Real World: Job Search #4

100 Days...

Up until now, I somehow managed to convince myself that graduation was still far off and that I would be here, in my precious little grad school bubble, indefinitely. Even starting a job search, it was so simple, tricking myself. It was easy to forget that I would be leaving this school, these classes, this job. And I didn’t even want to think about leaving the people: the staff, the cohort, the professors—and most especially, the friends.

If I’m honest with myself, one of the scariest parts about graduating and finding a new job is starting all over again. I’m not a terribly huge fan of change. Yeah, finding a new job means growing professionally, and growing up, and all that jazz. But finding a new job in a new place means figuring out where to shop for groceries, or finding the location of the nearest Target, or (after trial and painful error) where to get a haircut. But it especially means not being able to call my best friend and saying, “Hey, what are you doing? Come over and watch Grey’s Anatomy with me” on a Thursday night.

Moving to a new place means going through that awkward getting-to-know-you phase again. And it means leaving a piece of me behind. Sorry; I’m waxing sentimental. This all came about because there’s this big hullabaloo on campus about the fact that there are 100 days until graduation. I started to get excited, along with everyone else. But then, it hit me. It finally hit me that I’m graduating. I’m leaving.

It’s scary that within the next 100 days, I’ll be making decisions that will shape the rest of my professional career and my life.

100 days…there are 100 more days to make an impact. 10 years from now, are the students I work with going to remember my name? Are they going to remember the cookies I baked or our inside jokes or the icebreakers I introduced? What “legacy” am I going to leave behind me?

I’ve got 100 more days to make incredible memories with my friends, to learn as much as I can, to do as much as I am able.

100 days left….how are you spending them?

Into the Wild...Let The Hunt Begin #4

My Advice to Anyone Feeling Insecure About the Job Hunt

If anyone is reading this right now and, like me, is feeling insecure about the job hunt, I thought I'd write a little bit about my own insecurities and what I do to cope.

I may only be 24 years old, but I know a lot of wise people. And wise people give the best advice. I was talking to one such wise person today about life--mainly the job search and the looming COMPS. I told the story about how I was in class the other day and we went around and talked about any exciting positions we have applied to already. The young woman who went before me applied to the same school as I did for a position...and already got a call for a phone interview and a campus visit. Everyone ooh'd and ahh'd and congratulated her. On the outside, I acted like everyone else: extremely excited for her and proud of her accomplishment. And on one hand, I was! On the inside, though, I was mortified. Completely insecure.

Here I am, about to say "I applied to [insert same school name]" but I couldn't top her. Not after she dropped the "interview callback" bomb on us! I had NOT (and still haven't) heard back yet. Originally I was going to say, "It's only been a week, but fingers crossed!" but I couldn't say that anymore because this young woman said she got called back after a week or so. I distinctly remember our professor mentioning how she was a rare example of how some schools/positions move REALLY quick in the search process, and others do not. I was embarrassed, but hid it and said my piece (and was sure to mention other places I applied, too).

So what does my wise friend tell me? He asks me if I have read his blog. He uses his blog to practice an exercise to stay positive, so to speak. He suggested I try it sometime. What's the exercise? Writing down the top 5 things that you are grateful for each day. It helps get the mind off of the negatives--the insecurities that may be weighing you down or the bad moods/bad days that you go through. Here goes. Top 5 things I am grateful for from today, January 27, 2010.
1) Support from those both near and far. When awkward things (like the story I just told you) happen to me and involve people that are near, the people that are far are always lending an ear and pushing me along. Today several of those people lent me an ear. It's nice having cross-country connections and support systems. (Who knows if any of them are reading this, but thank you!)
2) People who make a difference. I saw amazing things happen today when a group of students and student affairs professionals put together efforts to support Haiti. The amount of people who attended today's informational session was overwhelming, and just the act of showing up makes a difference because it spreads the belief that we can have an impact.
3) The kind smile of a friendly dog. This may sound silly, but I have always loved how dogs can sense humans' emotions. I was filling up my gas tank when a dog from the car on the other side of the pump wandered over to me and sniffed my leg. When I looked down and realized he (or she) was there, he (or she) gave me a dog smile that brightened my day. Sometimes dog smiles are more infectious than people smiles, and smiling sends messages to the brain that you should be happy and therefore, your mood changes for the better! Thank you, stranger dog.
4) The internet. See, without the internet, how could I blog about all this nonsense up in my brain and spread it out to the world? It's cathartic, so thank you internet (and internet readers).
5) Nightfall. With each nightfall comes the end of a day. And with the end of a day comes the rise of a NEW day. I love knowing that each night, when I go to bed, I can wake up and try to tackle life all over again. To relate this to the job hunt, I know I can wake up and search for new positions and find ones that I can and want to apply to. I am grateful for that second (and third..and fourth..and fifth...etc) chance!

