Using RSS feeds to keep up with vacancy postings during your job search with Eric Stoller, an academic advisor at Oregon State University, who also shares his thoughts on higher education, technology, and social justice issues at EricStoller.com and consults with institutions in higher education about technology issues.
From my Google Reader: Higher Ed News and Views, plus other interesting articles on social media, education, etc.
Cook Coaching Programs and Services: Information on my 8 weeks to August Career Coaching Program for student affairs professionals finding themselves “stuck” in their job search; Accidentally on Purpose sideshow, with Sean Cook and Monica Moody; upcoming workshops for high school students transitioning to college, parents hoping to avoid the “helicopter parent phenomenon,” and more.
Call-Ins: Please listen in to the show and call in your questions and comments to (347) 989-0055 or send them via twitter to @hiedcareercoach. I’ll be asking for comments at various points, especially between 3:15 pm and 3:45 pm when talking with Eric Stoller, but callers are welcome to comment on or ask questions about anything we cover, or other issues in higher education.
So the school year has wound down, graduation has passed, and the halls are empty (well, except for those being used for Summer School.) For some of us, it’s time to rest on our laurels for a bit, before planning ramps up for the school year.
But for others, summer might be anything but relaxing. If you have the “graduation-and-no-job blues,” the “I’ve-gotta-get-out-of-this-place-it’s-killing-me itch,” or the “been-here-done-here-now-what?” mid-career crisis, then it’s high time you get moving with your job search, or grad school planning…or you’ll be looking in the mirror this August, seeing the reflection of your discontent staring back at you, and wondering…
“How did this happen? I’m supposed to be doing something great!
…And it’s not this.”
If you find yourself with the blues, the itch, or the mid-career crisis, maybe it’s time to get clear on your interests, evaluate your skills, and start planning for a fresh start this August. Summer represents a second wave of opportunities for job seekers in academia, because many who got a job in the first wave also left a job.
To help those who have found themselves in this position, I’m launching a new coaching program to help them get unstuck.
8 Weeks to August Coaching Program
The “8 weeks to August” program is geared toward job seekers who are determined to start something new this academic year.
The program will be a “hybrid” program…part individual coaching, and part on-line activities and support. It will also be significantly cheaper than a regular 1-on-1 coaching program, because I’m sensitive to the financial aspects of job-seeking in higher education.
Features
2 individual coaching sessions in early June, to outline your goals for coaching, and to review your resume and cover letters, to make sure they are selling your unique skills and experience in ways that match the positions you are targeting. ($200 Value)
2 practice interviews-one via phone, the other via Skype, with feedback about areas for possible improvement. ($200 value)
2 additional individual coaching sessions during the program, which can be used for exploration, goal-setting, additional mock interviews, strategy sessions for specific applications, etc….Really, whatever you might need. ($200 value)
E-mail coaching during the entire program- send short questions or requests to me on topics of your choosing.
Online access to readings and activities that will help you focus your efforts on finding a position that will be a natural match for your interests, skills and abilities.
Group discussion opportunities for all group members, for support and encouragement from other job seekers.
The ability to have private online chats and discussions with me and with other group members about your search.
Benefits
Increased clarity about your career goals, as a result of personalized feedback about your resume, cover letters, and job search strategy.
A more focused plan for your job search, from opportunities to explore options, weed out ones that aren’t a good match, and concentrate on those more suited to your skills, experiences, and interests.
A better understanding of potential obstacles to your success, including practical ones (like lack of training, or poor interviewing skills) and emotional ones, like anxiety, confusion, or poor self-esteem; with some personalized recommendations for skill-building, improved personal presentation, and building self-confidence.
What else do you need to know about the
“8 Weeks to August” Career Coaching Program?
I’ll give you some quick ideas, but you’ll need to go to the event page to get more specifics.
The price point is incredibly good…a significant discount over my normal rates (since it is a hybrid program, with individual and group components, the number of registrants will allow me to do this.)
The number of registrants for this program will be extremely limited, because I want to be able to deliver all I promise, and more, to participants, and turn them into raving fans and the best kind of advertising money can’t buy…satisfied clients.
I will be closing the program to new enrollments next Friday at 12 noon EST.
Every participant will receive a copy of a great book on personal branding.
