Image Borrowed From Here

Something that I’ve come to appreciate during my time in higher ed is the value of face recognition. Whether it’s someone you’ve seen a dozen or more times or someone you just happen to randomly bump into 5 years ago in a stop and shop parking lot. Remembering the times and places we’ve met individuals along the road of life can be a hugely beneficial tool when we find ourselves diving headfirst into large national conventions.

My problem is, names. I have one of the best image memories of anyone I know, but when it comes to connecting that face to an actual name, title, etc. I am more often than not at a loss. Why won’t my brain just store everything nice and neatly in a filing cabinet format so I can connect these important details?

I know this is an area of weakness of mine. So recently I tested things out to see how I may still be able to take full utilization of my memories of interactions, and the product thus far has been quite fruitful. As I interact with folks either on campus, at small conferences, or at enormous conventions, there are 3 things I do.

1. The business card / self email. Usually folks in the field have business cards. As many folks have learned, trading cards and writing the information of your conversation on the back for a refresher later on is very useful. I’ve also gotten in the habit of actually writing down the specific place, time, interaction, and any unique things that happened in that contact moment. It’s not even that I look back at all of the cards for reference, rather, I’ve found that simply writing it down increases the percentage of retained memory by an amazing sum. Unfortunately, at many of the larger conventions, lots of the attendees are grad students and new professionals who may not have cards yet to dole out. (Although the trend is changing thankfully!) To cover my bases there, I’ve actually been a digital nerd and will systematically send myself an email with all the persons info, our interaction, and a brief physical description, so that when I return home, I can still look back and make a mental recording for future interactions.
2. Connect soon thereafter. I’ve been notorious for not connecting for months after conferences and institutes. As soon as my feet hit campus again I get thrown into the melee and the momentum to keep connected quickly dissipates. Its normally not until I’m cleaning out my car a few months later and I find the collection of business cards that I remember to reach out! This is a bad habit and I highly suggest you do not do the same. Rather, now I have found much better use for my time in airports and rest stops en route to the home turf. Instead of checking facebook or doing office triage from a distance, I take those minutes and hours and reach out almost immediately. In an ideal world my face and persona will be memorable for at least a couple days post meeting me, so that may just be the best time to engage in an initial follow-up dialogue. It’s been great creating and maintaining those relationships better.
3. Find folks EVERYWHERE! LinkedIn is great, but with the way technology is, it’s actually incredibly easy to (in a healthy way) stalk those you’ve met on other platforms as well. Linking on LinkedIn is a good start, but then see if that individual has a facebook where you can become more of a pro-social acquaintance or friend. The other big one is Twitter. I seek and follow as many folks as I can that I meet in person at various places and events. Tweeting in many ways has become my new texting, and as such, it’s much easier to stay in touch leading up to the next possible opportunity to see each other, and also have great convos on things like #SAChat. Finally, using this time to find any blogs that those folks might author can be huge, as you are now able to create a mutually beneficial resource relationship.

Although it’s only been a few short months now, taking these actions have really advanced my ability to retain a face AND name connection with folks I’ve met. As we leap into our various conferences and conventions in the coming weeks and months, my hope is that the masses of folks I encounter will become new colleagues, connections and friends. For all of you, I wish the same! Figure out what works best for you to make connections that last both mentally and physically, and you will surely win big

Everyday the #sachat feed is full of great resources, professional musings, and important questions that have been posed to the community. Here is a highlight of some of the tweets from the stream during the last week. We know this list is only scratching the surface, but we hope it will encourage you to keep the conversation going. Chat on!

“No one accomplishes anything all alone” @sherylsandberg #hardwork #NASPA2013 #SAParent #SAChat

March 17, 2013 7:24 pm via Twitter for Windows PhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@KellySHennessy

Kelly S Hennessy

+ 1 MT @StacyLOliver: If you don’t practice in person what you preach on Twitter, people notice. Be congruent in your words. #sachat

March 16, 2013 10:34 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@LaurieABerry

Laurie Berry

Lead with the relationship instead of the differences lifting up something shared @EbooPatel #sachat #jaspa #naspa13

March 16, 2013 1:46 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@kalvarado0204

Kelly Alvarado

The upside of painful knowledge is so much greater than the downside of blissful ignorance -Sheryl Sandberg #WLSalt #SAchat

