Once again, I'm posting while in another state. This time, though, I'm in my home state, visiting family. I'm anxiously awaiting any news from the institution I'm hoping takes me in. At this point, pretty much everyone (at school and at home) knows what our hopes are. I can't think about re-entering the search process at this point; most institutions I'm interested in are close to wrapping up their process.
I just recently learned that whyen I declined my #2 a week ago, they had to reopen their search process. They had only invited a very small number of candidates onto campus and now they seem to be back to square one. I only know this because a person in my cohort was contacted the afternoon that I declined the opportunity.
I love attempting to explain how this process works. I find it hard to give advice to anybody new to the process, as it requires so many personal variables. Somebody recently asked me, "How do you decline your #2 without any assurances of your #1?"
My answer was, "Very carefully."
Our job searches in student affairs require a level of gambling (most true in entry level positions, from my viewpoint). We interview with a number of institutions, all on different timelines, choose the best fits (usually with some level of ranking), and have to choose how long to hold out for. In addition to that, many of us will attempt a level of negotiating and find leverage through offers.
I think that this is the most challenging (and most exciting...and frightening) part of the process. I had the realization last week that I've officially declined two job offers (one I declined twice) with the hope of getting the only other job I took an on-campus interview for. While I feel rather confident with that decision, there are others who have made similar choices and feel that they've put themselves in jeopardy.
Only time will tell (I'm hoping my time will be Monday). At this point, I believe only 1 of 16 people I know job searching have accepted a position.
Will I have my #1 job? Will I need to make our families cry and develop a last-minute plan? Stay tuned...same bat time, same bat channel...
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So good to know that so many people are still waiting on the process to find their jobs for the fall--I wonder if people are less likely to seek greener/differently-shaded pastures in an economy as tenuous as these. I don't know about you, but I am unexcited to be graduating in the year 2008 right now.
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