Where Are They Now?

February 27th, 2012 | Posted by Ed Cabellon in Social Networks | Technology and Programming - (1 Comments)

Its hard to believe, but two years ago I wrote a post here on the SA Blog about some then outstanding Student Affairs Graduate Students.  Joe Ginese encouraged me to gather information and write a follow up to showcase where exactly those folks are now as working professionals.  Besides asking them what has happened over the last two years, I also asked them share their best advice for those who will be job searching this spring. I’m thrilled (and proud) to share their stories!

Photo of Connie Cabello

Constanza (Connie) Cabello

“In August I accepted a position at Bryant University (Smithfield, RI). I was hired as the Program Advisor in the Center for Student Involvement. My main responsibilities were overseeing the Community Service Office and the Late Night Program (Bryant@Night). Due to various staffing changes in my first semester I took on more responsibilities like overseeing the Program Board and working closely with the Orientation Leaders. Although the staffing changes left us down two professional staff members, it allowed me to work with more students and programs. I was even promoted to Assistant Director after 8 months, which was exciting. After about a year of working in Student Involvement I realized that while my interests were programming and advising, my passion is multicultural education and diversity training. I am passionate about providing services and programs for underrepresented students and providing opportunities for all students to become more culturally aware. This past November I accepted the Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs position at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. So far, so good! I am working directly with heritage awareness programs and piloting a Diversity Peer Educator program. I enjoy that I get to work collaboratively with a variety of offices and departments on campus. I am even supervising a graduate student and our student worker staff.” Follow me on Twitter!

“I’m happy to report that my job search process landed me at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and I’m still here!  I serve as the Coordinator for Activities and Programs in the Office of Student Activities and Leadership.  In this role, I advise the university programming board (called Student Activities Council here), the Monarch Maniac athletic spirit organization, oversee Homecoming at the university, supervise the graduate assistant for programming, coordinate the “Programs All Weekend” calendar for the division (a late night & weekend programming effort), manage some other programming and assessment initiatives for our office, and serve on a variety of other projects and committees.  I’m also passionate about being involved with the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA) and am so happy to be at an institution that is so supportive of that.  Currently, I’m serving in a variety of volunteer roles with conference and institute planning, as well as presenting a number of sessions at the upcoming NACA National Conference in Charlotte.” Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Julia Duhan Julia Duhan

“I was able to gain experience in both academic advising and admission and develop a love for creating meaning in my experiences and personal reflection. Currently, I am searching for a full time position in student affairs, but am able to fulfill my desire to work in education by working as a substitute teacher in my community.  It is fun and challenging and is certainly developing my ability to work “on the fly.”  Two years ago, I shied away from using social media for professional purposes but have since seen the light. I became active in the #SAChat community about a year ago and have grown my personal and professional network by leaps and bounds. Through social media, I’ve stayed engaged in what’s happening in the field and created a method of personal reflection by starting a blog in which I share some of my experiences as a “future” professional. I would definitely say that social media is an essential part of my professional life!   In the last two years my commitment to students has not wavered, but grown stronger. It has also become more focused in that I am committed to helping students define and create success for themselves both in college and beyond.” Follow me on Twitter!

 

Emily Clare Sharples

“I’m currently working at Duke University School of Law, in the Career & Professional Development Center. My official title is Office Coordinator, so I tend to do a little bit of a lot of things. I’ve ramped up our use of Twitter and our blog to reach our students; I also spearheaded an overhaul of our website this summer. Its more user-friendly and more user-driven now, and seems to have been successful since its launch (www.law.duke.edu/career). I haven’t tried to do more Social Media outreach in the form of facebook, as I learned in graduate school that post-grad students aren’t as likely to engage that way.”