March 15, 2013 8:30 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@c_w_reynolds

courtney reynolds

Strong opposing parties can still work together if those involved are committed to a shared purpose. Focus on the goal. #sachat

March 14, 2013 5:07 pm via TweetCaster for iOSReplyRetweetFavorite

@JoeSabado

Joe Sabado

Sometimes I follow those I don’t necessarily agree with as a way to see other perspectives #sachat #expandmyworld

March 12, 2013 12:41 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@hkwebb

Heather Webb

“Data without a story are just numbers. A story without data is just fiction” #ACUI13 #SAchat

March 11, 2013 3:19 pm via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@SchuylerHall

Schuyler Hall

If you could teach one lesson to everyone in #studentaffairs, what would it be? #sachat #curious

March 12, 2013 5:29 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@StacyLOliver

Stacy OliverSikorski

Thought of the day: what does “social responsibility” mean to you? #SAgrad #SAchat

March 15, 2013 11:43 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@LosForrados

Ryan Lloyd

“Currently the culture of higher education does not foster, require or reward higher learning.” Thoughts? #sachat

March 16, 2013 4:24 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@rcooksen2

Rich Cooksen

This. “How to Choose Your Battles and Fight for What Actually Matters” – http://t.co/0FxZhwr4GJ #SAchat

March 12, 2013 8:38 pm via FlipboardReplyRetweetFavorite

@PetePereira

Pete Pereira

Ever participated in National Denim Day for Sexual Assault Awareness Month? http://t.co/UkzhtJTEcQ #glacuho #cscm #sachat

March 15, 2013 9:53 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@JamMatthe

Jamie Matthews

Praise can be dangerous when not kept in check. What is it about student affairs that promotes it? http://t.co/mRQRsWUo28 #sachat

March 16, 2013 10:33 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@sewalish

Christopher Sewalish

“@TIME: Secrets of the most successful college students| http://t.co/6kEonu6mxW (via @TIMEIdeas)” #sachat

March 17, 2013 8:04 pm via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite

@MelRoc7

Melissa Rocco

Some great #failforward truthiness here: How to Recover From Your Worst Mistakes http://t.co/6cRfl2Vk2c #sachat #sagrad #salead

March 14, 2013 10:03 pm via Tweet ButtonReplyRetweetFavorite

@seanmeddington

Sean Eddington

I was involved in a discussion about use of the “go-to” privilege article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh for a RA Class. There was debate on if this material, along with a step in the circle exercise, was the best direction for the class. During the discussion someone mentioned that step in the circle experiences often impacted students negatively, and had a tendency to take a bad turn regardless of facilitator skill level. The response to this person’s experience was that they should re-examine the questions that were developed for the class, and that most of the existing questions were not about race or socioeconomic status. I then heard myself say “Isn’t everything about race and socioeconomic status?” I can’t think of a time that I was talking about privilege when you could separate race or talk about the topic without talking about socioeconomic status. This discussion/debate made me think about how we at times get too wrapped up in teaching others that we ourselves forget to do the work that we are teaching about. There is an assumption that when you work in student affairs that you come with a built in appreciation, and beyond surface level understanding of diversity, and today that has been transferred over to social justice. If you are in the field long enough people assume that you are well-versed enough to start teaching others. These assumptions become problematic as you have some that are speaking and supporting topics that they are no longer taking steps to grow and develop in. Just listening to issues or concerns of social justice presented by students does not make us any more socially just. It makes us people who live vicariously through other people’s experiences. It allows us to live in a bubble that says that racism exists but not within our teams, our departments—we are the ones in the white hats as Olivia Pope says on the TV show Scandal. We assume that we are the good guys who support and challenge the inequity and actively try to stomp out its existence. There are times that we in students affairs need to burst our own bubble and get down and do the work again.

I am proud to say that I worked in an environment that worked hard to burst that bubble for me every day and encouraged me to burst others’ bubbles. Twice a month there were social justice in-services provided by the Student Affairs division and my own residence life department for both staff and students. In the course of my time at this institution the value and importance of social justice was clear. It was also clear that if you could not actively engage in your own development then it might not be the best fit-this was something that was a standard for staff and student leaders within the department. As residence life professionals the team of 15 graduate and full time professionals took a full day to do our own unpacking of knapsacks through a facilitated workshop where we talked about our own privileges and biases. If we don’t start with ourselves then how could we expect our RAs or residents to engage in their own journey?

