by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Nov 5, 2010 | Career Skills, Job Search, Podcast
The hardest part of doing anything is just getting started.
If you are considering a job search this year, you probably all too aware that the hardest part of doing anything is just getting started. This can be especially true for projects that involve putting yourself out there in the public sphere and being judged.
As an academic job seeker, your job search may follow the academic cycle, with a majority of positions being posted by March, followed by interview periods from April to August, and start dates in August or September. So it’s important to a avoid stumbling out of the gate.
Mark Dykeman, creator of the Unstuck, Focused and Organized System
Mark Dykeman, my guest this morning at 11:00 a.m. on the Higher Ed Career Coach Show on BlogTalkRadio, has a good method for getting your plan together: mind-mapping. Mark is the creator of the blogs Thoughtwrestling and the Broadcasting Brain. I met him through Third Tribe (affiliate link), a membership site put together by Brian Clark, Darren Rowse, Chris Brogan and Sonia Simone and dedicated to helping small business owners authentically market their products and businesses.
Mark is a well-known and well-connected social media entrepreneur, and a really nice guy. He’s known for helping people get unstuck, focused and organized, and he’s a strong proponent of the idea of mind-mapping to clear out your mental clutter, unlock your creativity, and move forward with new ideas and plans.
I recently bought his new product, Unstuck, Focused and Organized, because I’ve been looking for ways to get more organized and stay on task. I’ve been getting much busier lately, and needed some fresh perspectives on how to organize my ideas and thoughts. I liked it so much that I joined his affiliate program, and invited him to talk about how job seekers can use mind-mapping to move forward in their search.
In today’s BlogTalkRadio show, Mark and I will talk about using Mind-Mapping to et unstuck in your job search and plan your way forward. I was able to ask Mark a few initial questions ahead of time about his program and ways that job seekers could use his approach.
Unstuck, Focused and Organized: Mind-Mapping for Higher Ed Job Seekers
(Questions are in bold, Mark’s answers are inset and italicized.)
How could someone use mind-mapping to plan their career?
Mind mapping could be used in a number of different ways. For example, if there are different stages of your intended career and different milestones, you could use the mind map to examine each stage. Here’s a simple example: have major categories or branches of the mind map to correspond to different levels of corporate hierarchy:
- consultant/team member
- team leader
- manager
- director
- vice-president
You could explore each role in detail, including key education requirements, work experience, networking, mentors, and so on. This would be a useful first step in coming up with a plan. You could also do something similar with the type of companies that you would want to work at as well, focusing on both functional experience and industry segment experience.
If you were planning a job search during the next year, how could mind-mapping help you focus your efforts?
There’s several different ways that you could plan your job search. You could conduct a SWOT analysis using a separate branch for each aspect. You could use a mind map to compare your skills and experience to different types of jobs about there: the mind map could help you find key skills to emphasize in your job search as well as important gaps or shortfalls to consider.
You could also use the mind map to explore all possible ways to network and search for the job, which is much better than firing resumes into the ether and hoping for the best.
What’s the best way to start?
The best way to start mind mapping, if you’ve never done it before, is to use a pencil and a huge piece of paper. Write your central or core idea that you want to explore in the center of the paper. Then start writing down every thought or idea that you can think of around the center of the paper. When you’ve gotten everything out that you can think of, take a few minutes and look at it. Look for connections between things. See if you can group similar things together into major categories. Draw lines between things that could be connected. Doodle and draw on it, if you feel like it, in ways that would be meaningful. Look for holes – things that are missing.
The reason for using a pencil? Because you’ll probably want to redraw the mind map after this first try!
We’ll discuss the features and benefits of Mark’s UFO program and different ways to use mind-mapping to plan your job search and your career in general. He’ll also announce a special promotion he’s running next week.
Please join us at 11 a.m. today (Friday, November 5) for the podcast, and call in with your questions and comments to (347) 989-0055 or via Skype click-to-talk.
on Blog Talk Radio
Listen to internet radio with Sean Cook on Blog Talk Radio
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by John Mayo | Nov 3, 2010 | Coaching, Job Search
Part One: Carpet Bombing
My first job search was spring 2008 when I was just about to graduate from the Student Affairs in Higher Education master’s program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. At that time I essentially carpet bombed the field with job applications; I did a national job search and applied to over 40 institutions. It was too much to organize, it got to be too confusing keeping track of everything and everyone.