Photo of Gavin WeiserStephen “Gavin” Weiser

“I am now working in the same office that I was in grad school, but left for a year and a half working elsewhere. Both that job and this one I got the word about through contacts on twitter! I am now the Assistant Director for the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at the University of South Carolina.  I truly feel that my technological bend has helped my career. My colleagues know that I am an understanding ally and educator of these mediums which is very helpful to them, particularly when they have no idea what a twitter or a Facebook is. I think using social media to connect with other professionals using active hashtags is almost a necessity anymore. Posting articles that you learned something from, as well as partaking in the dialogue to the sign of someone who is driven to learn.” Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Shannon HealyShannon Healy

“I’m currently a Living Center Director at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, where I completed my graduate program back in 2010. Since graduating and starting a full-time position I have stayed active on Twitter and Facebook, and it is now part of my job responsibilities to help run the social media pages for the Housing department here. Social Media played a huge part in my Student Affairs career, from the initial job search, to idea sharing in my first job, to finally meeting some long-time Twitter friends in real life at various conferences.” Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Becca ObergefellBecca (Fick) Obergefell

“I am the Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Leadership at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. My work includes advising the campus programming board, developing and implementing leadership curriculum through a Leadership Living Learning Community, certificate programs, training, and development opportunities. I also oversee the implementation and planning of evening and weekend programming, including welcome weeks and a summer programming calendar. Social Media continues to open doors for me in Student Affairs. I am the Social Media chair for the NACA South Regional Conference Planning Committee and have helped create a strategic Social Media plan for my office and the programming board. I’ve presented with my supervisor, Mike Severy about utilizing Social Media in the job search at ACPA, NACA, NACA South, and campus-based leadership conferences. My use of Twitter as a networking tool also connected me with the Women’s Leadership Institute and gave me the opportunity to serve on the faculty for that conference in December.  Connect with me on my blog, Twitter, and/or LinkedIn!”

Photo of Zack FordZack Ford

“Well, it turns out I found a job that utilizes all the strengths I highlighted two years ago  — it just isn’t in student affairs! 2009-2010 was a tough time to be a new professional looking for work in the niche of LGBT affairs and social justice education, and during my unemployment, I tried to stay connected to the issues I cared about by blogging about them. It turns out that blogging suits me very well and my unemployment hobby has become my new career. I started at ThinkProgress.org in March 2011 and my days are now filled with generating content about LGBT politics. I love that I get to be a daily advocate for social justice and that my primary responsibility is educating the public, and I would encourage future graduates to keep in mind that the passion that led you to student affairs could still take you other places! Nevertheless, I still miss the campus and classroom environments. Hopefully, someday I can find a way to bring my work and expertise back to higher education to have the kind of intense student dialogues I cherish. In the mean time, I’ve got blog posts to write and legislative hearings to livetweet!” Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Jon TingleyJon Tingley

“I ended up working as a Graduate Hall Director for Minnesota State University, Mankato and I’m about to finish my Master’s degree in Counseling & Student Personnel: College Student Affairs track. As part of my program I’ve done my practicum and internship work with the LGBT Center on our campus, which has allowed me to lead a student group and create an LGBT roommate matching service for on-campus residents.  Two years ago, I didn’t have any experience working in Residential Life, now I feel like a full-fledged ResLifer ready to pursue my first professional hall director position.  When looking back at the person I was when I submitted my information for the original post, I can’t believe how fast the time has gone and how much I’ve grown as a professional. Part of that growth is because of the professional connections I’ve made through #SAChat and with my #SAGrow mentor Laurie Berry. Liz Gross was the person who first got me interested in #SAChat and she inspired me to present on social media and my LGBT research at conferences and on my campus. Professionals I’ve met through social media have helped me narrow a research topic and have helped me find research on LGBT Campus Climate, eventually leading me to do my own primary research.  The professionals who participate in this online community have helped me in so many ways that it’s hard to mention them all here and they continue to provide guidance as I search for my first professional position.”  Follow me on Twitter!

Photo of Laura RogalskiLaura Rogalski

“I am currently the Program Coordinator for the Office of Student Activities & Leadership Development at Western New England University in Springfield, MA. What my position consists of is: advising clubs/organizations; coordinating the student events calendar; marketing and advertising for our office and for all student events; event planning support for clubs/organizations; contracting and purchasing for clubs/organizations; coordinating and running the “Late Night at the Rock” program; supervising four (4) student Marketing Specialists and four (4) Rock Café Coordinators; serving on the Diversity Task Force Committee on campus; assisting in the planning of Homecoming Weekend and Family & Friends Weekend; coordinating the Student Activities EXPO; assisting in summer and winter orientations; and many other duties as assigned.  Social media has been a large influence and asset to my professional career thus far. I use it every day to promote student events, get information out to the campus community and to further advance my professional development. I was a little hesitant at the start of my career to use it both in my professional and personal life but have learned the positive impacts that each can have so I now find that I use social media interchangeably between both personal and work environments. It is an incredible professional development tool as you are able to get to know colleagues from across the country and access information on a variety of student affairs topics at all times. While social media is still a tool that I am developing, I don’t think my professional experiences thus far in my career would be quite as impactful without it.” Follow me on Twitter!