If I reach my intended target size for this program, one of the participants is going to end up getting all the features and benefits mentioned above, and a significant prize, which will basically be like giving them all their money back.(That’s right–all of it!)
Do I have your interest now?
If you or a friend are “stuck,” and really need to move forward and make significant progress in your job search, wouldn’t it be great to get personal attention, customized resume/cover letter/interview assistance, the support of a certified coach and other job seekers in your field, and the opportunity to get all your money back?
I know that if I was looking for a position, it would interest me.
So don’t wait…visit the program’s registration page (link below) to learn more about this program, what the costs and benefits are, and about my money-back guarantee.
Much has been said lately about the value of social media to job seekers. Since you’re reading a blog post about it, which you probably learned about from a post on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or BrazenCareerist, the value of social media should be obvious. It is likely what brought you here.
So let’s cut to the chase: You know social networking can be valuable, but you just aren’t sure how to do it the right way. Here are 5 great posts that can help you figure some of this out.
7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media by Dan Schawbel gives some unique ways to use search engines, bl ogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, Video Resumes and your blog/rss subscriptions to stay on task, monitor your personal brand, an d get connected during your job search.
This article about a panel presentation by the Sacramento Social Media Club about using Facebook and Twitter for your job search gives some simple but good advice from panelists. I also like the idea of social media clubs. If you have one in your area, this could be a great place to find people who could help you understand ways to use social media to enhance your job search and career.
Alison Doyle offers a good overview of networking sites at her About.Com page. Alison is a great person to follow, and her articles on About.Com are very much resource-packed. I visit often and always learn something.
And listen in the morning:
I am doing a BlogTalkRadio show on using social media in your job search tomorrow (Friday) at 11 a.m. My guest host will be Mallory Bower, Assistant Director of Career Services at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Mallory writes periodically for my other site, HigherEdLifeCoach.Com, and will have some articles on this site soon, as well. Our guests will include some of Mallory’s colleagues at UNCP, including Mike Severy, Director of Student Involvement and Leadership, and newly hired Assistant Director Becca Fick. Twitter was integral to posting the job, getting candidates and to Fick’s eventual hiring. Mike and Becca wrote great posts on their perspectives on using Twitter in the job search. Mike’s post, on the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog, can be found here, and Becca’s guest post at On the Go with Ed Cabellon can be found here.
We’ll also revisit last week’s discussion on “purpose” and what it means to people working in higher education. Plus news, events and perspectives of note in the higher ed/student affairs world. Show is scheduled for 90 minutes to allow call-ins, discussion, etc., but may end after an hour or so.
You can listen to the show by following this link. And you can call in live to ask questions during the interview to (347) 989-005 or via Skype from the show page. (I’ve never really done that, but it is supposedly possible. Someone should give it a try, and let me know how it works!) Please listen in and share your questions and comments. After the show, you can call in and record your comments to my GoogleVoice comment line, 706-352-9467. (352-WINS) and I may play them on the air in a future episode.
So please check out these links, think about how you might use social media to advance your job search and career, and call me in the morning.
If money is all you love, then that is what you shall receive*
In this article, contributor Mickey Fitch takes readers on a values Q & A that they can apply in their own job searches, as well as personal lives.
When I was in college, at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, I was both a hall government representative as well as a community advisor. As part of the training and development for these roles, we attended a retreat at a local camp. Our supervising hall director would hold a “values auction,” where we would bid against our fellow staff for different values such as honesty, clear communication, competition, and difference. These auctions were interesting to me then, but what is fascinating to me now, as a student affairs professional, is this: The items I won at these auctions are now traits that I consider to be my strengths!
During a job search, it’s tempting to let your values take a back seat to getting the “right” job. It’s easy to spend more time looking at the duties listed in the job posting than looking at what isn’t found there: benefits, values, and institutional culture. Day in and day out, the overall picture of the position is what keeps us happy, motivated, and contributing to the success of our university, and to ourselves as people. Our job descriptions are not our life descriptions, people!
So, let me offer a few thoughts about values:
1) Your values define you as a person. Like character traits, they don’t change from job to job, or university to university.
2) While professionals talk a lot about values, it’s usually in the context of training, evaluation, or discussing problems we are having at work/with the job.
3) On the other hand, we often try to teach values to our students, or to get them to examine their own.