I certainly feel more positive. Wise people know what they're talking about--I suggest you try that exercise.

Into the Wild...Let the Hunt Begin #3

Taking the plunge!

I've done it. I submitted my first application for a job! Well...two jobs actually! And now the worry sets in. These two jobs are the at the top of my list so far. Is that bad? Should I have not submitted applications to my top choices FIRST? Should I have applied to other jobs I found that were maybe #3 or #4? No, that's silly. Why should I spend all that time preparing applications for jobs I find that are just "so-so?" I think I made the right choices. And I don't want these jobs to be "the one that got away!" I decided quickly to apply to them so I can be one of the first applicants. At least I won't have any regrets about that. So now we wait. I really just hope I get an interview.

Speaking of interviews, let's talk about what I think I can expect. I am in a little bit of a different search than most of the students in my cohort. I am not looking for residential life positions, mainly because I have no residential life experience (like, ZERO). Most of my experience (and passion) actually has to do with a blend of student affairs and academic affairs. So the jobs that are most appealing to me are the ones that are not being promoted at the national conferences like NASPA or ACPA placement exchanges. That's a little bit of a bummer because I wanted that crazy interview experience. So I think what I can look forward to are phone interviews.

I hate phone interviews. Who likes phone interviews, really? I like reading people and the energy in a room. In a face-to-face interview, you can tell if you mesh with the staff in the office. All of the non-verbals are helpful to the interview itself. Removing that piece just makes me feel awkward (it's hard to read people on the phone!). But anyway, I am looking for academic advising positions. I love academic advising so much. But I've been hearing that it isn't really an area that will, say, fly you out for an interview. Oh and did I mention I'm doing a national search? Yeah, so I've been researching the areas online because I am not sure how likely it will be to get an invitation to fly cross-country for an interview for an advising position. Fingers crossed, though, because I love meeting people face-to-face. But I'm pretty confident a phone interview is what I should be expecting at this moment... so fingers crossed for THAT first.

I guess practicing my phone interview skills is another thing to add to my "to do" list.

Into the Wild...Let the Hunt Begin #2

The story about how I don't turn away from awkward situations, but instead, make them more awkward.

I think I have hit a low point in my job search (already). I just got back from the gym and from what was indeed a very awkward situation. I walked into the locker room and began gathering my belongings and such, when a older woman, in nothing but a towel, struck up a conversation. This, alone, is an uncomfortable moment for anyone who has been in a public locker room before. You think to yourself, "Is this really the best time for us to act like BFFs, stranger?" But to make matters worse in my situation, the woman was unbelievably sweet and caring! I couldn't just stop talking to her or ignore her! She was somebody's grandmother and she even reminded me of my grandmother. Maybe that resemblance was her own downfall, because as she stood in front of me in a towel that was arguably too small, I found myself pouring my heart out to her about my ups and downs with my job search. Yes. I just made this situation more awkward. Turning what was most likely a friendly, awkward conversation into a friendly, awkward therapy session with a complete (naked) stranger!

The conversation progressed quickly. It started normal enough. The exchange of pleasantries. The "Where are you from?" and "What do you do?" The "College Student Personnel, what is that?" The "Do you want to be a principal?" (You wouldn't believe how many times I have been asked that!) The "What do you want to do after you graduate?" BINGO. The magic question. Attention, locker room occupants, the can of worms has just been opened. Please exit immediately if you wish to be spared any spectator-embarrassment.

I gushed. The dream job description, the current search I have undergone, the places I am looking--nationwide. After all these weeks, I was so caught up in all of my overwhelming emotions about the job search that I never realized how much I just needed to vent to someone! It's tough going through this alone. The search itself can bring up so many insecurities. I am a very introverted person (we'll talk more about how that works in a field like student affairs another time, yeah?) and so I don't like to share my vulnerabilities or insecurities much. But I guess when there is an older, kind woman standing in front of you in a towel in a locker room...carpe diem, right?

