from 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 while ironing shirts and pants again (thanks, TSA!), but otherwise I’m ready to go. Truth be told, I don’t have many interviews scheduled – it’s not that I’m a bad candidate, but my availability has changed and I won’t really be available until January 2010. So, that’s a bummer – but I’m here to “work the room” as they say. I’ll be talking to a variety of institutions and colleagues to let them know about my experiences and qualifications. At the very least, I want to leave a positive impression so that I can pick up on conversations come Fall 2009. My good friend often remarks that a stranger is simply someone he hasn’t met and gotten to know yet, and I’ll be employing that strategy this weekend.

Did I know where I would end up before my first professional position? I shook the Magic 8 Ball and all signs pointed to only a handful of schools. Now, I don’t think the ball, a séance, or Miss Cleo could show me a definitive path. The Final Countdown sounds appropriate for the ticking clock signaling the beginning of TPE. I’m foregoing the candidate intro sessions and going to trust myself to figure out how the messaging system works and how to schedule interviews on the fly. Plus, this song has a pinkie-spasm-inducing Guitar Hero riff about two-thirds of the way through, and if you can’t get jazzed up for interviews by listening to it you’re either not a fan of 80s music or really all that excited for interviews. Interviewing is fun – really! – and the TPE conference experience is meant to be a meeting of minds, experiences, and hearts.

from 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 come back to. My current institution has been a fantastic place to learn and grow, both professionally and personally, and the time has come to explore the job market. It’s been a battle of sorts – mostly of the mind and heart – and there’s been a lot of support from various administrators and co-workers about wanting to fully enter the job search. As Pat Benatar notes, “We are strong, no one can tell us we’re wrong, searching our hearts for so long, both of us knowing – love is a battlefield.”

Life, like Pat Benatar’s analogy to love being a battlefield , is filled with as you seek to find the best thing for your relationship, career, education, and personal wellness. There are no guarantees in life or love, so it’s right to have some hesitation before leaving a steady, good-paying job and seeking out a change. The battlefield, in-between my ears and deep inside my chest, came from knowing I was ready to start a new adventure and to start the next phase of my life.

I’m getting excited about TPE – and nervous, too. There’s a lot to do in the next couple of days, from picking out outfits, double-checking hotel/airline reservations, and other tasks. I’m also helping my supervisor with 1^st & 2^nd round interviews for replacements for my position, so there are responsibilities that I must fulfill. All in all, I’m approaching this pretty level-headed and very much like a business trip, not as a sightseeing adventure (too flim-flam) or a do-or-die situation (too firm). It’s been awhile since my networking, gladhanding, and interview skills were put to the test –and although I’m generally a bit more introverted, I explode with confidence and outgoingness at conferences and come alive in interviews. I know there’s a lot riding on TPE – but if I concentrate on the enormity of the issue, then I’ll lose sight of the goals of developing solid relationships and learning more about future opportunities.

from the desk of...candidate #3

Faith… (George Michael)

No time like the present to jot a few notes about my job search, both to reflect and share with others about the experience. Currently, I'm a Resident Director in the Midwest at a private, religiously affiliated four-year school, and the prospects of leaving are simultaneously exciting and nerve-wracking. I'm married, have no kids, and desperately want a dog and a chance to live off-campus, where I get to mow the lawn and complain about property taxes. My job has exposed me to a more than I originally intended; I've traveled to tiny towns for student leadership conferences, worked through the night to create a 108-page RA Training Booklet the day before they arrive, advised exemplary students (some who may truly discover a cure for cancer someday), and tackled nearly everything possible under the 'entry-level' moniker in residence life. Yet, like a bag of chips, the shelf-life of a Resident Director only lasts for so long until it's time to move upward and be presented with new professional challenges. Thus, I'm diving into the deep end, filled with spiritual faith, support from family and colleagues, and confidence in my abilities to land a good job.

As a lover of 80s music (it's often playing in my office), I heard George Michael's Faith this morning and reminded myself that I gotta have faith. Faith in myself, faith in the process, faith in my next supervisor to plow through dozens of resumes to find mine and call me. All this faith will be put to work because there will be frustrating days searching and exciting afternoons of e-mails and calls with the next hot lead. While staying with a residence life position is certainly possible, I'm also interested in academic advising, student affairs administration, and student learning/ success at the mid-level. I'm particularly interested in working directly with students on academic initiatives, living-learning communities, or other advising of students and programs to fully utilize my strengths. Part of the job search is about listening to your truest self and setting a congruent course of action.

I have worked with numerous undergraduates entering the world of work and have helped prepare graduate assistants for their own job search in student affairs. Now, I find myself needing to believe the things I've told them about the job search: 1) you will get a job and 2) you have the answers and abilities, it's just a matter of timing and meeting the right people. There are plenty of fantastic people to meet at TPE and there's a demand for quality people with a diverse array of experiences, interests, and abilities to thrive at the next campus. So I've gotta have faith…(fantastic hair and a perpetual 5-o'clock shadow doesn't hurt, either).