Congratulations to everyone above on all their fantastic professional progress!  These are just some of the many Student Affairs Graduate stories out there.  To all those searching, continue to connect with those in person and online to help propel your career forward!

What is your story? How did you get into the Student Affairs field? What advice would you add to prospective Student Affairs Professionals?

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Slicing Your Work-Life Pie

February 20th, 2012 | Posted by Karen Gibson in Work/Life Balance - (8 Comments)

Student Affairs professionals like to talk about work-life balance. It seems elusive to so many. We present on it to packed rooms at conferences, in the office we set goals around it, we have Twitter chats exploring the topic, and many of us might say that we are constantly in search of the ever elusive magical balance or forever balancing on a tightrope.  Is it possible, though, to change how you perceive the balance of your life in order to stop searching and plant both feet solidly on the ground? Perhaps your life is in balance, it just doesn’t look like the balance you thought it might when you started in the profession. Maybe it doesn’t look like the balance your colleague demonstrates. Perchance, it is uncool to claim that your life is in balance when it seems everyone else is saying theirs is not.

Once, I was in a workshop where we were asked to draw slices of our lives inside a pie circle. As I drew my life, it occurred to me that I was not drawing even pie slices. I didn’t even want to draw balanced slices of my life on my worksheet pie. There are aspects of my life that take up more time and energy than others, which is exactly how I want it to be. Truthfully, I’m even okay with work taking up a larger slice of pie than some of my non-work slices. Work is where I have the opportunity to put my StrengthsQuest strengths to work in a way I am not currently afforded elsewhere. I enjoy my colleagues, my university, and the work we do. At work I have the opportunity to build relationships, to take advantage of professional development opportunities, and even to take care of my fitness needs. I also noticed that I put all aspects of my job-life into one pie slice, but everything outside of work was divided into more detailed slices which might contribute to life feeling like, or life looking out of balance for some. I wondered if I reassigned labels or grouped areas differently how my pie might slice. When we shared our pie pictures with the group, my pie was in balance for me, but it didn’t resemble the pies of those around me. This was a good reminder for me that balance for one doesn’t equal balance for all.

Although I’m fine with work taking up a larger pie slice, this does not mean that I abandon my non-work slices. I am committed to my volunteer work, my social life, my hobbies, and the base level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It ebbs and flows in a rhythm that fits for my life. It doesn’t look at all like the rhythm of my colleagues who may come in on the weekends or take work home or be working on a doctorate. But because it fits my life, it is balance for me. I think that sometimes we can get caught up in wanting others to demonstrate the kind of balance in their lives that we live out in our own. Because I wouldn’t come in to the office on the weekend, I’m confused by and a little judgmental of someone who would (if not required). But if it fits within the balance of their life, who am I to tell them their life is out of balance? I believe we are better served as a profession in supporting our colleagues in how they decide to slice their pie, rather than forcing them to slice it differently.

If you are going through the job search process right now, I encourage you to be mindful of how you prefer to slice your pie compared to any expectations your new supervisor may have for your time. It is better to have these conversations in the interview process rather than after your first day. A few questions you may want to ask are:
-          What are expectations for checking email/texts/voicemails while out of the office?
-          Does the university support mental health or comp days?
-          What professional development opportunities are available to me here?
-          How flexible are my work hours?
What other questions should job searchers ask in order to be prepared to meet the expectations of their supervisor and institution around work-life balance?

I believe we can move past judging others when their balance looks differently than ours which, in turn, will provide our colleagues the freedom to do balance as it best fits for their lives. As a Student Affairs professional, how can you encourage and support other professionals to claim the balance of their life, even if it doesn’t look like anyone else’s pie? What does your pie look like? I’d love to hear other people claim balance in their lives!

 

Karen Gibson is an associate director of residence life at St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas.

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You’ll Only Wear the Spiked Heels Once

February 8th, 2012 | Posted by Julie Larsen in Conferences | Professional Organizations - (11 Comments)

My first student affairs association conference was the 2006 NASPA held in Washington, D.C. I was graduating from my master’s program that spring, and several of us were heading East to participate in The Placement Exchange.

