As student affairs professionals, we work in a uniquely fulfilling field. Fulfillment is in growth, and not only in your own growth, but in the growth of others.

Earlier this week, a student walked into our business career center and announced, loudly, “I JUST LANDED MY DREAM JOB!” I had never worked with this student, nor had I met him before. Yet, my skin rose as he celebrated with his career advisor. This, I thought, is precisely why we do what we do.

Accomplishments in the career services world may look different than those in other areas of student affairs. Oftentimes, our measurements of growth, success, and accomplishments are concrete. A student lands an internship or job or gets into the graduate school of his or her dreams and we can celebrate. In an ideal world, we would see every student find the perfect opportunity and continue along a path of happiness and professional development. Of course, what’s ideal is not necessarily reality.

As a career advisor, I often ask students about their interests and how to incorporate those into internships, jobs, and a work setting. Do you want to work with people? Do you like working with computers? What is most important to you?

You will forever hear education professionals remind others (and one another) that they don’t do their work for the money. We are in a unique profession that is driven by learning, growth, development, and an energetic, innovative world. We love what we do, particularly when we see the fruits of our work in the growth of our students. We watch them learn and mature and we eventually wish them the best as they take a new path following their time with us.

And while chocolate is now 50% off and the roses have begun to wilt, keep the spirit of Valentine’s Day and take the opportunity to remind yourself of your chosen career path and all the things you love about your job. Remind yourself why you choose your industry and your position. Remind yourself why you do what you do, and why you have chosen to do it in the setting that you have. Thank a colleague, thank a student, thank those who have made your work fulfilling and worthy. Love yourself and love your work.

What do you love most about your job? What gets you fired up and ready to face each new day? 

This is a story about three people, talking about one job search process, and two out of the three having no idea what the other is talking about.  The story revolves around the month of my  graduation, birthday, and job search (all in the same month).  My favorite part about this entire process are the interactions with my parents.  They are amazing people and I owe everything to them, but they are still a little hazy on everything that accompanies my career. I’d say it’s an “evolving” understanding. Job search is the apparent culmination of their misunderstandings. I feel it is my duty to send out a few warnings and heads-ups for future job seekers:

1.  Call it “College Student Development.”

I don’t know what your graduate program is called but mine is “Higher Education and Student Affairs.”  That is a pretty vague title and keeps you guessing at “What does he do everyday?” So for all of my peers whose programs were not easily decipherable, I would just go with “College Student Development.”  Its basically Goldie Lock’s porridge: its not too vague, easy to understand, and specific enough. The first time I referred to my area of study as College Student Development things became much clearer.

2.  Have the “I know the salary is low but thats normal for entry level in this field” conversation early.

Parents are concerned and only want the best for you.  Parents also believe that you are the greatest thing since pretzel M&Ms so you should be paid as such.  This wasn’t an epic battle for me or anything, my parents are supportive of my choices no matter the pay, but for some parents… this can be quite the shock.  Give your parents a headsup early on what starting salaries look like in Student Affairs and ensure there won’t be any huge surprises later in the process.

3.  Remind your parents how many colleges and universities there are across the country.

This is especially true for us non-geographically-bound job seekers.  Some parents struggle with their children being far away (mine). I remember sharing that I would be job searching all across the country and the collective gasp that followed.  I made sure I knew how far away each job was and all information about nearby airports. Luckily, you can get anywhere in the country under 8 hours (thanks Wright Brothers for easing parent’s concerns nationwide).

4. Tell some stories about the students you’ve worked with and their growth

Parents want to be proud of you, so they love hearing stories about the lives you’ve affected.  Our profession is one of the few who get that chance everyday.  Telling your mother you’ve made someones life better is like eating a fresh Krispy Kreme doughnut – it warms the soul. It also brings everything into perspective: no matter where you go or what you do, the work done will help others, and any Mother or Father can be proud of that.  Even if its done 14 hours away.

5.  Be prepared to repeat all of this to any siblings or extended family.

Self-explanatory.

