call, unless it is offered. Very
few people like calling candidates to give them bad news, and fewer
still are adequately prepared to share feedback on the spot.
Institutional policies might officially discourage hiring managers from
sharing feedback, as well. It's okay to ask if you could get some
feedback at a later time, but only do this if you really plan to follow
up on it. And don't be surprised if the answer is "it just wasn't the
right fit." Sometimes it really is just that the hiring committee or
manager felt another candidate made a stronger argument or had a more
appropriate skill set. There's not much use in knowing that, unless you
are really committed to a certain type of job or working at a certain
institution. And you can't force the issue of "fit," because it's
nebulous at best, and resides pretty firmly in the area of legitimate
managerial discretion.
- Reflect on your interview and ask yourself where things could have gone off track. Then ask for feedback. There are some useful lists here and here.
Go over these lists and try to be honest with yourself if any of the
common mistakes mentioned could have been a factor. But don't assume
that you will be able to definitively pinpoint the reason for the
rejection by guessing on your own. Try to be reflective, rather than
simply hard on yourself. There is a natural tendency to go negative and
spend your time and energy kicking yourself for anything that might
have gone wrong. Try not to do this to yourself. Everyone makes
mistakes sometimes, and letting some voice in your head echo "stupid!
stupid!stupid!" is no way to bolster your self-esteem. Once you have a
few ideas, then make the call, or write the e-mail, asking if you can
set up a time for feedback. And definitely ask for a given time, so the hiring manager can prepare for the conversation. If they give you a specific time, they are going to tell you what they think is useful or appropriate, within whatever parameters their department or institution have set. If they don't agree to a specific time, then drop the issue and move on. No point in trying to get blood from a stone.
- Only ask for feedback if you can take criticism gracefully.
Even if the hiring manager shares the rationale for rejection, you may
or may not agree with all the feedback you get. Arguing about your
various good points, insisting you can be a fit for the position, or
saying that the interviewer(s) misinterpreted what you said are
sure-fire ways to seem out of touch, unwilling to accept feedback, just
plain angry, or even worse, desperate. None of these are good ways to
be perceived. Once the interview is over, it's over. Impressions have
been made, and they have been set. They may not be set in stone, but likely at least in a hard clay. If you were "almost"
the candidate they selected, being pushy or argumentative about
feedback will seem needy and can only hurt any chances you might have
for later consideration.
- Commit yourself to doing something with your feedback.
There's no point in asking for feedback if you are not going to do
anything with it. Once you know how you are going off track, you can
try to fix it. Here's my method to doing something with feedback.
- First,
ask yourself "What part of this criticism is fair?" This will require
some reflection and some level of stepping into someone else's shoes.
If the criticism is fair, then you need to make peace with it, and
decide what you want to do with the information.
- Second,
ask yourself "What can I do to correct the situation?" Brainstorm a
little bit. Ask for ideas from your supervisor or a trusted colleague.
Pick the feedback apart and hold the pieces up to the light. You will
probably see some opportunities for growth.
- Third, take a look
at the parts of the criticism that you believe are not fair or
accurate. Then ask yourself why you would want to subject yourself to
working in an environment where you will question the fairness and
judgment of the people you work with from day one. You are better off
for having dodged that bullet. Let it go.
- Finally, take a look
at any pieces of criticism that might be fair, but that you are
unwilling to change. We all bring unique aspects of our personalities
to work with us, and particular ideas about what we like to put out there as our public images and work personas. If the criticism was fair,
but you are unwilling to change, then it really wasn't a good "fit" for
you and you need to keep looking until you find the right environment,
or the willingness to change those things that were the roadblocks in
your way. Look in the mirror, say to yourself "I am good enough, I am
smart enough, and one day I will find people who actually like me for
who I am, how I am, and what I can bring to the table. It's their loss,
not mine."
- Don't keep knocking on the door when it's been clearly closed in your face.
