I don’t know why but I find job searching to be interesting and kind of fun. Since The Placement Exchange & ACPA’s conference are right around the corner, I thought I’d share some tips based on my experiences as an interviewer & a two time interviewee. I’m going to break this down into a couple of installments starting with what to do prior to a job fair (if you’re going to one)

1) Ask for feedback. You should look to your colleagues, mentor(s), & supervisor(s) for feedback on cover letters, resumes, what to wear, etc. I found that there are lots of people who are willing to share their experiences with others.

2) Be honest with yourself. By now, you should be determining what type of positions you’re interested in, what your geographic scope it, & what you can offer to an employer.

Also, you should be thinking about questions that you would like to ask employers and make sure to ask thought provoking questions in addition to the generic ones that everyone asks. The questions you ask can leave a positive impact on employers.

3) Practice, practice, & more practice. One thing that I thought was extremely helpful was that my grad school set up mock interviewer for graduating students. The room was set up like the job fairs so that we could become familiar with the settings. We had to submit 3 jobs we were interested in & alumni created questions to interview us. Each job was with a different alum which helped to see different styles & a broader scope of questions.

If your grad school doesn’t offer this, I recommend asking some folks your trust to do some mock interviews with.

4) Do as much prep work as possible. I like pre-scheduling interviews with employers (if they offer the option). I don’t think you should set up all your interviews prior to you get there but if there’s a job that sounds awesome to you, go for it. Also, if you do pre-schedule space them out so that you have time between interviews to process & relax before takling another.

I would also make all your resumes/cover letters to distribute, your “notes for employers”, & info about employers (mission, goals, etc.) ahead of time. The job fairs can be intense, long, & time consuming. The more you can do ahead of time, the less you need to worry about while you’re at the fair.

Got any questions? You can ask me on twitter (@pereirap80) or leave a comment & I’ll respond to you.

Like many of my colleagues in student affairs, my first job in the profession was the result of a student leadership experience, student tour guide to be exact. My work as an admissions tour guide as an undergraduate later led to a position as an admissions recruiter for a small private college. I like to think that working in admissions, helping students with their college decision-making, is where I honed facilitation skills that are critical to my current work. I had a couple of gigs as a director of admissions before turning my sights to program coordination.

Stanford business professor Robert Sutton suggests employees need predictability, understanding, control, and compassion. As anyone who has spent even a few months in a student affairs position can tell you, those items are few and far between. You learn early in your career that student affairs hours include nights, weekends, and other duties as assigned. The concerns of an 18-year old in college differ from year to year. Reactions to course assignments or program activities may not communicate their message or be perceived as useful. Faculty and academic units question the value of student affairs programming and services, particularly in challenging financial times. Student affairs professionals do, however, provide predictability, understanding, control, and compassion…for our students.

The graduate assistants who have worked in my unit over the years have enhanced my work and life. They went from grad to pro and are now high school teachers, logistics managers, academic advisors, independent consultants, and campus activity and orientation coordinators. Each of these individuals had an opportunity to make a difference in student lives. They used their creativity, energy, and enthusiasm to make our university a better place for students. When I think of my colleagues at the Student Affairs Collaborative, you may find us in campus activities, student union management, leadership development, residence life, career planning, scholarship programs, and consulting. Those paper titles do not include the personal counseling, financial advising, academic enhancement, and other duties as assigned that we provide on a daily basis.

I borrowed the title for this post from a former graduate assistant who is now blazing trails of her own. She used the analogy that Student Affairs is like a box of chocolates for a course assignment and it really stuck with me.

Student Affairs is:

• Being a generalist in helping, listening, organizing, and facilitating, while a specialist in your position.
• Never growing up as you surround yourself with 18-22 year olds.
• Spending your life by the academic year calendar.
• Justifying your existence with the belief that higher education is also about the out-of-classroom experience.
• A real profession.

Student Affairs professionals work hard to make our colleges and universities more welcoming, engaging, and understanding for students because we believe in higher education and all that it offers. We get up every morning and face the day with a smile, because we never know what we’re going to get.

How do you define your work in student affairs?

With job placement season right around the corner, I thought I’d share some tips for those that are looking at or remaining in live-on positions.

While I work in campus activities currently, I was a residence hall director for 5 years (which includes grad school). So, here’s some thoughts from my experiences:

1) Save money!! Odds are when you move off campus, you will be taking a significant financial hit that will not be able to compensate for all the non-salary perks (goodbye free rent, utilities, cable, internet, no commute, etc). One area that I underestimated when I purchased a home was all of the furniture I would need, supplies to maintain my lawn, ladders & tools for repairs, etc.