It's nice to vent to a stranger. If they judge you or think you're crazy, what do you care? I might never see this kind woman again. Once the floodgates were open, I hardly even noticed that she dropped her towel and changed right in front of me, mid-conversation, still mmhmm-ing and really?-ing all the while. I wish I were making this up. I mean, talk about awkward! But I didn't care. She was an angel, this woman. Sent to save me from bottling up my emotions and thoughts and boy did that take a weight off of my shoulder!

So what do you think? Is this a new low in the history of job hunt stories? Maybe not, but oh I bet I will get there at some point. I have comps coming up in two weeks, so let's break out a little math, shall we?

Comps + job hunt + cover letters/resume tweaking/applications + assistantship + internship + capstone research + classes + life = ..... I'm sorry, I think I just had a mental breakdown. Check back with me next week.

Real World: Job Search #3

My Litmus Test for Applying

I found there are way more jobs available than I thought, but does that mean that I have to apply to all of them? At first, I thought the answer was yes. I mean, the whole objective (or is it outcome?) of this search process is to, well, be employed at the end of it. The more options, the better. Then, I started to get a little overwhelmed.

But I had an epiphany: I came up with a solution, one simple test to figure out if I should apply for a particular school: does it pass my Litmus Test?

I started getting into this job search frenzy this weekend. I was on placement websites, Human Resources sites, and looking on studentaffairs.com, Academic 360, and on InsideHigherEd.com (all great websites, by the way). And I started collecting all of these position descriptions, organizing them in folders on my computer. I even created this crazy Excel spreadsheet, with tabs for jobs I’ve applied for, jobs I’m interested in applying for, and jobs I’m not so interested in but will keep on the list just in case.

And so I sat down and wrote my first cover letter and I realized that I couldn’t figure out why I wanted to work at this school. Sure, it seemed like a great position, but it didn’t have that—certain something—that je ne sais quoi.

[Corny pop culture reference: Have you ever seen The Princess Diaries, with Anne Hathaway? There’s this subplot line in the movie; she’s looking for the guy that, when she kisses him, makes her foot pop up off the ground like in an old romantic comedy. She can’t explain why she believes this will happen, and she certainly doesn’t know who it will happen with…but the job search is kind of like that. I want a job that is going to make my foot pop.]

But I digress… I’m staring at this perfectly decent position description, and I started thinking about what would happen if I got an interview with this school. One of the first questions they would inevitably ask, right after “So, tell us about yourself” would be some variation of “So why do you want to work at this school, for this department?” And I realized I couldn’t think of something to say. And if I couldn’t think of something to say, daydreaming in my apartment on a Sunday afternoon in January, what was I going to say in an interview in March?

Thus, my litmus test was born. If I can’t think of anything to say to the question “Why do you wanna work at this school” then I don’t apply for that position. It’s as simple as that. If it doesn’t make my foot metaphorically pop, then I move on to find the one that does. It works for me; it might not work for you. But try it. Why do you want to work at this school, in this job? Can you do it?

Real World: Job Search #2

Life, Post Comps

Well, comprehensive exams are over. One day of essay writing, citing sources, and student development theory. I had been waking up in the middle night analyzing my dreams, saying “Oh that’s so Kohlberg 3” or “Wow, that was such dualistic thinking” (Kohlberg, 1976; Perry, 1970).

One of the great things I love about student affairs is the emphasis on individuation. The preparation for comps was a deeply personalized process for me and for each member of my cohort. So is the job search. Some people have started applying. Others have already had interviews.

I needed to get through comps in order to focus on the search. I’m okay with that. Because it’s MY process. I get to call the shots. (Okay, I am lying. I am mildly panicky about the fact that other people are further ahead than I am. Breathe. Breathe. Deep breath!)

Well, now….comps are over. Let the games begin.

My resume has gone through a huge overhaul. Thank you, career resource center. I have the basis of my cover letter. I am registered for a conference. I’m signed up for placement. I’ve started looking at HR websites for different schools.

That’s a good start, right?

Into the Wild...Let The Hunt Begin #1

A Millennial In Midst of the Job Hunt In the Age of Technology...and Online Dating Sites?
After searching the depths of the Internet and newspapers for the perfect job that will bring me out of the world of the lowly graduate student and into the world of the new professional, I exclaimed with frustration, “There really should be a better way to do this!” We millennials are prone to having reactions like that. While I do not often like to consider myself a millennial, at times I succumb to some of the less admirable traits. My job-hunting energy drained for the day, my eyes weary from staring at a computer screen for hours, I shuffled over to my favorite chair in the living room and turned on the TV to stare at a different screen for a while. (I told you: I can resemble a millennial.)

