tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61972513701143511472024-03-08T09:01:26.464-08:00the job search...This blog follows the job search of four candidates seeking positions in Higher Education/Student Affairs.
Check back often for stories, struggles, tips, quips and an insight into the lives of these four professionals.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-66109280852042097052009-07-06T09:19:00.000-07:002009-07-06T09:20:54.429-07:00from the desk of...candidate 2Constant Vigilance!So I know it's been forever and a day since I blogged here. Sorry about that, readers.If it's any consolation... my process is pretty much in the stand still it was last time you heard from me! (groan)I had a lot of great things happen to me this year. I was part of a wonderful staff (I work in housing/residence life) where I learned an Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-65618744162892571862009-06-17T09:50:00.000-07:002009-06-17T09:53:02.128-07:00from the desk of... candidate 4The Final Installment. A few days of silence passed after my campus interview up in the Pacific Northwest. I was processing what I had seen and trying to picture myself at the campus. I even made a mental list to consider what I liked and didn't like: Pros 1. The location of the campus is rural, in a gorgeous valley of mountains and rivers. It's isolated, but onlyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-60932332314443314852009-05-29T13:21:00.000-07:002009-05-29T13:22:33.721-07:00from the desk of... candidate 1Still Searching It has been a while since I have last posted. Sadly, I have not been able to keep up with blogging as much as I would like to. And at this point I am moderately disenchanted with the job search process. After on campus interviews and even a few offers, I am still jobless. It is crazy to think that this process began in February and I am still in itUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-52001111543083662202009-05-29T12:39:00.000-07:002009-05-29T12:43:26.990-07:00from the desk of... Candidate 4Days after my Austin trip with the girlfriend, I was on another trip, albeit one for business rather than pleasure, this time to the Pacific Northwest for a job interview. It was my first face-to-face interview since the TPE conference two months ago. True Story: I remember being disappointed at TPE in March. I wasn’t getting the interviews I wanted. Very few Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-71923026427042127772009-05-18T07:40:00.000-07:002009-05-18T07:42:54.520-07:00from the desk of... candidate 2A Chorus of CricketsCricket, cricket...Such is the sound coming from my voicemail and email inboxes...Yesterday morning I heard from my top choice school that they wouldn't be offering me a position, and within an hour had to be upbeat and smiley to defend my graduate work so that I could graduate in two weeks. That was tough. The two aforementioned on-campus Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-73447620950143929732009-05-18T07:34:00.000-07:002009-05-18T07:44:05.434-07:00from the desk of... candidate 4survivorI’ve been living with the parents ever since being laid off from my job last year. It hasn’t been nearly as bad living with them as I thought it might be. We don’t get on each others nerves, we have positive interactions, they don’t nag or pester me about my job prospects, for the most part they understand that looking for a job these days is damn difficultUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-10971371611646881912009-04-30T13:51:00.000-07:002009-04-30T13:53:25.116-07:00from the desk of... candidate 1Ugh. Sadly, I haven't been keeping up with blogging like I should. To my surprise it has become less fun for me to do. Instead, both blogging and the job search process has become extremely anxiety producing for me. Schools aren't calling when they say they would, schools are extending offers but not closing their process. Needless to say, it isn't exactly what I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-10940144600646837592009-04-28T13:59:00.000-07:002009-04-28T14:00:25.508-07:00from the desk of...candidate 4The night was warm and nearly over and I didn’t want to leave her yet. S, my girlfriend, had spent the evening running around with her friend’s four children and was exhausted by all the action, noise, and activity. I came over to spend some time with her, but ended up spending more time watching the kids with her. “I’m over-stimulated,” she sighed after we left theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-6260778003003554722009-04-20T11:08:00.000-07:002009-04-20T11:11:41.233-07:00from the desk of...candidate 4Correspondence BluesIt's been a few weeks since I've heard from any employeers or seen any new postings. I sent a few emails out to departments I had applied to, sounding like a long forgotten friend, "hey, what's up? How's everything? Haven't heard from you in awhile..." The only email reply I got back was from the one school I thought was most likely to invite me Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-83297532266245187792009-04-13T15:21:00.000-07:002009-04-13T15:22:42.587-07:00from the desk of...candidate 2Long DivisionPost-TPE, the on-campus extravaganzas!So I only have two on-campus interviews, which is good. Hey, I'm happy to have one! Especially since one of them... is my top choice! I'm so pumped.But the other... is my back up school. I had not intended to interview on-campus there; as a matter of fact they were the institution that had offered an on-campus beforeUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-82347462090238826522009-04-08T00:59:00.000-07:002009-04-08T00:59:01.098-07:00from the desk of... candidate 1Creating the SUPER On-Campus Interview ScheduleSo at this point, I have five on-campus interviews lined up. I am really excited about it. Most of them are on the west coast. I live on the east coast, so you can imagine that my challenge is to minimize the amount of cross country traveling that I will have to do. Since receiving my second on-campus interview offer, IUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-32073196941560695092009-04-07T23:55:00.000-07:002009-04-07T23:57:58.874-07:00from the desk of... candidate 1First On-Campus Interview…Expect the UnexpectedLast week I had my first on-campus interview for a Residence Director position. It was mind blowing. I was sent my schedule a few days before and found that there were 4 interview time blocks set aside for different groups to meet with me. My day was jammed pack, each hour chock full of conversation, new names, and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-73080380362257261422009-04-07T23:54:00.001-07:002009-04-07T23:55:03.407-07:00from the