I wan’t to take this chance to thank my family for their support and love throughout this entire process.  I am lucky to have a wonderful group of people who support my ambitions. I’m happy to announce that my parents and I escaped my Job search process without any major, or even minor, fights and I’m not employed.  It’s a bedtime story that I can get used to.

From web tools to lunch breaks (or lack thereof), here are the most popular SA Collaborative polls:

Hey readers, it’s been awhile! My last #JobHunt entry was about re-entering the job search: handling the rejection of round one and keeping your spirits up for round two. I am happy to say that this is the last blog I will ever write that can be tagged with “#JobHunt,” as I have officially accepted my first full-time position!

I feel like I need to quote the Grateful Dead here – “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” What started last January with the first postings showing up on the OPE and TPE websites has finally ended in early June with a job offer and an acceptance.

And I couldn’t be happier. I found a position that, although it’s not in my top choice for geographic area, is probably a better fit for me than anything I applied for in round one. It just took me five months of interviews, rejections, campus visits, phone calls, parking lot pep talks, and intense one-on-one time with HigherEdJobs to realize what I was looking for and how to get it.

I found a position that is half Residence Life and half Student Activities, which is perfect for my already varied background in Student Affairs. I get to work with a variety of students in a lot of different ways. I’ve met some of my future coworkers, and that was a major part of my thought process when making the decision: Could I see myself hanging out with these people? That’s very important to me when I realize I’ll be moving over 1000 miles away from home.

My biggest piece of advice to those who will be job hunting next year: Use your resources! There are so many people in the field willing to help out, by looking over a resume, sharing a job posting, helping your formulate answers to common questions, and sending you funny text messages when you visit campuses to keep you calm. Not just professionals – some of your biggest support will come from other grad students who are also out searching. You’re all in the same boat, and it’s nice to know you’re not out in the job search sea alone! Plus, the thought of sharing a high-five when you all connect at a conference is a great motivator.

(And if you ever get the chance to blog about your experiences – whether for a website or just for yourself – do it! It’s a nice way to think through a lot of things related to the job search, without having to actually search.)

I talked a lot in my first entry about finding the perfect job, but that even working on a tropical island means having to deal with some jellyfish. I know there will probably be some jellyfish to deal with in my first year, but I’m looking forward to getting started in my new position. There’s a lot to learn, and I’m excited to take all my knowledge and experience from grad school and see how it works in the real world. It may not be a tropical paradise, but I’m looking forward to a lot of sunny days!

Though this is my last entry in the #JobHunt series, don’t rule out me returning now and then to blog about my first year as a professional in the field. I’m sure there are many more stories, revelations, and interesting tales to come. To everyone who has followed along my job search from the beginning – thank you! I really couldn’t have done it without all the kind words and supportive messages! Thank you!

Shannon Healy

Shannon Healy is a new student affairs professional.

(Editor’s note: I’d say more, but she forgot to tell me where! But you will definitely hear more from her in the future, as I do hope to have her blog about her first year as a professional. In the meantime, I am sure she’ll eventually tell her vast Twitter following. Or maybe she could just post a comment below.)

Related posts:

1. #jobhunt #5
2. #jobhunt No. 2
3. #jobhunt No. 10: Round 2-Electric Boogaloo!

Much has been said lately about the value of social media to job seekers. Since you’re reading a blog post about it, which you probably learned about from a post on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or BrazenCareerist, the value of social media should be obvious. It is likely what brought you here.

So let’s cut to the chase: You know social networking can be valuable, but you just aren’t sure how to do it the right way. Here are 5 great posts that can help you figure some of this out.

Take 5:

• How to Use Social Media in Your Job Search: Using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to Job Search by Rachel Levy gives a great overview of ways to use these tools, and your blog.
• 7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media by Dan Schawbel gives some unique ways to use search engines, bl ogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Video Resumes and your blog/rss subscriptions to stay on task, monitor your personal brand, an d get connected during your job search.
• This article about a panel presentation by the Sacramento Social Media Club about using Facebook and Twitter for your job search gives some simple but good advice from panelists. I also like the idea of social media clubs. If you have one in your area, this could be a great place to find people who could help you understand ways to use social media to enhance your job search and career.
• The Social Media Commando offers 10 tips on using Social Media in your job search
  
• Alison Doyle offers a good overview of networking sites at her About.Com page. Alison is a great person to follow, and her articles on About.Com are very much resource-packed. I visit often and always learn something.