As graduate students, we had taken the time to figure out many cost saving measures. We flew into the cheaper airport, fit nine of us in a shuttle into downtown, and me and my three closest cohort friends shared a $99/night room in the Days Inn. (No, it was not one of the conference hotels.) The room was “non-smoking” yet we all had a slight stale smoke smell to our interview clothes, and I am still not sure if something of a questionable nature was rolled up in the carpet that sat at the end of the hall all week.

I forgot pajamas, packed uncomfortable shoes, and spent more time agonizing over what sessions I should go to instead of actually attending the sessions. I can honestly say, my conference experiences have only gotten better as I have spent more time in the field. As I started planning my conference season, I thought it would be useful to solicit advice from others in the profession to share with those attending their first conference this year. Thank you to all who shared, I think we have a great collection of wisdom to pass along. If you didn’t get a chance to share your tips, please feel free to add them to the list!

My own advice from the D.C. conference years ago? 1) If you are able to, splurge on a conference hotel. Being in a comfortable space really makes the conference more enjoyable, and being in the midst of all the happenings gives you a chance to make some great connections. 2) Pack snacks and bring a reusable water bottle. 3) Take some time to explore the city and sights around the conference location. It’s a good mental break, and a great way to find good restaurants and unique souvenirs. 4) Everyone around you may be a potential colleague or supervisor. Be kind, be courteous, and don’t get too crazy at the regional receptions.

I wish you all a successful and fulfilling conference season!

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Learning About Facilities Management: Maintenance, Keys, Assignments, Oh My!

August 16th, 2011 | Posted by Karen Gibson in Resident Life - (4 Comments)

As someone whose experience is primarily in resident education, this summer I have learned how important it can be to take the time to learn what happens in the facilities side of the house.  It can be easy to think that you don’t have the time to learn someone else’s job, but, just like anything else, if you break it down into smaller tasks, it will be easier to find the time. Finding the time when the facilities person is available to help you understand their area will save you time in the long run if you find yourself in a situation where the facilities staff member is out of the office for an extended period and you have to fill in the gaps.  Here are a few of my suggestions on how to get started on your resident education – facilities cross training.

  1. Build relationships with the Physical Plant staff. I did have an edge because I knew many of these staff members since I was a hall director at this institution. If you don’t have that advantage, you are going to have to be tactical and deliberate about getting to know the locksmith, the building maintenance supervisor, the custodial supervisor, and the administrator in the office who is your equivalent (office manager, associate, assistant or director –the person you will be calling directly when you need to make something happen).  These folks will be instrumental in helping you accomplish what you need as well as knowing what the history is for certain types of situations.
  2. Learn the master key box. We have a master key box that houses our RA duty key sets, office keys, RD keys, and a whole slew of other keys that I am still learning. Ask the person in charge of the box to teach you his/her organization system within the box. If you do not already know, ask them to show you how the keys are numbered and tracked. Find out how the sign-out system works. Inquire after any peculiarities that currently only make sense to the person in charge of the box. Don’t wait until there is nobody to ask.
  3. Learn the intricacies of whatever housing management system your office uses. You may not need it that often if your resident education job description does not require it. But there may come a day when you are faced with having to look up a student’s booking and accompanying correspondence to verify their claim of being given two different summer housing assignments. You do not want your first day in the housing management system to be in front of that student. Ask for tutorials from your facilities person so that you can navigate in the system with confidence.
  4. Ask your facilities person what parts of their job they believe nobody knows they do or what parts go unnoticed/unappreciated. These will be the parts of the job that catch your office off- guard if this person is out for an extended period of time. Everyone will be thankful if you can say, “we need to remember to refelt the pool tables” or “we need to steam clean the common area furniture before opening” or whatever else may fall into the unnoticed category.

Certainly, these items can and should take place over the span of several months rather than crammed into two weeks before your facilities person is about to be out of the office for an extended period of time. Your retention and time management will be much better if you have time to plan out when and how you will tackle each of these items as well as anything else that pops up along the way. By taking the time in smaller bits throughout the year, when you know you have some downtime or a free afternoon, you can make the time to become better aware of what happens in the facilities side of the house.