I managed to find the funding to attend The Placement Exchange in Boston and ACPA Placement in Atlanta. In all I managed to have 20 conference interviews, for those keeping count, thats about a 50% success rate. I was on my way to … disappointment. I was sitting on cloud nine, I interviewed with almost half of the schools I applied at. Well, those 20 interviews only resulted in two on-campus interviews: Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL and Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA. In the end I was offered and I accepted an entry-level position at Point Park University. Its ironic that I had to travel to Atlanta to interview with and accept a position from a school that was literally 5 miles from where I was living.
Now after a few years I decided that it was time to start looking for a new job. It was February 2010 and I was in the midst of job searching and this was my second time going the the student affairs job placement process. I knew I did not want to repeat my first experience, 40 applications, 20 interviews and 1 offer. I decided that I was going to narrow my job search to only one region: New England. I started looking at openings and thats when it hit me; I needed to update my resume and cover letter. It had been a while since I had to use my resume so I wasn’t sure where I should start.
Enter Sean Cook
I had been participating in the #SAchat on Twitter and introduced myself to Sean Cook. I learned that Sean had worked at Penn State and that he had just started his coaching business helping others with job searches, interview techniques, updating resumes and much more. Sean started offering a free support group to job searchers. In this group we were able to discuss a lot including expectations for placement conferences, interview dos and don’ts, resume tips and much more. It was during this free group that I decided to retain Sean’s help one-on-one. So I sent Sean a message and said I’ll pay you please help me!
At first I wasn’t sure what to expect. Here’s this guy that says he knows what he’s doing and here I am looking for help. Well it turns out that it was one of the best investments I made this year. I first started by talking about what I was afraid of and what concerned me. Then in our second session we jumped into interview techniques and reviewing my resume. The best thing we did was a mock phone interview. I’ve always felt I was a poor phone interviewer, Sean taught me several techniques to use during phone interviews. During this mock interview Sean asked some questions I have never heard before, some were really thought provoking and some were easy. At the end we talked about my answers and he provided a great critique. About a week later I was able to utilize the skills Sean taught me in an actual phone interview. Armed with these new skills I went into the phone interview confident and at the end I knew I rocked it.
Job Search: Part Deux
The major difference between my first job search and my second was focus. I was able to focus on the geographical area and with Sean’s help I learned to focus my energy on specific parts of the job search and not everything at once. Throughout my ACPA Placement experience and throughout my on-campus interviews I knew I had Sean as a resource, someone I could call for support anytime I needed him. My second job serach experience was so much better than my first. I had less applications submitted, but a higher percentage of conference interviews and more on-campus interviews. Clearly I had a better experience because halfway through one conference interview I was offered an on-campus interview!
One school I interviewed with was Western New England College (WNEC) in Springfield, MA. I had two good conference interviews so i was confident going to my on-campus interview. I arrived the night before my interview, I was picked up at the airport and dropped at the hotel by a WNEC Res Life staff member. That evening I decided to take a taxi to campus to walk around and get a true feel. I jumped in the cab and had a great conversation about the school and the area with the taxi driver. When we arrived at the campus the first think I noticed was the trees and the buildings. I noticed how quintessentially “New England” WNEC looked and felt. As I walked around, I noticed students playing frisbee, tennis, catch and just hanging outside with friends. Brick buildings, gazebos and lawns, these are things my previous campus didn’t have. I knew that evening I wanted to work at WNEC. I was so confident in myself that during my self-paced tour of WNEC I stopped in the bookstore and purchased a school pennant for my collection.
Ultimately I ended up being offered and accepting a job at WNEC. While I did the heavy lifting, by doing the interviewing and applying, it was Sean who helped me build the confidence needed to be successful.
John Mayo, Area Coordinator, Western New England College
John Mayo is the Area Coordinator for Traditional Housing at Western New England College. In addition to residence life, he has experience working in housing operations and student leadership development at very diverse campuses. Like many student affairs professionals, his family still doesn’t understand what he does, so he tells them that he teaches life skills to college students.
John holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in art and military history from Bridgewater State College, a master’s degree in student affairs in higher education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and is working towards a second master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University
Feel free to follow him on Twitter (@jmayojr) and check out his personal blog (http://johnmayo.me/).
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by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Nov 2, 2010 | Coaching, Higher Education, Job Search, The Placement Experience
Have you ever had a busy time, when you knew you couldn’t afford to miss a step? You knew it was coming, and you made a plan to juggle all your responsibilities, and you were ready, in the words of Project Runway’s infamous Tim Gunn, to just “make it work.”