2) It’s not a bad idea to buy furniture pieces if your employer lets you or other items. I think most employers don’t care if you have your own furniture since they can probably use it elsewhere. My wife & I didn’t do this but I had colleagues that did and I always thought it was a good idea – we just decided to wait. We did however upgrade our car to a more family-friendly one once my wife got pregnant.

3) Make sure you fully explore the community you live in. During my last year in Tucson, I moved off campus and it forced me to become more aware (& thankful) of the entire city. We took lots of trips to the zoo, botanical gardens, various parks, learned about cool restaurants (such as this great Mom & pop Hawaiian restaurant), & much more. When I lived on campus, my scope was probably only a 10 mile radius with the exception of trendy places.

4) Set boundaries. I think this one is more for hall directors. It is very hard to set them when you live & work in the same environment. Your accessible 24-7 (which is part of the job) and have a more flexible schedule. I found myself willing to put in longer and/or later hours when I was single or had a day when I was bored. Instead of catching a movie off campus or something, I’d work on something in my office. It’s important to have a presence in your hall but don’t feel bad to go off-campus more frequently.

I’ve know some peers to set boundaries that I thought were too extreme such as screening phone calls. I think it is important that staff and students know what is acceptable after-hours interactions and the only way they will know is to have conversations with them about it.

The Student Affairs Collaborative blog is a popular multi-author Student Affairs site. The SA Blog, as it’s popularly referred to on Twitter, contains a lot of relevant student affairs reflections, polls and information from a variety of student affairs professionals. Yesterday, I was invited to be a member of the Student Affairs Collaborative blog. From now on, all of my posts that are tagged with “sachat” (short for Student Affairs Chat) will be auto-aggregated via RSS into the SA blog. This will be similar to how my current “higher-education” tagged posts get auto-magically posted to the Blog High Ed site.

Note, content repurposing via RSS will be a featured topic at the NACADA Technology Seminar in Seattle on January 24th.

Tags: aggregation, Higher Education, nacada, NACADA Tech, RSS, sachat, student affairs, student affairs technology

On Friday, I went to do a google search for Swift Kick (creators of Red Rover & other items) and came across this Swift-Kick which is Kent State University’s Stark Campus online student portal. I think it hits the nail on the head in terms of creating an online portal that is useful for students but also talks their language. I’ve noticed that Higher Ed as a whole is not good at speaking students’ language and so did they:

SWIFT KICK began life as the first-year and new student outreach program for Kent State University’s Stark Campus, but it has become so much more. This is the cyber-world home of the Student Services team. It is a place that we’ve built because we’ve found that the traditional, preachy sort of communication that is typical of universities and schools just doesn’t resonate with the students. We came to this brilliant conclusion when we stopped looking at the world through the eyes of a Student Services office and started looking at it through the eyes of an actual person.

As luck would have it, most of us are actual people, so it was relatively easy. We reasoned: If we don’t like to listen to the dull, monotonous sounds of a 40-something teacher-type talking about going to class and studying the material, why would anyone else? Therefore we will be using this site and program to talk to you the way we talk to each other – like real people living in a real world filled with all the real world things that can both cause distractions and light a fire under each of us. Have a problem, question or suggestions? You can use this site to contact us as well as eachother. Swift Kick is open 24 / 7!

We hope you realize that each of us have been there and done that. We have all been to school in the modern higher education system. We have all rolled into class late or slept through a lecture. We know what it’s like. The difference is we know how to avoid these things. We have graduated. We can help you graduate, too.

Great job folks. I hope it’s okay if I take some ideas

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!

Last night I participated in the #SAchat on Twitter (hosted by The Student Affairs Bloggers), and it spurred an old conversation that I’ve had with myself and others about the role of work in my life.  I used to say that work is “something I do, not who I am.”  The chat was focused on work/life balance, and I posed that idea to others in the chat.    Perhaps it’s not unusual that a group of dedicated professionals participating in an after-hours chat are inclined to be heavily invested in their careers.  So, I wasn’t caught off-guard that many others felt that this quote wasn’t representative of how they felt — many posited that their work is who they are, or at least a very big part of who they are.