If you are a facilities staff member, what else would you suggest that we take the time to learn? What other general tips on cross training do we have to best support our offices and colleagues?

Karen Gibson is an associate director of residence life at St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas.

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The Pomodoro Technique™: Transforming Time into Your Friend

May 14th, 2010 | Posted by Del Suggs in Campus Issues | Uncategorized | Work/Life Balance - (0 Comments)

The Pomodoro Technique™ was created by Francesco Cirillo in 1980s after a long search to improve his own study habits. While attending college in Rome, he had a difficult time staying focused and concentrating on his work. He grabbed the familiar kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato (a pomodoro in Italian) and used it to set short term deadlines for himself. Essentially, he would set the timer and work without interruption until it went off.

The Pomodoro Technique™ is deeper than just setting a timer and going to work. The whole purpose is to change your mindset about time and work. It’s not just a silly idea,
but it’s synthesis of concepts proposed by Steve McConnell, Tony Buzan, Hans-George Gademer and Tony Gilb in a variety of areas and disciplines.

It’s built around three basic assumptions:

First, that you will come to see time differently. It’s not the enemy. By changing your view of time from “becoming” (the abstract, dimensional use of time), you eliminate the
anxiety associated with working under a deadline.

Second, that better use of the mind results in a higher level of consciousness, clarity of thought, and more effective learning.

Finally, that using simple tool like a timer reduces the complexity of applying the technique and makes it more effective and efficient.

Of course, there is a website that explains it all. And, while there is a book, you can download it free.

You might think that it would be difficult to apply this in your own office, as it calls for working uninterrupted in 25 minute cycles. There are, however, ways to interrupt and to
keep track of those interruptions. And now — during the Summer when students are fewer and farther between — it might be a useful method of getting through that endless “To-Do” list we all face.

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Social Justice in Student Affairs – #SACHAT Recap

April 16th, 2010 | Posted by Ed Cabellon in #sachat | Recap - (0 Comments)

Thanks to everyone who participated in today’s #SAchat focusing on Social Justice in Student Affairs. This week, our numbers were down due to the crazy time of year many of our Student Affairs friends are in!  Today’s chats produced over 600 comments from over 50 student affairs professionals,  graduate students and undergraduates interested or working in the Student Affairs field!

In case you missed it, below is a quick recap. If you haven’t yet participated in an #sachat, learn more here.

Full Transcripts
(You’ll notice that I’ve changed the formatting of the Transcript.  Feel free to add your own comments if you missed the entire chat, a few questions, or comments today!)

DAYTIME:  View as a Google Document

EVENING:  View as a Google Document

Today’s Top Contributors

@jpkirch
@ChrisMacDen
@m_s_nelson
@MikeJHamilton
@NASPAtweets
@JGinese23
@BeccaFick
@reyjunco

Thanks to Stacy Oliver, we now also have Student Affairs links and resources related to the chats! Thanks Stacy!

Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: A Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial Identity
A People’s History of the United States
Thinking Class: Sketches from a Cultural Worker
White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son
Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights
The Fire Next Time
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Why Religion Matters: The Fate of the Human Spirit in an Age of Disbelief
The Opening of the American Mind
Catholic Social Justice Teaching

Here’s to another successful set of #sachats!  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 we next week, (if you haven’t already done so) please make sure to join our growing Facebook Page, currently over 2,800 and adding new #studentaffairs friends every day!  Thanks for your continued support!

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When Mentors Fail Us

February 17th, 2010 | Posted by Ed Cabellon in University - (0 Comments)

I’ve been holding back for a long time on writing this.  This is the first time, publicly, I’m sharing my perspective on the scandal that went down at Tufts University two+ years ago.  It’s very personal for me, but something that I wanted to do because I’m ready for closure and need your help in making an important decision.  So here goes.

November 14th, 2007 is a day that will forever be etched in my professional and personal life.  The ACUI Regional Conference was starting and my dear friend and colleague, Erin Morrell and I were waiting in the hotel lobby for our 30+ International Delegates from Ireland and the UK to arrive.  We had worked hard for months to pull together a fantastic program for them and it was just about to start.

Then, a phone call came from my friend Laura:

“Hello?”

“(crying, sobbing) Ed? Is that you?”

“Yes, Laura?  What’s wrong!?! Why are you crying?  Is everything OK?”