And then, despite all the planning, thinking things out from different angles, and even planning the contingencies, you trip over some unexpected change in terrain….
Boom. Flutter. Fall.
Flat on your face. Ouch-ey! And you wonder whether you should even bother to get up.
Fall has been kinda like that for me, and I’m finally at a point where I need to start over, focus on some core priorities, and let some other things go (or delegate them out). This week, I’m going to tell you what I’ve been doing with my time, and ask you to help me prioritize a bit by letting me know what you’d like to see.
Part 1: The Blog(s)
Readership was pretty consistent last spring during the “placement conference season” and through the summer. July was the best month for traffic, probably in part due to the “down time” many of us experience right before the August/September madness. Since August readership has been down, and I’ve been struggling to come up with fresh content, in part because I am juggling several other projects now, including a part-time gig with Wesleyan College down in Macon, GA, a hybrid coaching course for placement season, some webinars, some guest posts for other blogs and web sites, and the beginnings of some e-books and other “informational products.” I also helped plan a half-marathon.
I thought I had some good plans for this fall, and a good idea of how to execute them. But I got stuck in a few details, distracted by other projects (who knew planning a half-marathon would require so much work?) and then thrown off by a few life events (both cars robbed in my own driveway a couple of weeks back.) So my blogs are off-track, my business has taken a back-seat to a race, my office is a mess, my schedule is full, and there are days I look back over my shoulder and say “where did the day go, and what do I have to show for it?”
I’ve been teetering between the two big options lately: giving up and bucking up. When I set out to do this, I had idealistic reasons in mind, and some pie-in-the-sky ideas about how I’d turn my interests and idealism into a sustainable business and lifestyle. The reality is that I’ve been stumbling through some of it, and like anyone, I could use some feedback and direction. So I’m turning to you. I’ve decided not to quit (at least not yet).
- What do you think I should do to mold this idealistic vision of helping higher ed job seekers into a sustainable business model?
- What interests you?
- What would you be willing to pay for?
- What do you want?
- And what do you need?
Last year, I did a good job of building up some partnerships and getting guest writers. In July I had a few, and it was the best month for readership for both HigherEdLifeCoach.Com and HigherEdCareerCoach.Com. Many of my regular guest bloggers have started new jobs or had other significant changes in their lives. I’m working with a couple to find time to “get back on the horse,” but I’m also going to bring in some new contributors, so the content can be fresh, and so new voices can find a platform. As I do, I could use your input to help me prioritize any changes or updates to the blogs.
As a reader:
- Which past guest posts have you enjoyed the most?
- Which contributors?
- What topics do you want to read more about?
- And if you are a writer or a fellow coach, what would you like to contribute?
- Should we have more video and audio posts, slideshows, resource lists, tips and tricks?
- Do you like book reviews, product reviews, or “wish list” types of posts?
- How often should we have new posts? I had been shooting for 2-3 per week.
Please share some ideas that will help improve the blog, either by commenting below or by sending feedback to sean@higheredcareercoach.com.
Thanks!
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by Mickey Fitch | Jul 21, 2010 | Career Skills, Job Search
It is the nature of our work to shift jobs a bit more often than some of our counterparts in other industries. As student affairs professionals, we are the Gumbys of the higher ed world—we flex to changing hours, additions/deletions to our job descriptions, and even locations of offices and workplaces on campus.
Similar to other industries, however, our field sees a lot of our turnover around fiscal year-end/start in July. In our online #sachat twitter community, several of us are starting new positions and decided to share thoughts about what its like to be in a new role. By answering a few basic questions about our new positions, we hope to provide some insight into role changing for our readers, and also get you interested in speaking with us more in the future on BlogTalkRadio.
First of all, what is your new position title and university? When do you start (or did you)?
Shannon: Residence Hall Director/Student Activities Coordinator at Lyndon State College in Vermont. I start July 19th, so just over a week from now.
Mickey: Assistant Director of Residence Life at University of Wisconsin-Superior. I started June 14th, so I’ve been in my role for about a month.
Becca: Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Leadership at the University of North Carolina – Pembroke. July 1st start date.
What is your professional preparation/background coming into this position? (other positions, fields, education, etc)?
Shannon: This is my first full-time position after graduating with my Master’s degree in College Student Affairs Leadership this past May. As a graduate student I had assistantships in Career Services and Residence Life, and did Internships in Summer Conferences and Service Learning.