And listen in the morning:

I am doing a BlogTalkRadio show on using social media in your job search tomorrow (Friday) at 11 a.m. My guest host will be Mallory Bower, Assistant Director of Career Services at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Mallory writes periodically for my other site, HigherEdLifeCoach.Com, and will have some articles on this site soon, as well. Our guests will include some of Mallory’s colleagues at UNCP, including Mike Severy, Director of Student Involvement and Leadership, and newly hired Assistant Director Becca Fick. Twitter was integral to posting the job, getting candidates and to Fick’s eventual hiring. Mike and Becca wrote great posts on their perspectives on using Twitter in the job search. Mike’s post, on the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog, can be found here, and Becca’s guest post at On the Go with Ed Cabellon can be found here.

We’ll also revisit last week’s discussion on “purpose” and what it means to people working in higher education. Plus news, events and perspectives of note in the higher ed/student affairs world. Show is scheduled for 90 minutes to allow call-ins, discussion, etc., but may end after an hour or so.

You can listen to the show by following this link. And you can call in live to ask questions during the interview to (347) 989-005 or via Skype from the show page. (I’ve never really done that, but it is supposedly possible. Someone should give it a try, and let me know how it works!) Please listen in and share your questions and comments. After the show, you can call in and record your comments to my GoogleVoice comment line, 706-352-9467. (352-WINS) and I may play them on the air in a future episode.

So please check out these links, think about how you might use social media to advance your job search and career, and call me in the morning.

Related posts:

1. Take 5: Social Media Resources for Higher Ed Pros
2. Today on BlogTalkRadio: Using RSS in Your Job Search
3. Take 5: Five Resources for Your Student Affairs Job Search

As schools around the country start to close out the academic year, honor their student leaders and organizations with awards, check out students from the residence halls, and prepare for graduation, I can’t help but reflect on the ways my life and career path have changed in a few short months. Last Fall, as I was finishing up summer projects, and preparing for RA training, I was also contemplating some major life changes.

I’d planned to start a doctoral program here at the University of Georgia, but I wasn’t accepted. I’d applied to the program for several reasons: first, it’s a great program; second, it is close to my family (in South Carolina) and  Sarah’s family (in Florida) and third, after 14 years in State College, I’d finally reached a point in my career at Penn State at which I’d accomplished what I set out to do. More importantly, I had to admit that I wasn’t motivated by my daily routine, and I found myself more than a little bit discouraged as I faced the prospect of another year of doing the same things.

I’d imagined (and worked quite diligently toward) a return to the classroom. From preparing for the GRE, to writing, fretting over, and re-writing my statement of purpose, I’d been single-minded about getting in to the University of Georgia, so it was kind of a blow to get rejected. Despite what some might expect, though, I won’t say a bad word about U. Ga. or their graduate admissions process, or about Residence Life at Penn State. I have deep respect for, and can honestly say that I learned a lot about myself, from both.

At Penn State, I had many opportunities to learn and grow as a professional, and my work was rewarded by several promotions and many great learning and leadership opportunities. The people there are not just my colleagues or my friends; many of them are family to me, and I will always value the time I spent there and the relationships I forged. And though it would be easy to be bitter about getting rejected from a grad program when you have a generation of experience behind you, good GRE scores and recommendations, etc., I’m not upset with anyone at U.Ga., because I learned something very valuable from the process. It was a simple but powerful realization, and it was this: I don’t love Student Development theory. I think it’s interesting, but my real love is for two things: the people and the process. While I am capable of doctoral-level work, and a Ph.D. would help me get to a logical next step, as a faculty member or senior administrator, I hadn’t really explored my other options enough, and I’d set some aside that were actually important to me (and that I have always wanted to do) because they didn’t fit with what many would consider conventional next steps along a “career path” in Student Affairs.