“No, it’s about Jodie.  You need to sit down.  I wanted you to hear this from me before it hit the papers tomorrow.  Jodie has admitted to stealing over $300,000 from TSR (Tufts Student Resources business) and our department account.  Apparently, she’s been doing it since 2000 or so.”

<silence>

“Ed?  Did you hear what I just said?”

“WHAT?!? I can’t believe this, are you sure?”

“Yes, she just admitted it to the investigators.”

In that moment, my entire professional career seemed a fallacy.

Jodie Nealley was the Director of Student Activities at Tufts University and my first supervisor out of graduate school.  She was my mentor.  As the Assistant, and subsequently, Associate Director in the Office of Student Activities at Tufts, I worked closely with Jodie and our staff to build student life on campus.  From 2000-2005, I served as adviser to the Programming Board and multiple Greek Organizations, and was also responsible for the building the Leadership Program.  From 2005 – 2006, I was responsible for the operations of the Mayer Campus Center and worked closely with student employees.   According to testimony, she started taking money slowly (due to a gambling addiction) and over the course of six years, the numbers added up.  After hearing this news, I felt so stupid for not knowing this was happening right under our noses.  How did we all miss this?

I was hurt and betrayed beyond anything I had ever felt before. This was worse than anything I ever thought I have experienced in Student Affairs.

At that time, many of my former students called and/or visited me to process what had happened.  They wanted to go through the grieving process with me because the vision of Jodie as the mentor, friend, and supervisor they knew was no longer there.

As the story developed, we all learned that a second co-worker, Ray Rodriguez, was also charged with embezzling of over $600,000 of the Student Senate’s money.  According to reports, both of them were stealing INDEPENDENTLY of each other.  It was another punch to the gut and I was shell shocked for a long time.  Honestly, I’ve never really gotten over this feeling of betrayal that I buried deep inside.  However, last summer finally brought closure to the case, as both Jodie and Ray were found guilty and got two year prison sentences plus restitution obligations.

I thought I would find closure through the numerous conversations I had with students and staff, but I haven’t.  Think about your professional MENTOR.  How would you feel if you found out that during your time together, she or he lied to you everyday they worked with you?  All of those staff meetings, retreats, one on one meetings, and “teachable moments” would be faded, stale memories.

However, I won’t allow this to tarnish the honest, hard work that the rest of the staff and students put in.  I know the work we did was excellent and I believe that through our experiences together, I’m a better professional today.

Last week, I was contacted by a former Tufts staff member over Facebook chat.  He told me that he visited Jodie in jail and shared with me that she looked better, had done a lot of reflecting, and wanted to relay a message to all of us that she was truly sorry and knows that she let us all down.  He sent me Jodie’s mailing address as well as information on visiting if I chose to.  He thought it would be good for me, but I’m not so sure.  So far, he’s been the only person from Tufts to visit her, other than her partner and son.  The last time I spoke with Jodie was when I served as a reference for Laura.

Part of me is curious and wants to go and confront her to give me “closure”.  Another part of me wants to let things be, and just move on.   I’m so torn.

What would you do? Thanks for reading and letting me share my story.

More Online Articles About This Story:
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/2.5511/tsr-tcu-senate-have-evidence-suggesting-nealley-took-funds-1.589564 (2007)
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/alleged-embezzlers-arraigned-1.613895 (2008)
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/nealley-and-rodriguez-plead-not-guilty-during-arraignment-1.613284 (2008)

This is a cross-post on the Student Affairs Blog and On The Go!

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5 Tips for Conquering the Student Affairs Placement Conference

January 29th, 2010 | Posted by Sean Cook in #sachat | Careers - (0 Comments)

In my last post, I gave somewhat of an overview of major placement conferences for candidates in Student Affairs. In this post I hope to share a few tips for all you Higher Education/Student Affairs job searchers out there who are attending a placement conference this season.

During my 15-year career in Student Affairs, I was on both sides of the interview table at placement conferences, and can offer you some perspectives that will hopefully set you at ease and help you be more confident, and more prepared.

Save your money now. These things can get expensive!