Don't be the stalkery almost-lover standing outside the door saying
"why don't you love me?" to the blind date you just met, when the date
didn't go well. Nobody likes that. Don't let rejection wreck your
self-confidence. Instead, let it teach you what you need to know about
yourself and how you relate to others, so you can handle the right
relationship when it comes along, and be ready to throw yourself in
with all your heart. The lesson doesn't define you. The learning does.
Lick your wounds, dust yourself off, and stand firmly on your own two
feet, facing the world. There will be another door. The important thing
is to be practically and emotionally prepared to ring the doorbell and ready to walk in the next time someone answers.
If you are
one of those out there licking your wounds incurred in the brutal
realities of the job search, hang in there, and good luck!
20
Apr 09
You’re the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread, and that Generally “Meets Expectations”: Handling Employee Performance Reviews
A
few posts back, I elaborated on why "April is the Cruelest Month" in
Student Affairs, as the recruitment cycle really kicks into high gear
with on-campus. I'd like to add another reason why this time of year
strikes dread in me: employee performance reviews.
I work in
Residence Life at a large university (Penn State) and if there is one
thing we know how to do at large universities, it's sucking the souls
out of people by having established processes for everything. The "Staff Review and Development Plan" or SRDP
, as we call it, is one great example. There is a form and a
process, and even recommended guidelines for describing an employee's overall performance or their commitment to diversity.
These are all practical enough, and giving a standard outline is one
way to approach fairness and avoid lawsuits. But what I struggle with
most is actually giving useful feedback that will help each employee
toward a particular "next step" in life or career.
This is
especially difficult when the feedback needed is constructive. I have
no trouble affirming accomplishments and strengths. People love to hear
what they are good at. But when there is a skill that needs to be
developed, or behavior that needs to be modified, it's harder to craft
the right things to say. For me, the trick is to lean heavily on the
aforementioned guidelines, to refer back to the job description for the
employee, and to give a few suggestions for improvement that I hope the
employee will find palatable, like specialized training and new tasks.
We
have university-wide performance factors that everyone gets feedback
upon. I always make a point to mention some strength or example of
satisfactory performance for each of these in the strengths section of the review.
For "areas of development, " I only comment on factors where I think
there is a perceived weakness. This keeps a balance on the side of the
positive, even if the weaknesses are significant.
I also try to make sure that I have talked to the employee about any perceived weakness before the review,
unless the feedback was a result of something recent, or from
third-party feedback (for example, resident assistant feedback about
their supervisor). In the case of third-party feedback, whenever
possible, I go back to the person providing feedback and make sure I
have a good idea where the feedback is coming from, and examples, when
appropriate. As a supervisor, though, I feel, it is my job to filter
feedback in context of overall performance and to deliver it in ways
that do not put the feedback provider "in the cross-hairs." This is
difficult, but necessary in some cases, to protect the process. If
people won't give you useful feedback, and you don't pass it along, then you
can't help an employee grow their skills and develop perspective on job
performance, or where they need to concentrate their efforts.
Along
those lines, I will count myself among the many Gen-X managers who
really, REALLY struggle to give ANY kind of feedback to Millennials .
Their high expectations of themselves often lead to receiving feedback
in one of two ways…tell them they are good at something, and they
will hear "you are the best thing since sliced bread;" tell them they
need to improve in some area or refine their approach, and all the
sudden an otherwise good performance review becomes, to the employee, a
personal declaration of war. Add in a university work
culture that emphasizes that most employees should fall in "meets
expectations" (and it isn't perceived by the Xers and Boomers among us as a bad thing), and my last few weeks some semesters is spent cleaning up from the youthquake
that splits the earth between me and some of my Millennial employees. I am left wondering what exactly I should be doing to develop them,
or if I should just assume they will be moving on to something else
anyway, since they all seem to think they are about a year off from a
directorship and 5 years away from a VP position, anyway.
I've gotten some interesting ideas on how to approach the SRDP process with millennials from the Free Management Library , BusinessWeek , and Generations at Work. I've heard Neil Howe speak about Millennials Rising
and even asked him a few questions along these lines after his talk.
