New Features for HigherEdCareerCoach

My goal for HigherEdCareerCoach.com is to create a useful resource for today’s higher education professionals, as they design their careers and pursue the balanced and fulfilling lives they deserve. I envision a site that becomes more interactive and community-based, and I need feedback from you to identify some of the needs this site can fill, and to prioritize what changes should come first.

Content Survey

Toward this end, I have created a brief (5 question) survey about possible additions to the site’s content and features. The survey should take you 5 to 10 minutes, unless you write out long comments (which you certainly may, as each question has a comment field.) The survey is being hosted at http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2pej262g565i9vl/start Please take a few minutes to give me feedback and send along the URL to any colleagues who might have ideas and be interested.

Group Coaching for Student Affairs Placement Season

I recently put out a tweet on Twitter asking if candidates taking part in placement this season would be interested in taking part in a coaching group, and the initial response has been good. Depending on the number of participants, I may offer different groups for new and experienced professionals. If you are interested, please tweet me @hiedcareercoach or e-mail me at sean@higheredcareercoach.com

#saplacement Hashtag on Twitter!

If you use Twitter and want to keep up with questions or comments about Placement, hashtag your tweet with #saplacement and people can follow it in the public timeline. I created this hashtag and blogged about it on this site and on the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog last week and conversations are already starting to happen between candidates and experienced professionals. NASPA re-tweeted the suggestion, so hopefully it will catch on even more as we get closer to the conferences.

Speaking of Placement…

I thought that it might be interesting and useful to have a student graduating from a Master’s program blog about the Placement Experience and job searching in Student Affairs. Shannon Healy, an Assistant Living Center Director at Grand Valley State University, will be blogging periodically about her job search, impressions of the placement experience, and all the ups and downs that go along with it. Shannon has tentatively agreed to do a couple of posts a week as time allows. You can follow her on Twitter @slhealy as well. I am looking forward to her posts and hope you will follow along as she looks for an opportunity that is a good fit for her talents and interests.

Other Columns and Features in the Works

I am currently reading a few interesting books on career and college topics and will be publishing reviews and possibly some interviews on the blog, and interviewing some authors on my BlogTalkRadio Show. I am also talking with colleagues in the field about guest blogging opportunities and regular columns. Hopefully, we’ll soon have articles and perspectives on the graduate application process in student affairs, getting an assistantship, choosing a master’s program or doctoral program, and overviews of career opportunities in different specialties (Student Activities, Advising, Judicial Affairs, etc.) If you are interested in being a guest columnist or regular contributor, please contact me directly for details.

Thanks for reading!

All my best,

Sean