Congratulations to my blogging buddy! I finally had the opportunity to officially accept my position this past Monday. The past two weeks have wrapped up this chapter in my life pretty well. My parents and wife were there to watch me graduate this past weekend, I accepted the job I wanted at Number One Institution working for the supervisor I wanted to work for in one of the buildings I wanted to be in. What else could I ask for?
During the ceremony, I spoke to my friends (and those I didn't know) sitting around me in the front row. Everyone around me was receiving a Master's in education and I felt it was important to take a moment to remind everybody of something we tend to forget in our field. Those of graduating with a Master's have an experience that most people will never have. In our world, everybody we work with is college-educated or attempting to be. In the world outside of our campuses, though, college provides an experience that many people will only know of through television and movies. So for those of you graduating, realize the accomplishments that you have made, and pat yourself and your friends on the back (just try not to mess up the hood).
I feel extremely grateful to already have a job secured, because with that comes having a place to live secured. While just about everybody in my cohort has secured a job, I know of others that are still searching for that position. Almost everyone I know has been offered, but many offers have been turned down. I believe everybody I know will get a job, the field is currently full of vacancies. I just wish everybody the same luck at knowing when to cash in their chips.
And finally, I leave a question for anybody reading. A current discussion among the cohort is on which professional association to join (the two biggies, ACPA or NASPA).
ACPA seems to focus on the professional, while NASPA seems to focus on the profession.
By this I mean that a lot of new professionals lean to ACPA and networking and professional development sessions seem to be the focus, while NASPA seems to be a bit more based in research.
Now before I get a billion comments, I understand that both ACPA and NASPA do much of the same. I feel that both accomplish different goals, though, and I'm trying to figure out which path to take. Many have told me to join both, but I want to join one so that I can focus my contributions.
And please don't tell me to pick based on the national conference location, you might make me throw up in my mouth a little.
Showing posts with label NASPA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NASPA. Show all posts
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Great Fishbowl Quest #11
So much to write about, so little time. I have comps in eight days and we have recruitment going on for both our graduate staff and our undergraduate RA staff. I think for the purposes of today’s post, I will focus on what I learned from NASPA’s TPE and hopefully that will help my blogging buddy and others going to ACPA.
This was my second placement exchange of the season. I think I have now attended one of the smallest popular placement exchanges and one of the largest. People kept telling me how different it was going to be and to be quite honest, I didn’t see too much of a difference. Yes, it TPE was a lot larger than SPE. Instead of one waiting area, there were seven. Instead of 100 mailboxes there were 1,000 (maybe less, maybe more…I was too busy to count). Overall, though, you could use the same pattern of: interview, write your thoughts, prepare for your next interview, interview, etc.
The biggest difference I noticed immediately was the other candidates. It seemed as if I walked into the wrong conference: not one person was smiling. I understand and appreciate professionalism (I’m not one of those people that get excited about glitter or training themes), but I felt as if I had walked into a union meeting of the Cubicle Corporation. This, of course, made me smile and slow my pace as I walked. It was a perfect opportunity to exude my warmth and optimism! With “poker faces” racing by on every side, I took the time to make eye contact as I strolled through the main hall and the reaction was great: it kept me calm and it got others interested (at least curious) in me.
This is not to say I was the James Bond of the conference. I most definitely messed up an interview one night (yeah…night); apparently I could no longer translate “student affairs” speak into English. The mistake that bothered me the most occurred in a second interview. It was one of those interviews that you feel like you can’t get any “points” in; the goal is to stay at zero and avoid negative points. Well, I was doing well until I was questioning the employer and asked about a program that wasn’t in place at their institution (it was most definitely a program I had learned about at that bad interview the night before). I think, typically, employers would say something simple: “You must be thinking of something at another institution.” Instead, the employers chose the most awkward option and said nothing about my mistake. They simply answered the question in a very vague manner. Quite honestly, it created some concerns to me when they weren’t willing to address that I made a mistake: I make a lot; I could have handled it).
With both placement exchanges done for me, at this point it is working out who I will accept on-campus interviews with if offered. I have one completed that went well. I believe, at most, I can pull off five more on-campus interviews this semester. My concern is that I’m interested in seven. Strangely enough, there would be some level of relief if two or three of these institutions that seem interested decided to pass me up. Of course, though, I want 100% of the schools I’m interested in to offer on-campuses and jobs.