I’ve known several things about myself for most of my life, but wasn’t giving them a proper place in my personal “scheme of things.” First, I have always been a writer and a story-teller. Some of my earliest memories are of me telling my grandmother fabulous stories. When I was young, people didn’t read me bedtime stories: they asked me to tell them. Second, I’ve always been a “helper” and a “sounding board” for other people, and I like to challenge others to think about what they want to do with their lives. This was apparent in many ways as I grew up, became an RA and eventually moved into full-time work in higher ed. Third, I’ve always been creative and free-spirited, and Fourth, I hate bureaucratic nonsense and as much as possible, I do my own thing, and I seldom apologize for it. My track record on this count is pretty good. I am an original thinker who drives conversations in new directions, experiments, and takes risks. Usually, the results are good. When they aren’t, I explain my rationale, apologize for bad results if necessary, and move on.

Finally, late last summer, as training loomed in the near future, I took a pretty big leap of faith, and registered for a Coach Certification program with the Life Purpose Institute, and began to plan my departure from Penn State. The program was in October and after it, Sarah came down to meet me in Atlanta, and we went to Athens to look at houses for two days. We made an offer on our new house on the second day.

I’d planned to end the semester at Penn State, but finding the house kind of tipped things in a different direction, because it created a new sense of urgency toward unloading our old one and moving on. Pennsylvania winters are notoriously bad for selling houses, so we had to jump right on it. Things started to happen quickly, and before I knew it, the die was cast. After 14 1/2 years in Happy Valley,we were packing up our  life, unloading our junk and starting something new.

The strangest part of this, for me, has been how easy it has been to not look back. I don’t have any “might-have-beens” to dwell on. I did what I went there to do, and I know that I made a difference while I was there. These days, I spend my time writing, and discussing life and career issues with people from all over.  Through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, BrazenCareerist, and the wonderful #sachat community, I’m more connected that I ever have been to others working in Higher Ed.

Since I’m new in business, I spend a lot of time working on ways to bring in clients, do presentations and offer workshops. It’s challenging and very different from working for a large university. I set my schedule, pay for all my benefits, and I generally work alone. I don’t supervise anyone, and I don’t have a boss, but in some ways, I answer to everybody…either I get feedback that my work is helpful, or I work through the silence and keep trying until I find something that is both validating and (hopefully) potentially profitable. I’m not swimming in money by any means. I’ve earned less this year than I earned in a week at my old job, and most of what I’ve earned has gone to pay some of my fabulous guest writers. And let’s not get into what it costs to get certified as a professional coach through a reputable program, or to start a business.

Last August, I only imagined what it would be like to take this leap, and to forge out on my own. I had greater expectations for what the year would bring me, but, like many new graduates heading out into the world, or professionals moving on to their first (or next step), I choose to look back on the year with fondness, to reflect on everything I’ve learned…about business, about careers, about higher ed, and about myself, and to keep moving toward opportunities and experiences around each bend.

I know that I will get where I am meant to go in my career and in my life. I’ve found a purpose that drives me forward, and the realization that I’m doing the driving, so I’m the one who gets to decide where to go next.

It may be the end of the world as I knew it, but I feel fine.

How about you?

• Have you set aside aspects of yourself as you pursue the “next steps” in your career?
• Are there ways to incorporate these aspirations and skills into your current job?
• What risks are you willing to take to create more fulfillment in your life and career?
  

Related posts:

1. Stepping Out Onto the Tightrope (or Part One of "How I Found Myself to be a Doctoral Student") During the fall of 2008, while I was finishing my…
2. Some Updates! X Thanks for visiting! I hope you will find…
3. Is Your Life Just a Footnote in the Cosmic Scheme of Things? Or Something More? The story of astronaut Edward Galen Givens is just one…

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Today was a good day.

It started simply enough. I had a scheduled call with a potential new client, and it went well. She was happy with our consultation and at the end booked her initial sessions (4 of them), and indicated a possibility that she might be looking for longer-term coaching.