Mickey: Previous to this I worked for a short time as Associate Director of Student Life at University of Maine at Machias, and prior to that was a full-time Hall Director at Iowa State University for four years. I did my graduate work (and was a grad hall director) at Minnesota State University, Mankato ’03-05 and did my internship teaching a life skills preparatory course. I did my undergrad ’99-03 at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where I got my start as a Community Advisor!
Becca: My education includes a M.Ed in Higher Education Administration from Kent State University and a B.A. in English, Journalism, and Applied Writing from Ashland University. During graduate school I worked at Baldwin-Wallace College as a GA in Greek Life and Leadership. I also completed internships in International Student and Scholar Services, New Student and Parent Orientation, and Student Conduct/Residence Life. As an undergraduate, I interned in Greek Life and orientation for two years as well.
What resources (networks/specific tactics/webpages/people/social media) were key in the search to find (and get) this position?
Shannon: Higher Ed Jobs became my best friend for searching by type of position or in the states I decided I wanted to live in. The #sachat network on Twitter was a great resource in learning how to read into a job description a bit more, decide what type of position was best for me, and general motivational support.
Mickey: Without a doubt my number one resource was my network through UMR-ACUHO. I’ve been part of that organization for 7yrs now and those folks are like family to me. I felt that a number of my colleagues were very interested in helping me get back into the region and back into a residence life role, and most of all, in Wisconsin! Second to that I would say HigherEdJobs.com was incredibly helpful. At the time of my search, I was still a newbie on Twitter, although that community was very helpful to me when it came time to do on campus interviews and ultimately accept and negotiate for my current position.
Becca: I visited the career services office at Baldwin-Wallace College to have my resume critiqued and gained feedback from my supervisor, @Kathy_Petras, and friends. Many members of the #SAChat community were integral to my job search, including @clconzen and @edcabellon, who helped review my resume and prepare for interviews. Social Media played an interesting piece in my job search as well. ( http://edcabellon.com/tech/twitters-impact-on-my-job-search/) I followed several potential supervisors, universities, and department accounts during my job search to gain insight into the positions I was pursuing. I interviewed for several positions at ACPA and subscribed to additional position postings from higheredjobs.com.
How did you utilize your references and mentors in your search process?
Shannon: References were great because most were current or past supervisors, so if there was a job I was applying for where I didn’t have one of the desired experiences they worked to find a way to get me that experience to stay extra competitive. They also put up with me during the ups and downs of the whole process. My mentors were great because they WEREN’T with me every day. They offered a great outside perspective on things, and since they worked at schools across the country, they were able to give me great perspective on what life was like in other areas of the US. Stacy Oliver, in particular, became known for her “Parking Lot Pep Talks” that started in the parking lot on her campus after I drove down to visit, have lunch, and get some advice.
Mickey: I have always been in the practice of sending weekly “reference update” emails to me actual references, and informal (yet similar) updates to my mentors/other colleagues that might get a cold call (see my previous post on this). I sent (and received) a lot of email during my search, especially because I was struggling with being unemployed for a longer amount of time than expected. These folks were both a personal and professional support to me, and also offered me opportunities to continue to grow my skills through being keynote speakers at their winter trainings. This is also how I got connected with Sean and Higher Ed Career Coach and Life Coach and grew my professional skills to the online world.
Becca: My references helped me to reflect on and articulate my previous work experience as I prepared for interviews. I was able to process my interviews with supervisors and mentors after the fact to determine institutional fit and to prepare for second interviews. I was lucky to have a mentor with me at ACPA to debrief with between interviews and to re-energize during the process.
What are your initial goals in your new position?
Shannon: Since my job is in both Residence Life and Student Life I really need to learn the culture of each office when I arrive. For the residence life half my goals are to create a strong Community Council in my hall (always a bit difficult with an all-first-year building) and to create some quality programming, some that will hopefully become yearly traditions. For the student life half I’m working with overseeing all the student organizations so I’d like to create some Leadership development programs, and also resources/workshops for student organization advisors.
Mickey: I believe I am just about wrapping up my initial time frame for my immediate goals, which were to 1) network/form initial relationships with the campus life team and other colleagues on campus. 2) tons of reading on our shared drive (policies, previous documents on programs, etc) 3) start laying major groundwork on the training schedules and programs for the fall that are under my supervision (hall managers, assistant hall managers, academic resource coordinators, intern, etc). Now its on to Phase 2 of my goals!