This consistent development has put me in a position to be mindful not to go too long without doing a self-check in, and not to wait for a training to come around so that I can check it off of my beginning of the year to do list. As we are actively engaging in the recruitment and selection process of our colleagues I ask us to think about the social justice questions we are asking and the answers that we are looking for. Is the person really talking about an experience that they were actively engaged with or are they sharing someone else’s story? Talking about issues of social justice is hard, especially when we do self-reflection, but it’s a topic that we as professionals need to continue to discuss in order to push ourselves to grow. We have to talk so that we can continue to challenge and support our students in their ever changing understanding and engagement on this topic.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our #SAchat focused on Moving Up in Student Affairs. This week’s topic produced over 900(!) tweets from several student affairs professionals, graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

View Transcript as a Google Doc.

What are some other topics you would like to see us cover? Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong. Until next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to LIKE our Facebook Page. Thanks for your continued support!

The middle of Spring semester is when the job search season swings into high gear. We’re in national conference season now, which along with all the great networking and workshops, brings attention to the job search for the upcoming academic year. From graduating graduate students to SSAOs, a key task in career development is reflection to define your next steps.

Find that match. Photo by ejorpin

What are my immediate goals? Defining your career goals sets the stage for sharing information with potential employers. Consider your current and past roles. What kind of job are you seeking?

What do you see yourself doing 5 or 10 years from now? How do your job search activities now lay the foundation for your future success? How do your career goals meet employer needs?

How does my background match the employer’s requirements? A resume is a document designed to convince an employer to grant you an interview. Your ability to tell your story in a way that matches the employer’s requirements is critical for success. What parts of your background match what the employer is seeking?

Am I customizing my resume to be relevant to each employer? Different colleges have different needs. Your task is to identify those needs and address them in your resume. Research the organization via their website, mission statement, annual report, and/or any media coverage. Determine how your background meets their needs. This is a fundamental task in order to reach the interview stage. This may require a different resume for each employer. What are the university-specific needs?

Am I ready to receive communication from an employer about the open position? Have I checked my voicemail greeting recently? Do I have forwarding activated on my job search e-mail account? Is my interviewing wardrobe cleaned and pressed? Am I ready to discuss the position with the employer at a moment’s notice?

What kind of preparation did you do for your last job search? What methods do you use to filter through job listings?

Suzanne Wall is the Director of Career Services at Albertus Magnus College.

Photo via Ben Husman

I need process.  It was the first thing I did after arriving at South Carolina.  I developed a paper form that my advisee and I shared to chart the development of a campus program. I realize that the next step for me is a process for student development.  My 1-on-1 notes are underwhelming and don’t capture the complexities of college student development.  This leads me to this search for process.

The doctor’s office has a process.

From the moment you fill out new patient forms to the second she does her wrap up speech, there is a process.  Science and medicine have come far enough where they took what use to be a hit or miss guessing campaign against illness and turn it into a incredibly sophisticated set of pointed questions, medical testing, and If-Thens.

Student Development (and human development in a wider lens) isn’t that clear cut. Student Development is a messy process of  growth and regression. Student Development is a moment to moment, unstable control over the situation, type of profession.  Practitioners use theories when available (and sometimes just when there is time) to direct the developmental work which seems to be the norm amongst most of Student Affairs (at least from my own perceptions).  I fall into that category but I’m ready for something more comprehensive and intentional.

I believe there is a systematic way to develop students.

Practitioners have their methods of advising, seemingly developed over years in the field.  I’m imagining something with a deep structure that would be applied not just to the students I advise but to all students that work with Student Affairs practitioners at the institution.  I believe some would call it “consistency of service.”  The way I imagine it practitioners evaluate student’s level of development (with whichever metrics they choose), chart an intentional growth plan, assess them through the journey, and finish it off with exit counseling and a roadmap for continued growth. Think of it as a guardrail system on the highway. There is a clear road forward but always space to on each side for students to veer (just never far enough where they drive off the cliff). On that same highway is an officer making sure everything is under control but only steps in when something goes wrong. Its a standardized system that still keeps in mind the uniqueness of each student.