Getting this new client topped off what was a pretty good week for me in general. During the ACPA conference, which I could not attend, I remained engaged and involved in the many conversations people were having, via Twitter. I found great ideas shared in people’s tweets. I joined some ongoing side banter about a #fakeacpa conference with all sorts of people from all over, many of which are also members of the weekly #sachat community sponsored by the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog.It was fun to stay engaged and be a part of all these conversations.

During my weekly small group coaching session on Sunday, one client at ACPA called in to say he was offered a campus interview at a school he is really interested in. I’d helped him prep for his phone interview before the conference, and it was nice to see him making the kind of progress he’s been working for and envisioning in our talks. I was able to connect with and encourage several candidates who I’ve connected with via Twitter as well.

When I left my secure job at Penn State last November, I took a great leap of faith into the unknown territory of starting my own business. I did it for a lot of different reasons and in my heart I have never felt like it was a mistake. But it was nice to see that after several months of hard work, and of putting myself out there, that the universe was finally coming around to meet me halfway, and maybe in some way, telling me to stay the course.

After lunch, I got the e-mails about my new client’s payment for her sessions, and another one I couldn’t have expected. Her sister was having a job interview today and wanted to get some coaching to be ready. She asked if I could meet via phone with her at 2 pm today. I called her but got her voicemail, so I sent her an encouraging e-mail, in hopes that she would at get it before her interview and at least know I had tried to reach her. She called back shortly thereafter, and we talked for about half an hour before her interview. She later wrote me an e-mail thanking me for the talk and idicating she would like to schedule another meeting about possibly working with me long-term.

All these varied events reaffirmed for me the value in taking leaps of faith, and trusting that when you follow your heart, trust yourself and work hard, that good things will happen. Reading over the e-mail I sent her, I thought how applicable it is in relation to my own situation, as well as those of the many student affairs job seekers who are smack in the middle of their own searches right now, and trying to evaluate possibilities and choose the right next steps in their lives and careers.

I’ve adapted the e-mail below, and hope it will provide some needed encouragement and inspiration to anyone contemplating not only life and career changes, but the leaps of faith required to bring them to life.

Dear Job Seeker:

It looks like you have great experience. If we don’t get a chance to talk 1-on-1, here are some quick thoughts for you….Faith in yourself and your abilities brought you this far in your job search. Whether you are graduating and looking for that first job, or looking to make a step up, down or sideways on the career ladder, in your heart you know there is a reason, and you know it is good. Your work is good and the fact you have so many great examples to show is a testament to that fact. You don’t need to convince yourself you are successful enough to get your next job. You clearly are.

With most employers, experience is not as important as motivation, talent, and fit. You have the first two for sure. You worked hard to get through grad school, or to succeed in your current or last job. When you committed to this search, you had faith in yourself and felt some possibilities would emerge if you trusted yourself enough.

So you made it this far in some processes, and it wasn’t an accident. You took the leap, and so did they. Something must be working, because they invited you to interview. This doesn’t happen usually out of a sense of charity. If you aren’t good, or your style and temperament aren’t a good match, you don’t get invited to the next step.

Well, you got invited. Go in with faith enough to be yourself and if it is meant to be, fate will open the next door. It may be in the way of offering you the job you really want, or it could be in their faith at giving you a shot, even if they go with someone else. Inviting someone to interview for a position is an act of faith. Taking an interview is another one. If your mutual faith is well-founded, it will survive past the interview, and the next door will open when it is time.

Until then, believe in yourself, be yourself, and go kick that interview’s a** three ways from Sunday. Good luck with your search!

Related posts:

1. #jobhunt #6 Socials are very overwhelming. I definitely felt like the introvert…
2. #jobhunt No. 7 OPE and TPE are now done. While it’s incredibly nice…
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I’m writing this from the Oshkosh Placement Exchange. It’s day 2 here, and a bit calmer than yesterday. Yesterday was a live showing of “The All RA Floor” and it was intense. A little overwhelming when you walk in and there’s not a bare inch of wall space left uncovered by posters and advertisements and fliers enticing you to apply at a certain school. There’s cheering in the lounges, and everyone keeps hugging and smiling for twelve hours straight and it’s a bit tiring. But fun, don’t get me wrong. This whole weekend experience has been fun.