I'm convinced that this is the challenge of our era, because we need
more than ever to get good people into this field, and to work on
keeping them. If there's a trick to this, I imagine that it involves us honoring them for their uniqueness, and them respecting that the role of the supervisor is to develop the employee, not simply to praise.
Please consider sharing your ideas on the blog. If you
would prefer not to be so public, send me your ideas and comments at
seancook@psu.edu and I will revisit this topic in a later post. If you
are giving reviews to staff (student or professional) this season, good
luck. If you are on the receiving end of the table, same to you.
Hopefully you'll get good feedback, that you were generally expecting,
and that you can do something with, as you plot your pathway to success
as a Student Affairs professional.
13
Apr 09
Resumistakes!: 10 Ways Your Resume, Cover Letter & Application Can Sink Your Chances
It's
difficult to sum up your career in just a few pages. Writing a resume
or cover letter, assembling a portfolio, or even filling out yet
another long, overly comprehensive application form for every position
you are serious about can be draining. It's hard to whittle things down
to what is most important and relevant, and even harder to find ways to
do that and make sure the details are broad enough to encompass your skills and specific enough to match a certain position.
difficult to sum up your career in just a few pages. Writing a resume
or cover letter, assembling a portfolio, or even filling out yet
another long, overly comprehensive application form for every position
you are serious about can be draining. It's hard to whittle things down
to what is most important and relevant, and even harder to find ways to
do that and make sure the details are broad enough to encompass your skills and specific enough to match a certain position.
-
Embellishing details like your title, or changing your title altogether.
It’s fine to describe your experiences in ways that match the job
listing, but only if you do so in ways that are accurate. For some
positions (like part-time/temporary assignments, special projects,
etc.) you may not have an actual title. If you did good things, you’ll
want them on your resume, so it’s understandable to relate the work to
a title. I’ve seen several resumes from resident director-level
candidates that listed their position as “Director” when it’s clear
that they were in entry-level positions. If that is the official title,
go ahead and put it down, but if the official title is “Resident
Director,” there is a very different context to that, and the likely
result is that the reviewer will either catch it, and not be impressed
by the clear embellishment, or the mistake will catch up to you by the
time you get an interview for something you clearly are not qualified
for, or when they check references, and ask your immediate supervisor
to describe the scope of your duties. Instead: If you
have a position or project that doesn’t have a clear title, but you
want to put it on your resume, ask your supervisor how to describe your
position, or what working title they would give it, and go with that.
Then clearly explain the duties and scope of the position. For example: one
summer, between regular positions, I wrote my department’s annual
report. That is basically all I did, but it was a pretty good thing to
have done, so the director and I talked, and agreed that it was a
special project and that I was assisting the director with it. So we
called it “Special Assistant to the Director.” Sounds impressive, but
the description gave context about the duties, scope and the fact it
was a temporary position. -
Putting in too many details. Okay, so this
is academia, and many of us are working up to having a "Curriculum
Vitae" rather than just a simple resume. Even though the term literally
means "The course of one's life," you shouldn't try to put everything you have ever done in there. Instead: Make
sure you are listing the most relevant skills and experiences
applicable to the job, and then select others that are important to you
and create a positive impression. And when you assemble the application
packet, only send what is being asked for. Usually this is a resume and
cover letter, and sometimes a reference sheet, application form, or a
transcript. A writing sample might be requested as well, depending on
the position and institution. But don't pack a bunch of nonsense in
there and hope for the best. Don't include your portfolio, pictures of
yourself, or really anything that isn't asked for. Once, I had an
applicant for a community assistant position submit a 30-something page
packet for the job. It wasn't just his resume that was long and
meandering. He included many miscellaneous pages of things, including
letters from past advisers, maybe some position descriptions, really
everything but the size and color of his favorite underwear. It was
just too much, and had nothing to do with this part- time position. -
Putting in too few details. Oddly enough,
nowhere in the previously mentioned application packet was his current
phone number, e-mail address, or any other way to contact him. And
there were 2 or 3 students with the same name and middle initial at