We’ll see.
This was my second placement exchange of the season. I think I have now attended one of the smallest popular placement exchanges and one of the largest. People kept telling me how different it was going to be and to be quite honest, I didn’t see too much of a difference. Yes, it TPE was a lot larger than SPE. Instead of one waiting area, there were seven. Instead of 100 mailboxes there were 1,000 (maybe less, maybe more…I was too busy to count). Overall, though, you could use the same pattern of: interview, write your thoughts, prepare for your next interview, interview, etc.
The biggest difference I noticed immediately was the other candidates. It seemed as if I walked into the wrong conference: not one person was smiling. I understand and appreciate professionalism (I’m not one of those people that get excited about glitter or training themes), but I felt as if I had walked into a union meeting of the Cubicle Corporation. This, of course, made me smile and slow my pace as I walked. It was a perfect opportunity to exude my warmth and optimism! With “poker faces” racing by on every side, I took the time to make eye contact as I strolled through the main hall and the reaction was great: it kept me calm and it got others interested (at least curious) in me.
This is not to say I was the James Bond of the conference. I most definitely messed up an interview one night (yeah…night); apparently I could no longer translate “student affairs” speak into English. The mistake that bothered me the most occurred in a second interview. It was one of those interviews that you feel like you can’t get any “points” in; the goal is to stay at zero and avoid negative points. Well, I was doing well until I was questioning the employer and asked about a program that wasn’t in place at their institution (it was most definitely a program I had learned about at that bad interview the night before). I think, typically, employers would say something simple: “You must be thinking of something at another institution.” Instead, the employers chose the most awkward option and said nothing about my mistake. They simply answered the question in a very vague manner. Quite honestly, it created some concerns to me when they weren’t willing to address that I made a mistake: I make a lot; I could have handled it).
With both placement exchanges done for me, at this point it is working out who I will accept on-campus interviews with if offered. I have one completed that went well. I believe, at most, I can pull off five more on-campus interviews this semester. My concern is that I’m interested in seven. Strangely enough, there would be some level of relief if two or three of these institutions that seem interested decided to pass me up. Of course, though, I want 100% of the schools I’m interested in to offer on-campuses and jobs.
We’ll see.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The Great Fishbowl Quest #10
I got back really late (or really early) the other night after driving 8½ hours from an 8-hour day of interviewing on-campus. My wife and I took a weekend trip that consisted of my hours logged in driving than in visiting or interviewing, but it was an insightful trip regardless. We visited four institutions in one weekend, two of which I had interviewed with at SPE, and two of which I have interviews set up for NASPA. Interestingly enough, once again an institution that had been near the top of my list just jumped off Interest Cliff. The institution was too urban for our liking and the people weren’t as friendly as we were hoping for. Visiting informally has its advantages of getting to really see a place for what it may be, as long as you can see the things you’re wanting to without help.
The on-campus interview went fantastically. Quite honestly, this was a department that truly appears to live up to its stated values. If you’re wondering how to test that (because you may have noticed most institutions say that they are “student-focused”), it’s pretty simple. Talk to everybody you make eye contact with (I said “simple,” not “easy). I know that’s a little exaggerated, but it is important to talk to a variety of people that haven’t necessarily been selected to interview you. When you do that, you’ve got to look for consistency in answers and themes that emerge. In this instance, it became clear based on everybody that I talked to that the entire staff and the students feel valued and listened to. For me, that’s a pretty big deal. Because of all of this, this institution is pretty high on my list, and I can’t imagine there being a group of people that could top this group of people. With that said, though, the apartment I saw was frighteningly small to live in with a spouse and it’s a bit in the middle of nowhere. I don’t want to make a decision on those factors, but those factors may be enough to knock it out of number one if I can find an equally awesome staff in a better location with a nicer place to call home for the next few years.