  • Ask your employer if professional development funds can be spent to attend a placement conference. For many institutions, the answer will be “no,” and you shouldn’t be surprised or offended by this. It’s just where many employers draw the line in the sand. Institutions give PD money to help their employees learn new skills and enhance their skills sets, but it’s not realistic to expect your current employer to help you find a new or better job.
  • Find a roommate (or two or three) to share lodging expenses. The nightly rates at convention hotels are usually pretty moderate. (For example, nightly rates at preferred hotels for this year’s ACPA convention range from $199/night for a single room to $259 a night for a quad.) And don’t forget about parking, which will probably be in the $35/$40 per night range, or taxis and shuttle service to and from the airport if you are not driving in.
  • If you have your own transportation, and can find a less expensive non-conference hotel near public transit, then drive in, or take the bus, and save some money.
  • Take advantage of free in-room coffee and free continental breakfasts (if your hotel has them). It’s also easier than you might think to find yourself skipping breakfasts, or unwilling to fight the teeming throngs trying to get breakfast at the same time. It’s also a good idea to bring snacks to your room, in case you are pressed for time and need to eat and run.
  • Bring a water bottle and refill it when you can rather than buying drinks at hotel/convention center prices.

Have all your ducks in a row before you get there.

  • Make sure your resume is impeccably written, targeted toward the positions you hope to apply for, grammatically correct, well laid-out, and easy to read. Placement centers will give you a candidate number. Make sure it is on your resume and that all pages stay together. Staples are fine at a placement center. Take a stapler and use it. When an interviewer has a huge pile of resumes and interview forms and brochures and giveaways to deal with, the last thing they want to do is spend their time searching a pile of loose papers for one errant page of your resume that got separated from the rest, because your paper clip slipped off.
  • Speaking of candidate numbers, many candidates these days make personalized message to employer forms that give a brief statement of interest, and leave room for the candidate to write in the employer number and the posting number on the form. If you do make your own, consider using colored paper. It stands out. As a conference interviewer, I always liked these, as long as messages were brief and concise. They also helped me find a candidate’s packet more easily.
  • Make contact ahead of time with potential employers about listings posted before the conference. Ask to pre-arrange an interview for your position of interest. Many employers pre-arrange a significant number of their interviews when possible.
  • Make sure all your references have been prepped about your goals for the placement exchange, any positions you are planning to apply for, and your reasons for applying for certain types of positions.

Be on Your Best Behavior. At All Times!

  • It won’t matter how you are dressed or how you interview if you make an ass out of yourself in some other way. Some do’s and don’ts:
  • Do:
    • Come prepared for each interview
    • Be friendly to the interviewers and to other candidates
    • Stay positive
    • Thank your interviewers for their time at the end of the interview
    • Network with other candidates and encourage them in their job search
    • Use the preparation table areas to organize your thoughts and your materials
    • Wait a few minutes if the interviewer is running late. Since most interviews run about 30 minutes, you should feel free to go after 10 minutes. But these are very busy days and people do get off-course. If you have back-to-back interviews, let the interviewer know.

    Don’t:

    • Schedule back-to-back interviews (if you can help it). You’ll need time to get from one place to another and you will periodically need a break.
    • Badmouth, make fun of, or make rude comments about an interviewer, a university, another candidate, your boss, your current employer, or basically, anyone. This means in the placement center, the hotel, the lobby bar, the McDonald’s across the street…wherever. If you need to vent or talk out frustrations, go to your hotel room and talk with your conference roommates or call a friend or family member on the phone. For everyone else, act like it’s raining daisies and nothing could be finer.
    • Stay in the placement center all day (especially if you are not especially busy at some given time with interviews.) This can lead you to think too much, stress out, and get down on yourself. You will need fresh air and walking-around time. Take it.
    • Flirt with your interviewer or other candidates, make inappropriate jokes or off-color comments, or go on and on and on about how many top scholars you know in the field. It’s boorish behavior and it will count against you in the eyes of many employers.
    • Expect to leave the placement center with a job in hand. Most universities just don’t work that way. There are human resource guidelines to follow, and many student-services positions really like to involve students, colleagues in related departments, and upper administrators in their selection processes, and it’s unlikely that all of these parties will be represented on the interview team.

Learn Something!

  • If the placement center is part of a longer conference with professional development sessions, go to some! They are great places to network, you might learn something new that leads you to explore additional opportunities, and you will need a break from the placement center.
  • If you have the option of talking about your career or some topic of interest with more experienced professionals, do it. Sometimes, these opportunities come up in sessions. Sometimes, they come up on the sidewalk, in a restaurant or at a volunteer post.