If you turn on the TV for just a few minutes, it’s likely that you will come across some of the eHarmony commercials—you know, those caring, thoughtful Internet matchmakers who like to throw slow-motion clips of couples in love laughing, ice skating, or practicing their aim in a bowling alley. eHarmony claims to find you “The One.” It sounds so easy and so rewarding: answer some questions about yourself (fine print: pay a large sum of money) and potential “perfect” matches are delivered right to your email inbox! That’s when it hit me: Why isn’t there an eHarmony for the student affairs job hunt?

It could be called, eHigherEdandMe, or something more clever than that. Let’s think about this possibility for a minute. An online system that matches your values, interests, preferred geographic location, and all of the other things on your job checklist to all of the available jobs out there in the world of student affairs! This would be brilliant, and it would provide matches at a deeper level than those run-of-the-mill job agent results that you subscribe to, which only return suggestions from a basic keyword search. I mean, we learn about assessment techniques in our field and admit it, you could probably label a stranger an “ENTJ” using the MBTI criteria that is embedded in your brain. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to use that gift of ours to create a system that assesses our needs and wants while simultaneously easing the stress of our job search?

Okay, so maybe my millennial traits have taken this idea too far. Maybe I’m just overlooking the upside to the job hunt. I really am learning a lot by searching hundreds of postings. I am practicing how to better highlight my experiences in my resume based on job descriptions of interest and I'm learning more than I can remember about institutions nationwide.

It’s funny, though. So much of the job hunt resembles the search for love in the age of technology and online dating profiles. For example, a job description is just like looking at the “interests” section on a person’s profile. Do you like doing the same things? If so, move on to the qualifications and hiring details, which are just like the “looking for” section of a profile. Long-term relationship? The job wants you for a full-time, indefinite position! Casual dating? The job is a contracted position—have some fun for a while, then move on. Friendship? The job requires 3-5+ years experience, which you don’t have, newbie. But you can still be friends, right? Look the job up a few years down the road.

There’s nothing worse than seeing a great job description only to discover that it just wants to be friends. That happened to me last night. The job was perfect for me. It was everything I wanted, in a great geographic location, at a great institution that was just the right size, but I wasn’t enough for it. I know I’ll come across these types of postings a lot during my hunt, so I keep reminding myself that I will get there, some day. We all need to start somewhere. Maybe one day I’ll have so much experience that the perfect job that I saw last night will pop up out of nowhere, find me, and say, “Hey, you look great!” Of course by that point I hope I’ll be in a long-term committed relationship with my dream job, so I can say, “Yeah, let’s just be friends.” But I can’t get ahead of myself. First I need to find that perfect entry-level job. (And people think finding a date is tough?) I better get back to the hunt! Here I come, Student Affairs!

Real World: Job Search #1

Welcome to the Real World

I'm not a terribly huge fan of reality television; I'm more of a sitcoms-kind-of girl. I like to laugh at situations, not people vying for their 15 minutes of fame. Too schadenfreude for me. But the job search is no laughing matter.

Making the decision to go to graduate school, I kept joking about how I was delaying the inevitable plunge into the Real World—which I think means that I’d have to grow up, begin a career, and pay my own bills. It’s almost two years later, and now I have no choice but to become an adult.

Admittedly, I haven't watched MTV's show, The Real World, since the Hawaii season in 1999 (yikes, does that give away my age?). But somehow that seemed most appropriate for the title of this blog. As I'm about to enter the "real world," my challenge isn't to live in a house with seven other strangers; it’s about finding a job.

And finding a job in a time of economic uncertainty is like one of those challenges that the cast members get. You know, when they were given some seed money and then had to find a job? Well, here, in MY real world: you get the training and then you have to make it happen for yourself. Sure, on the show, sometimes the cast members made it look impossible, but the jobs are there. Yeah, we live in a time when colleges are tightening the purse strings, but that just makes it all the more—thrilling, right?

Yeah, maybe I’ll rethink that when I start actually looking… So, until then:

This is the true story

Of one graduate student

Picked to blog about her job search

And all of the applications, interviews, and conferences

To find out what happens when you stop thinking like a student

And start getting real.