Anxiety is pretty much choking me every time I turn on my brain to think, which is disappointing, since thinking is a bit critical right now. Last night was my one chance to get a good night’s sleep this week and that didn’t happen. I’ll be getting up around 4:00 in the morning to head to the airport to get to NASPA. I feel that I can be prepared for NASPA without too much trouble, but I haven’t prepared at all for comps (pesky little detail that determines if I graduate) and it is in 15 days. Wait a minute while I grab my paper bag and do my breathing exercises.
Writing in this blog has proved to be helpful, but even now my time grows short. I have a phone interview in twenty minutes and I believe that if they are interested, I receive an invitation to come onto campus. Sadly, I feel that this may be a waste of time because even if I do well, I can’t justify traveling to a campus based on a thirty-minute phone conversation. It is hard enough to do that based on spending thirty minutes with a person or two at an exchange.
Anyway, I’ve experienced a lot of the same frustration and anxiety that my blogging buddy has, although the advice she has received is completely true. It is very typical to get e-mailed in the last few days before an exchange, even if you have e-mailed the institution weeks ago.
Reminds me a good vent story to share, but I’ve got to prep for this interview. Maybe next time. Good luck to those of you traveling to Boston!
Oh! The "open interview" I was trying to figure out: In this instance, "open interview" meant that it was open for anybody to attend, although specific people had been chosen to be a part of it as well. I interviewed with people from high in the food chain to low on the totem pole, all at once.
The on-campus interview went fantastically. Quite honestly, this was a department that truly appears to live up to its stated values. If you’re wondering how to test that (because you may have noticed most institutions say that they are “student-focused”), it’s pretty simple. Talk to everybody you make eye contact with (I said “simple,” not “easy). I know that’s a little exaggerated, but it is important to talk to a variety of people that haven’t necessarily been selected to interview you. When you do that, you’ve got to look for consistency in answers and themes that emerge. In this instance, it became clear based on everybody that I talked to that the entire staff and the students feel valued and listened to. For me, that’s a pretty big deal. Because of all of this, this institution is pretty high on my list, and I can’t imagine there being a group of people that could top this group of people. With that said, though, the apartment I saw was frighteningly small to live in with a spouse and it’s a bit in the middle of nowhere. I don’t want to make a decision on those factors, but those factors may be enough to knock it out of number one if I can find an equally awesome staff in a better location with a nicer place to call home for the next few years.
Anxiety is pretty much choking me every time I turn on my brain to think, which is disappointing, since thinking is a bit critical right now. Last night was my one chance to get a good night’s sleep this week and that didn’t happen. I’ll be getting up around 4:00 in the morning to head to the airport to get to NASPA. I feel that I can be prepared for NASPA without too much trouble, but I haven’t prepared at all for comps (pesky little detail that determines if I graduate) and it is in 15 days. Wait a minute while I grab my paper bag and do my breathing exercises.
Writing in this blog has proved to be helpful, but even now my time grows short. I have a phone interview in twenty minutes and I believe that if they are interested, I receive an invitation to come onto campus. Sadly, I feel that this may be a waste of time because even if I do well, I can’t justify traveling to a campus based on a thirty-minute phone conversation. It is hard enough to do that based on spending thirty minutes with a person or two at an exchange.
Anyway, I’ve experienced a lot of the same frustration and anxiety that my blogging buddy has, although the advice she has received is completely true. It is very typical to get e-mailed in the last few days before an exchange, even if you have e-mailed the institution weeks ago.
Reminds me a good vent story to share, but I’ve got to prep for this interview. Maybe next time. Good luck to those of you traveling to Boston!
Oh! The "open interview" I was trying to figure out: In this instance, "open interview" meant that it was open for anybody to attend, although specific people had been chosen to be a part of it as well. I interviewed with people from high in the food chain to low on the totem pole, all at once.
Friday, February 29, 2008
The Great Fishbowl Quest #9
Posting two days in a row?! I promise not to make a habit of it.
I’m leaving in less than two hours to drive to an undisclosed set of institutions to unofficially check out their campuses and communities. The job search process gets trickier when there are two lives to consider instead of one. With an on-campus interview scheduled for Monday, it seemed to make sense to make the most of the trip and check out other institutions nearby. By doing this, if I am offered any other on-campuses, my wife will have already had the opportunity to check out the schools and communities. It will also give me something extra to talk about when I travel to NASPA next week.