Yesterday was the first day, and I had six interviews scheduled. My first was one at 10 am, and I was surprised how calm I felt while sitting in the lounge waiting for them to come call my name. I was thinking by that point the nerves would have set in, but I had the really good advice of knowing that I was interviewing them as much as they were interviewing me. I know that sounds incredibly cheesy, but it really did keep me calm. I knew I could go into these interviews and be myself and that any school would know exactly what they were getting. And if they didn’t like who that was, I was okay with that, because I feel really confident in my experiences.

Some interviews went really well, and it was hard to not do some fist pumps as soon as I was out of the room, or to restrain myself from dancing down the hallway back to the elevators. Some interviews just flowed nicely and I got along with the interview teams well and I had lots of personal things to write in a thank you note. Other interviews I walked out of feeling kind of “meh” about. For whatever reason – personality, hearing more about the job, having a curveball question- just left me with a feeling like while it could have been better, it probably could have been worse. There’s only been one interview so far where I walked out feeling rather ambiguous towards the position. While they didn’t seem interested or engaged during the interview itself, as I was leaving afterward they were very fun and friendly about the social and seeing me again. Out of the first day of interviews I got two second interviews, bringing my total for Day 2 to six interviews.

It’s hard to believe right now that it’s already 3 pm, yet I’m only halfway through my day. I have two more interviews this afternoon, then an evening full of socials. I’m going to suggest a future professional development on mingling, because it’s so hard for me to walk right up to someone and start up a conversation when we’ve already talked for an hour, and have been conversing through thank you notes in mailboxes. Hopefully it goes well though.

My apologies for such a rambling sort of blog post. It’s been a very long and very busy two days. You’ll all be excited to know that I did name drop the #sachat in one interview, and they were really intrigued by the concept of free, weekly professional development. So good job to all of you – the word is spreading!

Deciding which interviews to accept? It's a balancing act.

Why can’t it just be that you are assigned 10 schools to interview with, you go do those, and then choose from any offers that result?

Have you ever watched a movie where the main character is like “Oh, my life is so hard, two people are in love with me!” And their funny sidekick friend is like “That must be such a horrible problem for you to have.” Whenever I’ve seen a movie like that I’ve instantly disliked the main character. Really? You’re going to complain about having more than one person that likes you? That must be just a terrible problem for you. I would instantly side with the friend, who usually got stuck petting a dog at the end as everyone else paired off. This was perhaps because I never had two attractive suitors chasing after me at the same time.

This is not meant to sound overly confident, but it is really hard when all the schools you sent interest letters to sent letters back saying “Let’s set up an interview!” Because then, in all the excitement of feeling wanted by these institutions, you set up interviews with ALL of them. Like when the main character decides to date both people at the same time. It’s stressful, it’s tiring, there’s wacky hijinks. And I’ve never felt bad for that main character until now. It actually is a horrible problem to have.

So that’s where I’m at this week. Currently trying to do a balancing act. I’m thankful to many of my amazing mentors who have been help me process it all on twitter, over email, and in their office as I came crashing in with a bag of Dove chocolates and the look of a crazy person. I’m hoping today to contact a couple schools and apologize for the change, but decline the interview. It would be nice to not stretch out the stress to next week.

Maybe I could also stop imagining myself as a character in a movie.

According to my countdown calendar there are 75 days left until graduation. Job hunting has been sucking up the majority of my time lately. I never thought that working on my thesis would be a nice, relaxing change of pace. I spent the majority of my weekend on that, other homework and just getting away from the whole job search process for a while. And the Olympics. No matter how hard a job search is, at least I’m not required to hurl my body down a mountain of snow with me feet strapped to a board.

Next time: Practice interview questions!