I’ve been pondering today whether or not that makes me less-dedicated as a professional or if it’s more of a semantics argument. I have worked in higher ed since 1993.  In fact, I’ve never held a position outside of higher ed.  It’s been my career for as long as I’ve had one.  When I’m at work, I work hard. I think others would use words like “dedicated” when describing me. I’m a contributor.  I generate new ideas.  I’m totally dedicated to the students I work with.  I love higher education and student affairs.

But, I still don’t feel like my vocation is equivalent to my “being.”

To be fair, I am one who sometimes feels like he’s had a 40-year-long existentialist crisis.

Sometimes I’m impatient.  I used to think I had wanderlust (until I realized I’m a homebody…).  I have a need for new projects and challenges.  I used to frequently feel a non-specific sense of being unsatisfied. But, I didn’t understand why.  Now I know it was because I didn’t quite understand myself.   It was a great relief when I came to understand that one of my personal drivers is change.  I crave it.  Maybe that’s why I’ve been reluctant to define myself by my career – I keep expecting it will change.

I’ve done exactly what I tell my students to do – I’ve focused on my strengths and looked for organizations that provide a positive environment to apply those strengths.  One of my skills is working effectively with students, and I’m thrilled to have dedicated 15+ years of my life to that work.  However, I still can’t comfortably say that’s “who I am.”  Without a doubt, it’s part of who I am. But, it feels limiting to give vocation that much power and “real estate” in life.  No doubt you can tell by this muddled post that I’m struggling with getting my thoughts around this.  So, I’d love your thoughts.

Cross posted on The Student Affairs Collaborative Blog

The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education came out with a report titled “Bridging the Gaps to Success: Promising Practices for Promoting Transfer Among Low-Income and First-Generation Students”. The report highlights several Texas schools which is helpful for me since I work in San Antonio.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, 

The report found that the colleges shared three main characteristics: structured academic pathways that aptly prepare students to enroll at four-year colleges, a student-centered culture that emphasizes personal attention, and culturally sensitive leaders who understand the backgrounds of their students.

As a student affairs professional working at an institution that currently only accepts transfer students, I believe it is important to emphasize these characteristics. TAMU-SA is a predominately Latino/a, Female, & low-socioeconomic status population. I try my best to understand their culture & provide personalized attention to them.

With that said, I’m pretty sure that I was taught in grad school that these three characteristics are vital for any student to attain success. So, in a way, this report seems like common knowledge amongst student affairs professionals like myself. However, I don’t believe that we are always able to do this with limited resources (staffing, budgets, etc.).

I’d love to hear some thought on how others do this or don’t.

Since my last blog post about connecting with students over Twitter, I've had some wonderful responses and conversations.  Jeff Lail and I have been having a great on-going conversation regarding practical uses and examples of Twitter in Student Affairs and I thought, why not share it them with all of you?

1.  Use Twitter Search to Find Students Who are On Twitter

Every day I do "Twitter Searches" for "Bridgewater
State" and "BSC" in them and try to reach out to students who "tweet"
about anything regarding the school.  It's like a living "Customer
Service" line that I want to answer and follow up on.  I also follow those users for future tweets and if they follow back, then I send them a Direct Message thanking them and seeing how they are doing at school.

2.  Create Opportunities for Conversation

On Facebook, our Campus Center fan page
tries to engage our fans by asking questions and looking for
responses.  For example, last Friday, Sept. 11th, we asked "Where were you 8 years ago" and we had 10, very honest and real responses.  Remember, while sharing information is important, Social Media is about the conversation.

3.  Ask for Opinions

We also will post polls to our followers to gather information and opinions.  Our latest poll asked our fans and followers
what our Campus Center "Tag Line/Slogan" should be and it linked  them
our online poll, which brought users to our website.  The response has been
great so far!

4.  Connecting with Faculty

I also reach out to classes using Twitter.  For example,
the latest class I found was a Communication class being taught by professor Nancy VanLeuven that is using the hashtag #BSCPR and I try to connect with those students and Nancy.  She is a great resource who is using Twitter very well.  It reminds me of another great example from the University of Texas at Dallas from professor Monica Rankin.  I wish all professors would at least consider doing this!

How are you using Twitter in Student Affairs?  I hope this list is helpful, and keep Tweeting!

If you cannot view the poll click here.

We’re excited to facilitate conversations within the Student Affairs blogging community that really matter to community members. We want to know what you care about, what you think about, and what you want to hear about. With that in mind, please take a minute to complete the following poll so that we can craft our writing to fit what’s on your mind.