Despite the amount of last-minute work I’m doing to get out of here on time (although I found time to sit and blog…where are my priorities?), I feel very optimistic at the moment. Multiple institutions have offered on-campuses and I still have one more exchange to attend; I’m getting to get away from campus and get some good old-fashioned road-trip therapy; and I only slightly panic when I think about comps which are within three weeks that I am not more than 10% prepared for.
Thoughts about my on-campus are somewhat mixed. I am very excited about the institution and have only heard good things from those that have worked there and professionals nearby. I believe that I typically do really well at on-campuses and look forward to the chance to get a real feel for the place.
Only question I currently have: What does “open interview” mean? My itinerary does well at telling me the variety of people I will be interviewing with during my stay; however, I have two hour-long “open interviews” scheduled back-to-back in the same room. My guess is that professionals and staff will be made aware that a candidate will be on-campus and available to meet and question during those two times.
When I find out, I’ll let you know. I'm hoping that hearing the song, "Suddenly I See," as I type this is a good omen.
Good luck to those of you recruiting and being recruited at OPE this weekend and good luck to those attempting to prepare for TPE at NASPA which is quickly approaching.
For those of you attempting to do both OPE and TPE, may God have mercy on your souls.
I’m leaving in less than two hours to drive to an undisclosed set of institutions to unofficially check out their campuses and communities. The job search process gets trickier when there are two lives to consider instead of one. With an on-campus interview scheduled for Monday, it seemed to make sense to make the most of the trip and check out other institutions nearby. By doing this, if I am offered any other on-campuses, my wife will have already had the opportunity to check out the schools and communities. It will also give me something extra to talk about when I travel to NASPA next week.
Despite the amount of last-minute work I’m doing to get out of here on time (although I found time to sit and blog…where are my priorities?), I feel very optimistic at the moment. Multiple institutions have offered on-campuses and I still have one more exchange to attend; I’m getting to get away from campus and get some good old-fashioned road-trip therapy; and I only slightly panic when I think about comps which are within three weeks that I am not more than 10% prepared for.
Thoughts about my on-campus are somewhat mixed. I am very excited about the institution and have only heard good things from those that have worked there and professionals nearby. I believe that I typically do really well at on-campuses and look forward to the chance to get a real feel for the place.
Only question I currently have: What does “open interview” mean? My itinerary does well at telling me the variety of people I will be interviewing with during my stay; however, I have two hour-long “open interviews” scheduled back-to-back in the same room. My guess is that professionals and staff will be made aware that a candidate will be on-campus and available to meet and question during those two times.
When I find out, I’ll let you know. I'm hoping that hearing the song, "Suddenly I See," as I type this is a good omen.
Good luck to those of you recruiting and being recruited at OPE this weekend and good luck to those attempting to prepare for TPE at NASPA which is quickly approaching.
For those of you attempting to do both OPE and TPE, may God have mercy on your souls.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The Great Fishbowl Quest #7
I have a handful of good problems I’m dealing with at the moment. I much rather have these issues than others.
1) I did really well at SPE last week (it feels like it happened a month ago). Out of the twelve institutions I interviewed with, five expressed a high-level of interest at the exchange and two others have contacted in the past week. Where’s the problem? I’ve already scheduled two on-campus interviews. My goal is to not take more than five on-campus interviews total, and there’s at least one more institution from SPE that I hope to get contacted by this next week. That means that I’m going to TPE with the goal of accepting no more than two on-campus interviews. I guess it comes down to the worry that I’ve committed too quickly to two on-campus interviews.
2) Some institutions are pursuing fast. I shoot to be the top candidate (as everybody should) and get the first offers. Having attended the first placement exchange of the recruiting season, there is a real potential that if I do well, I may receive job offers prior to attending TPE. I don’t know that this will happen, but if it does, I need to be able to say, “I won’t be accepting an offer until (fill in the blank) date.”
3) I’ve got no clue about which institutions will jump to the top of my list at TPE. At SPE, my #1 quickly became my #0 and an institution that was low on my list jumped to #1. It makes it hard to accept and decline interviews.