Becca: 1) Get to know my new colleagues and students. 2) Find opportunities to share resources and to collaborate on evening and weekend programming. 3) Develop evening and weekend programming to match the learning outcomes set by the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership.
What things are you making sure NOT to do in your new job?
Shannon: Hopefully I will not get too overwhelmed! Again, having a dual position I’m hoping to not get too focused on one half of it, to the detriment of my other responsibilities.
Mickey: Work/check email constantly at home. In this position I am personally making it a goal to strive for as much balance as possible and I truly feel like I am really getting there (which is rare for our profession). I’m also trying to not make “this is how it is/should be” statements based on past experience, but rather ask questions of why certain things are done a certain way, if there is flexibility, etc.
Becca: I am not pretending to be the expert. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be the first person to fill the Assistant Director position and to contribute to the Leadership mission of the office– but I am not pretending to be an expert. Rather, I am excited to be a part of a team and to bring my perspective to the table.
What things are you making sure TO do in your new job?
Shannon: Definitely making sure to develop strong bonds with my coworkers, and with/between my student staff members.
Mickey: Spend time with my new team. Eating lunch with them everyday, and hopefully hanging outside of work soon. Building those trusting relationships so that they can count on me as a person and colleague and vice versa. Also making sure to ask a TON of questions and taking TONS of notes (I need an iPad or something). I’ve started keeping a few different files on Evernote as well (can sync between my iPhone/work computer/home computer) that are: 1) the idea file (future ideas), 2) observations, and 3) areas for development. Taking notes is key for me.
Becca: Ask questions and listen to the answers. Learn the culture of the institution, the students, and the community. Engage in professional development opportunities and apply the new knowledge to my work.
Any advice for SA folks still searching in mid-July?
Shannon: Get excited about the possibility of jobs outside Residence Life. I noticed that as I got to the end of the semester/into summer a lot more Student Life/Student Activities jobs opened up. I’ve noticed now that even more Academic or Career Advising and Admissions jobs are opening. There’s still hope, and still lots of time before fall semesters start.
Mickey: Be more broad/less picky in what you are looking for, because in student affairs you get to do a little bit of everything anyway, so you might as well start broadly (if you are entry level). It really concerns me when I see folks straight out of school (whether undergrad or grad) that are focused only on one or two areas when they just need to jump in to a position and get experience. Make it known that you have many interests so that you can do your main role and other small projects once you are hired. For mid-level folks who are still searching, I would say….save as much money in all areas of your life as possible. As someone who was unemployed (by choice) I had to make a lot of tough financial decisions and ask for a lot of help/support from those around me because I knew it was going to be a harder/longer process to find that right mid-level fit. Be ok with that, and be humble with your process.
Becca: Ask for help. The professionals in our community are eager to see each other succeed and are willing advise you through the process if you ask for help. In addition to your mentors, utilize your resources as much as possible: stay current in the field by reading The Chronicle, blogs, participating in weekly #sachat conversations (http://thesabloggers.org), and publications from your functional areas of interest.
Other tips/tidbits you want to add?
Shannon: Even if you don’t fit every qualification on a job application, apply anyway. Don’t tell yourself no, let them decide that. Moreover, be yourself. Lots of policy and qualifications can be taught. Personality can’t.
Mickey: If you don’t have a well-established network (references, mentors, friends, supportive family, etc) then focus your efforts ALWAYS on growing and nurturing that network. Research (and personal experience) supports that these people are the ones that more and more are helping us find and secure jobs, and are also the ones that support us the best in our first few weeks and months on the job. Grow your network! Also, ask lots of questions, and don’t ever think that they are dumb or unworthy. Sometimes forcing someone to answer your question helps them realize that their methodology or program has never been questioned, or it can also help display your interest in what they have going on!
Becca: Be open-minded. A position description and university website give you a partial picture of a job, just like your resume and cover letters do. Dig deeper and look for opportunities.
While being a new employee and new to a university can look different for everyone, we hope that we’ve given insight into what it can be like for three folks at different places in their careers to approach a new position. Join us this Friday at 11 a.m. EDT on the Higher Ed Life & Careers Blog Talk Radio show with Sean Cook to hear more about our new roles and being new employees!
Have thoughts, questions, or comments? Please leave them below, or feel free to follow us on Twitter @slhealy, @mickeyfitch, & @beccafick!
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