I see this as a cross-campus tool.  I was meeting with a campus partner just the other day that oversees four-year advising in our College of Arts and Sciences.  They utilize a system that connects all advisors into one network that offers information on courses, services, and even an area to mark comments and keep track of each student academically. I fell in love. I see this system in my head being ported into student development.  Instead of looking at an advisees development just through my lens (either their leadership roles or just our interactions) I can layer in their four-year advisors, professors, coaches, etc… This provides a richness to development that I haven’t encountered.  Dare I even use a popular buzzword… Holistic development. Instead of using that term related to developing the whole student through my work, I use it as developing the whole student from all those that interact with them on campus. My mind begins to take these thoughts and runs way into the future with them (which I struggle and fight sometimes) but for now I am just focusing on creating my advising process so I can offer the best experience for my advisees.

My green is showing.

I wan’t to frame these beliefs since this is Part 1 of a who-knows-how-long string of posts in this who-knows-how-long search\development of my professional advising process. A student recently dropped into my office and asked if I could help one of their student groups with a constitution revision. I legitimately became giddy.  He mentioned that I was beginning to build a reputation as the Constitution King, which I think he meant as a half-hearted joke.  I wish I could put that on a business card. I’ll frame this using true colors (one of my personal favorites).  I am a strong Orange\Green. The most glaring connection to my green is that I love process. When I say I love process I mean I LOVE process. I would call it a philosophical love affair. It is the first thing I look at when I start working on a new project.  I want to make sure the process fits what I’m trying to accomplish and makes my effort as efficient as possible.  It also feels like the best way I can leave a place better then I found it.

Plain and simple: I want to be the best advisor I can be. For me that starts with being more intentional and consistent.  These posts serve as a record of that journey.

Have a process that works for you?  If you dont mind, share with me!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our #SAchat focused on Utilizing #StrengthsQuest on campus. This week’s topic produced (well) over 500 tweets from several student affairs professionals, graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

View Transcript on Storify.

What are some other topics you would like to see us cover? Please let us know your ideas and feedback to keep #sachat growing strong. Until next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to LIKE our Facebook Page. Thanks for your continued support!

Straight up now, tell me-are you an introvert? If someone asked me this question my answer would be yes. I have attributes that some people associate with being an introvert. I would rather work alone than with teams, I don’t enjoy being put on the spot in front of people that I don’t know unless I’m prepared-which eliminates the on the spot part. I always need a little time to recharge after being around a bunch of people, the list could go on. Being introverted, I can say has been both a blessing and a curse at times during my career.
I was reminded of what it means to be labeled an introvert recently during discussion surrounding our RA selection process. In filtering through candidates there would be the occasional comment about how an extroverted RA would reach residents better, or an introverted RA would struggle getting out and glad handing with residents. I’m sure that with certain people this is definitely the case. I’m sure that there are some introverted RAs who would struggle building community as an RA but the same could be said for an extroverted RA. I guess what I struggle with is that we in student affairs seem to want to take a chance with the extrovert and are quick to let the introvert go. This subject also hit home for me when I read a book called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

In this book Cain explores the world of introverts-how we as a culture started to associate introvertness with certain traits, how we associate these traits with leadership and the extrovert ideal. One of the items that she describes as the extrovert ideal is the belief that “He favors quick decisions, even at the risk of being wrong. She works well in teams and socializes in groups. We like to think that we value individuality, but all too often we admire one type of individual—the kind who’s comfortable ‘putting himself out there.’”

http://loveashley.net/2012/12/02/10-myths-about-introverts/

I believe every day we have students, colleagues and other people in our lives who we wish would just put themselves out there, wish they would talk more in groups, or share ideas more frequently “’cause you have so many good things to say” (and yes I’ve heard that phrase a few times). Do we really need to wait seven seconds for the introverts? Couldn’t we wait seven seconds for the extroverts to stop talking? Those that get these messages may think they have to conform to an extrovert ideal which may feel as ridiculous and uncomfortable as putting on a heavy coat on a hot summer day.
Helping someone come out of their shell is not the same for someone who is an introvert-it’s a part of who we are. I do not feel that you can grow out of it; for someone who is introverted we will push ourselves when we are ready. For me that time came years ago through discovering how I could make my introvertness work for me through strategic interactions with people, projects and life as a whole. I can work an OPE social like no one’s business and get up in front of people and wax poetically about any topic. Yet there are many times when I feel I’m doing my best work when I am quiet and being cerebral –so when you encounter that introverted colleague, friends, student etc. pause before you ask them to put on that heavy coat.

Do you see the struggle between extroverts and introverts? Do you think introverts are too often misunderstood? 

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