desk of... candidate 4So I started seeing this girl. I wasn’t planning on seeing anyone during this time in my life. I was in “transition” as they call it, waiting for my career to kick start again, waiting to move back out of my parents house, waiting for a steady paycheck, waiting to have independence and a renewed sense of confidence. But let’s face it; I also thought I’d get a job inUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-55753110778631803672009-03-25T08:44:00.000-07:002009-03-25T08:46:11.368-07:00from the desk of... candidate 4The Placement Exchange started out scary. Really scary. On my first morning of the conference, I went to my mailbox cubby, expecting to find a box full of invitations, like Christmas presents, waiting for me. I was excited to see a handful of notes from the Universities I requested to meet with the night before. But as I read them, my heart began to sink. “After Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-39036530426287972982009-03-25T08:43:00.001-07:002009-03-25T08:44:06.486-07:00from the desk of... candidate 1Life Post TPEIt’s hard to think that more than 2 weeks have passed since completing TPE. It was a whirlwind of an experience. Up until this point, I haven’t really shared it with my readers. And now that it is SUPER done, I figured I would share what it was like. So let’s dive right in.I arrived to Seattle on Wednesday, March 4th. I wanted to make sure I had plenty Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-66891441238955081462009-03-24T10:11:00.000-07:002009-03-24T10:14:22.293-07:00from the desk of... candidate 2'Cause You're Hot and You're Cold...'My first night in Seattle, after I’d spent a day at TPE running around and interviewing, scheduling appointments, socializing and generally hovering over my mailbox, my mom called. She wasn’t quite sure what I meant when I said that employers and candidates all come to the same place and interview all at once, so I thought of theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-66305644946455148972009-03-20T10:59:00.000-07:002009-03-24T10:14:22.293-07:00from the desk of... candidate 2Are We Hired Yet?I recently read an article by Benjamin Ola Akande from Diverse Issues in Higher Education about the generational group “Millennials.” Born after 1982, Millennials are into instant gratification, technologically savvy (with electronics at each appendage), like structure and constructive feedback, and thrive on support. As this pre-TPE part of my job Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-56276951237092338232009-03-17T08:51:00.000-07:002009-03-24T10:14:27.807-07:00from the desk of... candidate 1Family MattersThe variables to consider when job searching are numerous. Each time I think I have accounted for all of the factors that will matter in my job search some new thing surfaces. Consistently, I have thought about location – I want urban, weather – I want warm, and pay – I want more. The newest factor that I have added to my list is my family.I am an onlyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-15888875276973710802009-03-10T21:40:00.001-07:002009-03-10T22:15:01.108-07:00from the desk of...candidate #3 The Final Countdown (Europe) How am I feeling? Really? The time is now to perform! I’m really excited for TPE to begin, and after arriving in Seattle on Wednesday night and exploring the city today, I’m putting on my game-face for meeting potential employers. Everything made it through the screening process, and their fine re-packing skills meant that I spent a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-53269889026116720932009-03-10T21:34:00.000-07:002009-03-10T22:15:51.210-07:00from the desk of... candidate 4It's the eve before my job-hunting trip to Seattle. I'm packing all my resumes, my professional suit (ok my ONLY suit), and notes about interviewing. I'm excited, I get to go to Seattle for the first time. I'll hang out, talk to universities, maybe find a job. Should be "fun." I had just finished printing out all the TPE newsletters when I get an email from a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-19503831984029790062009-03-10T21:28:00.000-07:002009-03-10T22:15:27.453-07:00from the desk of... candidate 1No…Twice…Really? In one of my previous post I wrote about professional courtesy and how I would appreciate more correspondence from employers about my status as a candidate. Many readers connected with this post and several commented, echoing my sentiments. Well, now the pendulum has swung in the other direction and a potential employer has over communicated with meUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-71203545575455492922009-03-02T14:19:00.000-08:002009-03-10T22:15:01.109-07:00from the desk of...candidate #3 Love is a Battlefield (Pat Benatar) I cut the cord this week – I notified my current employer that I will not be returning to my current position for the 2009-10 year. Scary stuff, and I debated for several months about turning in ‘the letter’ that said I won’t be coming back. Now I’m a free agent, willing and wanting to explore options but without a firm place to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-21398714294410173852009-02-28T18:10:00.000-08:002009-03-10T22:15:51.211-07:00from the desk of...candidate 4Lifesaver Searching for a job is like screaming underwater. You wonder if anybody can hear as you drown. You wonder if all the work and energy is futile. For the last 4 months, I’ve kicked and yelled into the job posting abyss, sent out resume after resume, filled out application after application, wrote cover letter after cover letter. And there’s been only Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-68053270770612853572009-02-25T12:21:00.000-08:002009-03-10T22:15:27.454-07:00from the desk of... candidate 1First Phone Interview This past week I had my first phone interview which officially kicks off the “job getting” process. I must say it was great. The school is in the Northeast and has about 10,000 students. This is one of the many Residence Director positions to which I have applied. The Residence Life department is up-and-coming and very dynamic. It seems like itUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6197251370114351147.post-67843607279778782792009-02-25T12:15:00.000-08:002009-03-10T22:16:09.598-07:00from the desk of... candidate 2Annoyances “Saturated” is a good word to describe how I feel these days. Saturated with advice, resume and cover letter reviewing, even travel prep. It’s quickly pushing my attitude from “excited/nervous” into just plain “frantic.” I have definitely mentally checked out of my classes for the time being, and find myself daydreaming about a mythical time in my future Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0