Penn State at the time. So I sent an e-mail to all of them, and shortly
thereafter, gave up looking for him. Three months later, a guy showed
up at my office door, asking if the position was still open. He had
just learned to use his e-mail and wanted to know if the position was
still available. I told him it wasn't. Also, details of your positions
shouldn't just read like job postings. Instead: Your
descriptions should imply scope of responsibility (breadth of
supervision, size of office or area, budget), unique accomplishments,
and programs, presentations or trainings you have done, among other
things. One of which should be your contact information. -
Not vetting and prepping your references correctly. First,
ask someone who can talk intelligently about your skills and
experiences, as well as your weaknesses, not just someone who thinks
you are a nice person. Most people are nice at least some of the time,
but that doesn't mean they are qualified for just any position out
there. Second, be sure you have actually asked that person to be a
reference. Third, meet with the person or speak with them over the
phone or e-mail, and tell them why you are asking them, and what areas
they could probably comment on. Give each reference a copy of your
resume and whenever possible, send along job postings for positions to
which you are applying, or at least let them know titles and
institutions they might hear from. If a position is outside your
current field or specialty, this is especially important. If you are
able, talk over your reasons for applying with each reference, so they
will be able to connect your interests to what they already know about
your skills and experience. Also, realize that many employers strongly
prefer to talk with a current or recent supervisor, so it's best in
most cases to let your supervisor know you are interviewing for
positions. -
Bad design choices. I've seen a couple
thousand resumes over my career, and can therefore tell you that there
are many bad ways to design and format your resume. It needs to be
readable, and have a logical flow. One of the most common formats is a
reverse chronological style, where you begin with your current position
and work backwards, highlighting your unique skills and experiences
along the way. You also want to use white space to balance out the
document, and allow visual flow from one section or topic to another.
Serif fonts (fonts with little curly-cue elements incorporated into
each letter) are softer on the eye. You will want to use fonts and
highlighting elements (CAPITALS, bold letters, italics, underlining) sparingly. Using too many fonts, font sizes or highlighting elements makes your document look busy. Using too few will hinder visual flow from one part to another. And colors,
clip art, and extraneous design elements are distracting. I will never
forget the overly stylized resume from an artistic applicant that we
received years back. There was a somewhat abstract ink sketch in the
left margin of a naked man. Now, it was artistic, and in a museum, it
wouldn't have really raised many eyebrows. But it didn't belong on a
resume! -
Dismissing the skills acquired in part-time, temporary, volunteer and student positions.
If you are just graduating, you probably don't have a lengthy list of
jobs to expand upon, and the screening committee will probably notice.
It's okay, especially if you are pretty much still at the entry-level.
No matter what your job history, the important thing is that you are
able to place your skills in context. Once, I helped a student with her
resume, so she could apply for internships, and she didn't have any
work experience on her resume, only clubs. When I asked her if she ever
had a job, she replied that she "only" worked in the family business, a
hardware store, but that she didn't really do anything. I asked
her what she did day-to-day, and she talked about ringing up sales,
counting the cash drawer and reconciling the cash, checks and credit
with receipts, and that once a year, she helped with inventory, by
leading a team of several people in counting every single item in the
store. It wasn't until then that she realized that she was experienced
with customer service, basic bookkeeping, inventory management, and
supervising project teams, not to mention the fact that she was trusted
with some very critical tasks, and managed them well. We wrote this
into her resume. -
Not spell-checking or grammar checking. This
is especially embarrassing for candidates who misspell their names,
titles, or universities, or who mangle descriptions of their key
accomplishments. You may know what you meant, but the resume reviewer
may set aside your resume just for the poor grammar. When I have 75 or
more resumes to look through for a position (a made-up number for
illustrative purposes, but pretty typical), I work quickly by screening
into categories and then re-screening the top category into the
must-haves, maybes, probably-nots and no way, mans. It takes less than
a minute (usually 30 to 45 seconds) for me to get an initial idea. Bad
grammar and spelling will automatically put someone in a lower category. -
Not getting advice from someone in your field. Your
business writing instructor may tell you to do a one-page resume, but
for education positions especially, feel free to ignore that advice.