Does anyone else see the irony here?We are teaching and preaching, but don’t necessarily walk our own walk!
Since many of our readers are currently in job searches, I thought it would be appropriate to share the following series of questions to ask yourself, during your career exploration. (Although these topics aren’t as two-sided as I will present them, take the continuum into account as you think about them).
Do you value…
Competition, or collaboration with peers/other colleagues?
Regular, casual feedback, or formal evaluations?
Individual/director decision-making, or team decision-making?
Working alone everyday, or working with many others?
Clear, written expectations and goals, or a general direction?
Electronic primary communication, or non-electronic communication?
Hands-on supervision, or hands-off supervision?
Chains of approval, or immediate decision-making?
Similar age/experience/education peers, or a variety of backgrounds represented?
Clear, honest, direct communication with peers/supervisors, or passive, indirect communication?
To be more specific to our field, do you prefer…
Structured learning communities, or general education programs?
Supervision of several buildings/programs/operations, or supervision of one?
Department-funded programming, or student activity fee-funded programming?
National greek chapter affiliation, or local/university greek chapters?
Traditional two-bed housing, or a variety of housing options?
Being on call 24/7 or the opportunity to unplug from work each day?
Departments as “silos,” or constant collaboration across campus?
What matters most to you, personally?:
Living in a city, the country or the suburbs?
Do you need full medical coverage, or is partial coverage acceptable?
Full institution/employee contribution to a retirement plan vs. little/no investment
Is proximity to an airport a major consideration?
Finding employment in town for a partner? (Or is it okay if your partner must travel/stay behind?)
Nearby opportunities for outdoor recreation? (Or are you willing to travel for outdoor recreation?)
Would you prefer a position with a large salary, but few soft benefits, or a smaller salary with many soft benefits?
How close do you need to be to members of your personal support network?
What access do you need to shopping? (How far are you willing to travel to shop for things you need?)
Will you have opportunities in the community to meet a potential partner in town, or will you have to travel? (If travel is necessary, are you willing to travel?)
If you identify as an underrepresented person, do you need a community within your town or is it okay for you to travel to the nearest city to find other members of your community? (You can replace ‘community’ with food needs, personal needs, worship needs, cultural needs, etc., as well.)
Doing an internal audit of yourself and your own values is essential. I encourage you to have conversations like these with your peers, your teammates, and supervisors. And for those in relationships, have this conversation to see what values brought you and your partner together. For me, knowing my values is like knowing how to read a compass…they help guide and steer me not only when conditions are rough, but also when the sun in shining!
Have a question about values, or want to chat more with me about it? Please leave a comment!
Mickey Fitch is a higher education professional who has crafted her career around the residence life experience on the college campus. Mickey loves to tell stories and help students make the most of their residential experience on campus. A native to the upper Midwest, Mickey is currently undergoing a job search to find her opportunity to serve in residence life. On the personal side, Mickey is an avid fisherman and outdoorswoman and is currently engaged in a life-changing health and fitness journey! You can learn more about her at mickeyfitch.weebly.com.
*Caption is a quote from Star Wars (the first of the real ones.) Princess Leia says it to Han Solo, as he collects his reward to take back to Jabba the Hutt.
For the record, I have no idea where that reference came from, nor do I know what an Electric Boogaloo actually is. But it sounds like fun, and I am determined to have fun with reentering the job search process. I’ve done the whole placement conference thing, and experienced the whole multiple rejection thing. Had that soul-crushing moment where two of my top three schools rejected me within the same two hour span. And… now I’m over it.
So now I’m starting the search over again, but it feels like a lot less pressure this time. There’s no cramming 10+ interviews into two days. There’s no rush to schedule, research, pack, travel, interview, et cetera. Although I know that for many positions I’m competing with up to 50 applicants again, I’m not forced to sit in a room with them before my interview and wonder how we compare. And there’s none of that added stress of wondering if you’ll be rejected or not and what it will be like. I’ve been rejected. It’s not fun. But I’ve learned it’s not the end of the world either.
I’ve mostly run out of schools to apply to in my original, admittedly small, geographic preference area. Several supervisors and mentors have shared insights about other places in the US that might fit what I’m looking for in a climate. (That would be no earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes.) So I’ve expanded to truly have a nationwide search, and have found some interesting opportunities that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
As I said in an earlier post, I am lucky to not have anything in life that keeps me tied to a certain area. Though my original search area overwhelmingly rejected me, I still have 47 other states with opportunities. And there are still positions being posted!