4) This whole job search is getting expensive fast. I have an on-campus next week that’s an eight-hour drive away. I’m not flying for a couple reasons: last-minute plane tickets aren’t usually cheap and my wife won’t be able to check out the place unless we get two tickets or drive. Institutions (reasonably) won’t pay for my wife’s travel and they won’t reimburse if they offer and you don’t accept. I hope to do well enough to receive multiple offers, which means I won’t be getting reimbursed one or a few times.
5) With my recent success at SPE, I haven’t been motivated to get ready for TPE. I rather by a second plane ticket and treat Boston as a min-vacation with my wife. My wife, however, is far more sensible, and doesn’t want me to pass up opportunities that may land us at our dream home that we don’t know about yet.
Needless to say, all of those are good problems. Not-so-good problems include the fact that I have an inner-ear infection that makes me fall to the left whenever it feels like it, we may have to rent a car for this on-campus road trip next week, and coursework is piling up on all sides of me.
The cohort that I often refer to do is doing well for the most part. It seems that those with some type of job search parameters (geographic, benefits, etc.) are doing much better than those open to anything. The ones open to anything are truly taking whatever interviews are offered first and are filling their schedules. Those with parameters have been declining more interviews than accepting. I guess we’ll see how it turns out at the end.
I've got to stop writing and get to work. Today I need to write cover letters for all of the institutions that I currently want to interview with at The Placement Exchange at NASPA. I’ve never attempted to attend more than one placement exchange, and I’m not sure that I’m a big fan. However, after spending $400 on a plane ticket, I find myself committed to the idea.
Keep up the work, you candidates and recruiters.
1) I did really well at SPE last week (it feels like it happened a month ago). Out of the twelve institutions I interviewed with, five expressed a high-level of interest at the exchange and two others have contacted in the past week. Where’s the problem? I’ve already scheduled two on-campus interviews. My goal is to not take more than five on-campus interviews total, and there’s at least one more institution from SPE that I hope to get contacted by this next week. That means that I’m going to TPE with the goal of accepting no more than two on-campus interviews. I guess it comes down to the worry that I’ve committed too quickly to two on-campus interviews.
2) Some institutions are pursuing fast. I shoot to be the top candidate (as everybody should) and get the first offers. Having attended the first placement exchange of the recruiting season, there is a real potential that if I do well, I may receive job offers prior to attending TPE. I don’t know that this will happen, but if it does, I need to be able to say, “I won’t be accepting an offer until (fill in the blank) date.”
3) I’ve got no clue about which institutions will jump to the top of my list at TPE. At SPE, my #1 quickly became my #0 and an institution that was low on my list jumped to #1. It makes it hard to accept and decline interviews.
4) This whole job search is getting expensive fast. I have an on-campus next week that’s an eight-hour drive away. I’m not flying for a couple reasons: last-minute plane tickets aren’t usually cheap and my wife won’t be able to check out the place unless we get two tickets or drive. Institutions (reasonably) won’t pay for my wife’s travel and they won’t reimburse if they offer and you don’t accept. I hope to do well enough to receive multiple offers, which means I won’t be getting reimbursed one or a few times.
5) With my recent success at SPE, I haven’t been motivated to get ready for TPE. I rather by a second plane ticket and treat Boston as a min-vacation with my wife. My wife, however, is far more sensible, and doesn’t want me to pass up opportunities that may land us at our dream home that we don’t know about yet.
Needless to say, all of those are good problems. Not-so-good problems include the fact that I have an inner-ear infection that makes me fall to the left whenever it feels like it, we may have to rent a car for this on-campus road trip next week, and coursework is piling up on all sides of me.
The cohort that I often refer to do is doing well for the most part. It seems that those with some type of job search parameters (geographic, benefits, etc.) are doing much better than those open to anything. The ones open to anything are truly taking whatever interviews are offered first and are filling their schedules. Those with parameters have been declining more interviews than accepting. I guess we’ll see how it turns out at the end.
I've got to stop writing and get to work. Today I need to write cover letters for all of the institutions that I currently want to interview with at The Placement Exchange at NASPA. I’ve never attempted to attend more than one placement exchange, and I’m not sure that I’m a big fan. However, after spending $400 on a plane ticket, I find myself committed to the idea.
Keep up the work, you candidates and recruiters.
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