by Shannon Healy | Jun 7, 2010 | Job Search
Hey readers, it’s been awhile! My last #JobHunt entry was about re-entering the job search: handling the rejection of round one and keeping your spirits up for round two. I am happy to say that this is the last blog I will ever write that can be tagged with “#JobHunt,” as I have officially accepted my first full-time position!
I feel like I need to quote the Grateful Dead here – “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” What started last January with the first postings showing up on the OPE and TPE websites has finally ended in early June with a job offer and an acceptance.
And I couldn’t be happier. I found a position that, although it’s not in my top choice for geographic area, is probably a better fit for me than anything I applied for in round one. It just took me five months of interviews, rejections, campus visits, phone calls, parking lot pep talks, and intense one-on-one time with HigherEdJobs to realize what I was looking for and how to get it.
I found a position that is half Residence Life and half Student Activities, which is perfect for my already varied background in Student Affairs. I get to work with a variety of students in a lot of different ways. I’ve met some of my future coworkers, and that was a major part of my thought process when making the decision: Could I see myself hanging out with these people? That’s very important to me when I realize I’ll be moving over 1000 miles away from home.
My biggest piece of advice to those who will be job hunting next year: Use your resources! There are so many people in the field willing to help out, by looking over a resume, sharing a job posting, helping your formulate answers to common questions, and sending you funny text messages when you visit campuses to keep you calm. Not just professionals – some of your biggest support will come from other grad students who are also out searching. You’re all in the same boat, and it’s nice to know you’re not out in the job search sea alone! Plus, the thought of sharing a high-five when you all connect at a conference is a great motivator.
(And if you ever get the chance to blog about your experiences – whether for a website or just for yourself – do it! It’s a nice way to think through a lot of things related to the job search, without having to actually search.)
I talked a lot in my first entry about finding the perfect job, but that even working on a tropical island means having to deal with some jellyfish. I know there will probably be some jellyfish to deal with in my first year, but I’m looking forward to getting started in my new position. There’s a lot to learn, and I’m excited to take all my knowledge and experience from grad school and see how it works in the real world. It may not be a tropical paradise, but I’m looking forward to a lot of sunny days!
Though this is my last entry in the #JobHunt series, don’t rule out me returning now and then to blog about my first year as a professional in the field. I’m sure there are many more stories, revelations, and interesting tales to come. To everyone who has followed along my job search from the beginning – thank you! I really couldn’t have done it without all the kind words and supportive messages! Thank you!
Shannon Healy
Shannon Healy is a new student affairs professional.
(Editor’s note: I’d say more, but she forgot to tell me where! But you will definitely hear more from her in the future, as I do hope to have her blog about her first year as a professional. In the meantime, I am sure she’ll eventually tell her vast Twitter following. Or maybe she could just post a comment below.)
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Jan 1, 2010 | Career Skills
I love to write, especially about life and career issues that people face in college, or when they work in Student Affairs.
Besides my two blogs, HigherEdCareerCoach and HigherEdLifeCoach, I am an occasional contributor to the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog, I have a Vimeo Channel, an upcoming YouTube Channel and I can share presentations on Prezi.
I feel great about the progress I have made over the last year or so in leveraging social media, and with learning to network and to market myself while still being authentic. I’m convinced I have a lot to offer today’s student affairs practitioners and candidates, and that if I just keep putting out who I am, what I believe in, and what I know, that I can help people discover their specific calling or purpose in life, rather than just doing what conventional wisdom says.
I thought that one way to give you a good overview of my passions, interests and areas of expertise might be to share some articles, presentations and videos I wrote, delivered or produced over the last year or so for other venues.
For part one, here are favorite posts I’ve written for the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog, the forum that reinvigorated my interest in writing and gave me the opportunity to join a network of professionals who are shaping conversations about the directions of the Student Affairs profession.
Visit theSABloggers.org for great posts on Student Affairs
- “15 Years in Indiana as a Cocktail Waitress”-My first post on this forum, which contained musings on career, purpose and motivation. Titled after the great song by Jack Logan.
- “Fire-ing the Canon?: Are the foundations of our profession being assaulted, or are we the barbarians at the gate?” A thought piece on the culture war that the group FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) is bringing to campuses around the country. This started a long back-and-forth with some reps and supporters of FIRE and got me some interesting and unsettling e-mails. FIRE became one of my followers on Twitter! I followed up later with “FIRE takes aim at the University of Delaware-Again” The vitriolic commentary that followed both posts reaffirmed that people were reading the blog.
- “Resumistakes! 10 Ways Your Resume, Cover Letter and Application can Sink Your Chances.” Based on real observations from both sides of the interview table, this brief article just tells it like it is, and that’s probably enough to say for now.”
- “Standing at the Crossroads, and sinking down?” explores the reality that higher education will need to accept that changes in media and communication represent a huge paradigm shift in how people interact, and not just the “latest technology.”
- “April is the Cruelest Month” provides some brief perspectives on what seems to be the longest month of interviewing at many campuses, after the equally busy months of February and March, when many of the national and regional placement conferences take place. Included links to general interview etiquette and dining etiquette advice.
- “Juggling without dropping the ball on your foot:How to evaluate, accept or decline a job offer.” Offers perspectives on how to handle the decision-making process, and avoid critical etiquette blunders so you can keep your options open, should other opportunities arise at an institution later.
- “You’re the best thing since sliced bread, and that generally meets expectations” offers some thoughts on how to approach the dreaded annual task of giving your employees feedback during performance reviews.
- “Over the Hedge” advises student affairs professionals to explore other professions and interest areas for ideas and perspectives that might change their approaches to work and life.
- “The ones that got away” explored what lessons you could glean from situations where students couldn’t stay in school, or passed away.
- In “What I learned from September 11,” I shared my personal story about how we responded at Penn State on September 11, and some perspectives I gained from that day.
- “They’re just not that into you,” gives some advice on handling rejection in your job search.
- “They wouldn’t listen to the fact that I was a genius,” offered 20 ways to blow your job interview, for those of us committed to failing in our careers.
- “Time to make the donuts!” celebrated the opening of the school year by comparing institutional efforts during arrival to the Sisyphean tasks of Dunkin’ Donuts tireless donut maker Fred the Baker.
I hope you will find these posts interesting, informative and entertaining, and that you will continue visiting HigherEdCareerCoach.com in the new year, as I work to build a site that is valued by readers for good content, delivered authentically, that provides insight and provokes conversation about pursuing careers in higher education. Thanks for visiting!
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Dec 11, 2009 | Take 5
Today’s Higher Ed professionals often feel like dinosaurs, in comparison to their students, who are connected 24-7-365 to each other and just about everyone else via various social media tools and websites. Here are five resources on the web to help you get up to speed on social media.
Social Media Can both Connect and Confuse!