So many people tried to tell me that life wasn’t over after placement conferences. That those were not the be-all, end-all of job postings. It was hard to believe that during placement conference season when the Twitter streams, Facebook statuses, and real-life conversations of all my friends revolved around Oshkosh and Chicago. But I have found that although the number of postings has slowed since late February, they have not stopped. Jobs are still opening up, and that is promising as well.
So far I’ve found a couple more jobs that I’m interested in, and am sending out another batch of applications tomorrow. It’s a lot more laid back to be in round two. There’s not as much pressure, there’s not as much stress, and there’s even more support and parking lot pep talks than round one. Besides, if I don’t find a job until August I’ve got all summer to travel, sleep, and learn to surf.
[Editor’s Note: Shannon’s a millennial, so she is too young to really know what the early days of rap and break-dancing were all about. For readers in a similar state of ignorance, “Electric Boogaloo” is a reference to Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, a movie where break-dancing brings enemies together to save their neighborhood from a bunch of “suits.” Apparently boogaloo is also a type of Latin music and a type of lyre or harp, like King David played in the Bible. The things you can learn from the internet!]
[Editor’s note, part 2: Shannon will be a guest on the Higher Ed Career Coach BlogTalkRadio show Friday April 16 at 11 am EST. We’ll be discussing rejection and starting over in your job search. We’ll also be talking to Stacy Oliver about”parking lot pep talks” and other ways to help job seekers stay encouraged. Bryan Koval will be co-hosting, and I will try to sound smart, say practical things, and not make up to much stuff. Listen in and call in with your job search questions or comments, as they relate to rejection and starting over. Here’s the URL: http://tobtr.com/s/1009384 ]
I didn’t want to have to write this blog post. The idea has been swirling in my head for a couple weeks now, but I didn’t want to wave the white flag just yet. But the time has come to sit down, reflect, and write a blog about rejection. I’m not completed out of all search processes I entered just yet, but many doors have shut and others are doing that slow, squeaky, about to close thing. So, a blog about rejection.
It sucks! I wish I could put it more eloquently, but there’s really no pretty way to say it. It is probably best described with that plane crash/explosion sound effect. I know that rejection can be a learning experience. What could I have done better? Differently? Sooner? Take time to evaluate the experience and my performance, make changes, and go at it again. But it’s an incredibly draining experience.
Somewhere along the way of multiple interviews at conferences, over the phone, and on campuses, I just seemed to fall out of the process with schools. Either I didn’t fit what they were looking for in a new hire, or I flubbed an answer, or I decided that what they were offering just wasn’t right for me.
THAT took some guts, let me tell you. Turning down offers for second interviews or campus visits, not knowing if that would be my only shot at a job. In the end I decided that I really needed to have at least two of three things in a job: a good location, responsibilities that were interesting and challenging, and a nearby support system. If a job didn’t have those, I couldn’t do it.
I know it is better to be unemployed for a bit and wait for a job that’s the right fit to open up, even if that does mean waiting past graduation, or into summer. That’s incredibly scary though, not knowing what I’ll be doing once I graduate. I also can’t imagine returning home and working at Target or the local bowling alley with my Masters.
I also dread the thought of starting the job search process all over again. To be back at square one will be frustrating. Not only because it involves searching out positions I’m interested in again, doing the research again, interviewing again. But also because I feel like a bit of a failure not getting a job from the first round of searching. I would hate for that to dent my confidence going into round two.
I think the only humorous part of rejection so far has been getting a FOAD letter for a job that I didn’t even apply for. (For those not familiar with the acronym, check urbandictionary.com if you don’t mind some profanity.) Apparently I was horrid in the interview I didn’t have. I’m not even sure how my name got mixed up in their pile of applicants. It was especially weird because it was sent to my office, not my apartment address. Oh well. I hung it up on my fridge, and it is now a daily source of amusement.
Work with Sean. I help higher ed professionals take control of their careers with tailored services including resume and CV development, LinkedIn profile optimization and networking strategy, interview coaching, and one-on-one career guidance.