Volunteer!

  • Volunteering is a great way to get informal opportunities for networking, to learn how the conference is organized, and to be of service to other candidates.
  • It’s also fun. Did I mention that you are likely to need a break from interviewing? This is one way to take a break but depending on what you volunteer for, you may end up volunteering in the placement center. Just be sure that you are doing it during an actual opening in your interview schedule!

Best of luck to everyone interviewing this season!

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From Grad To Pro: Which Way Do I Go?

January 2nd, 2010 | Posted by Ed Cabellon in #sachat - (0 Comments)

Preparing to be a professional in Higher Education Student Affairs is an exciting time. You’ve almost completed your graduate work, and are ready to start your job search.

What should you be doing to prepare for your big jump?

Before starting your job search, ask
yourself:
- What did I like most/least about my graduate experience?
- Do I like working one on one with people or would I rather work with groups?
- Am I a good self-manager?
- Where do I want to live for the next few years?
- What I am looking for in a supervisor?
- What I am good at and what challenges me?

These are the questions that will revolve around your job interviews. Have a good grasp of this information, with some great examples and stories to back them up.

Realize that your best resources are the people already in the positions that you aspire to fill.
Utilize them throughout the entire process. They will be more than happy to help you, because, believe it or not, you cannot do this all on your own!  Find a mentor or two to help you with the process and share your goals with others to allow them to cheer you on!  Is there anyone on Twitter that you may have connected with that could help?

When you Google yourself, what comes up?
Now, more than ever, it is important to take control of your personal brand and online identity.  Have you created a LinkedIn Profile? What kind of pictures have been tagged in Facebook? Are your Tweets representative of who you are both personally and professionally?  Create a Google Profile to tie all of these things together!

JUMPING FROM GRAD STUDENT TO PROFESSIONAL

There are some basic points of information that second year Graduate Students should be thinking about:

Your first year as a professional, work load wise, will be more than you think.
With no more classes, you’ll be expected to take on a lot your first year. Think of it as a test of your limits as you enter the Higher Education work force. Plus, your new supervisor will want to know what you can handle, and so will you! Don’t think things will slow down for you after grad school!

Earning “respect” as a Professional is different than a Graduate Student
Depending on your Internship/Assistantship/Fellowship, you’ve probably made some close knit connections with some students. While you may want to continue this trend, many New Professionals make the mistake of “being liked” to earn the respect of their new students. As a New Professional, your work effort and productivity will have to suffice. Building connections and relationships are not out of the question, but the extent with how deep you build them must always be placed in check.

Finding / Being a Mentor
As part of you job search, a goal should be to find a mentor in your current adviser or in your department/division (e.g. Dean of Students, Assistant Vice President, etc.). This person will help keep you on track as you begin your professional career. Having monthly meetings with this mentor to set and track goals will be extremely helpful.

On the other hand, you will most likely be sought after AS a Mentor. Be cautious who you take on as mentees, as this is huge time commitment.  In your first year, you may want to limit this until you figure out your work systems and gain an understanding on how your new job really works.

Financial Planning
You finally can eat things OTHER than Mac and Cheese! But with more money, ultimately come more bills and responsibilities. Once you secure your first job, within the first few weeks:

- Meet with your Retirement/Benefits specialist. Aggressivelysave as much money as you can in your retirement while you are still young. Don’t worry, if you need to change this process, you can do it easily.

- Establish and stick to a budget and debt repayment schedule. It is important as you begin to repay any loans or credit card debt you incurred during Graduate School (or Undergrad). Also, as you move to your new destination, thinking about first/last months rent on your new apartment, plus any other moving expenses you will need can be stressful. The best thing you can do is prepare as best you can.

Taking care of YOU!
What do you do now to take care of yourself? Gym? Going out on weekends with friends? Family? Whatever it is, is important to continue doing it and adding more time as you become a professional. If “YOU
Time” isn’t scheduled now, start creating that habit, as it will be the best thing you can do for your overall well being, both personally and professionally.

What other advice would you give our second year graduate students?  Is there anything that I have not listed here or things you would challenge? Good luck to you all as you embark on your last semester in Graduate School!

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