For recent bachelor-level candidates, a two page resume is fine, if you
have done enough to justify it. One page isn't enough to elaborate on
your student organization experiences. The general rule of thumb I
recommend is to only go to another page if you can at least half-fill
it. If you can only half-fill it, include your references. For
relatively new professionals, 3 to 4 pages is a good limit. Experienced
professionals, 5. Don't go more than 5 pages unless you are the most
spectacularly accomplished person or don't care if people call you an
egomaniac. Going over 5 pages means that you are already sought-after
as an authority on something, the upcoming "franchise quarterback" of
your specialty, or that you are incredibly arrogant. Or it may be just that you are a
member of the faculty, in which case it is just allowed. -
Not getting advice from someone outside your field. While
your English instructor might not understand the student affairs field,
it's likely that he or she will have good ideas about how to tighten
your descriptions, and not overuse words and phrases. If you have a
friend that has a good eye for design, that person can critique your resume's readability, use of white space, and design choices. If you know an 8th
grader, have him or her read your resume, and tell you if they
understand what you do, what you did, and why they should care. Resumes
should be as readable as the newspaper, and the general rule for
newspapers is to shoot for an 8th grade reading level. -
Not knowing how to use job boards/upload files in the correct format. Today's
job searches often require the use of web technology, and the ability
to upload and download files. Be sure that you have uploaded your files
correctly, and if you are able to preview what the reviewer will see,
do so. If a web-based or e-mail based option is available, use it! We
strive to be as paperless as possible in our processes, so only resumes
of candidates that make it to the final pool get printed. The others
just get screened, rated, and ranked. Faxing is the ultimate
21st-century faux pas, unless you have been asked specifically to submit
materials this way, and sending by snail mail is only slightly better,
and here is why. Electronic documents like word and pdf files usually
just open up and look like they should. Faxed and mailed materials get
scanned at HR and then uploaded as image files. Large image files.
Files that crash the reviewer's computer, take forever to load, or require extra effort to read will irritate the reviewer. If
you don't know how to upload a basic file or save documents in
acceptable formats, then you lack one of the most important basic work
skills of this millennium. This will put you in one of the lower categories mentioned before. Computer skills are basic skills in today's workforce.
Take care to avoid these mistakes, and you will have a better resume and application. Good luck with your job search!
23
Mar 09
April is the cruelest month
“April is the Cruelest Month”-T.S. Eliot
Interview Etiquette
Every April, as interview and placement season gets into full swing,
candidates brush up their resumes and cover letters, practice their talking points, and dig into the position listings, while those of us on
the hiring side of the table are busy again trying to figure out how to clear
our calendars and put our game faces on, as we settle in for yet another flurry
of dark suits, and shined shoes, filled by candidates eager to impress. It's a whirl of activity, no matter which side of the table you sit on, and at times, you get lost in it. It's important, though, that when you do, you don't forget your manners.
Having been on the interviewer side of the table somewhere
in the neighborhood of a thousand times, I’ve seen many approaches to the
interview, both good and bad. Over the
past few years, though, I have noticed more lapses in candidate etiquette. The
following article from the Vault, a respected job search site, shows that other
employers are having this impression as well.
http://www.vault.com/surveys/manners/index.jsp
Having flubbed several interviews in my lifetime, I know
what it is like to be on that end of the equation as well, so I’d like to offer
some good links to articles about interview etiquette. Good luck with interview
season!
General Interview Etiquette:
http://www.getahead-direct.com/gwin08-interview-etiquette.htm
Dining Etiquette:
http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/interviews/a/interviewdining.htm
What advice could you offer today’s candidates on how to be
successful in their interviews? Please consider sharing your perspectives by
commenting on this post.
