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.
Things have been really busy lately and so today we did not have a podcast. I will try to return next week and start getting on a more regular schedule again. I am looking for guests, but have a few tentative topics lined up. Here are a few quick updates on some things worth checking out in the meantime. Thanks for visiting!
I found a great new web service called paper.li that lets you enter your Twitter username or a hashtag or a Twitter list and it automagically makes an online “newspaper” out of the links shared on those streams. I set one up for my @hiedcareercoach account, and for the hashtags #sachat and #saplacement. Check them out.
I never announced that I did choose LeaderShape for recognition for the August Who-DO award. I am going to finally get my act together in the next week to post a “who-do” award page and to actually send out the awards to the recipients so far. I plan to announce the September Who-Do next week. There won’t be a poll this time, because I have already chosen who to recognize. Polls will continue in the near future.
I am planning another hybrid coaching program to begin soon, and go through the placement season. I’m collecting information on people who might be interested through a new list. If you are interested in learning more, sign up here.
Look for more information about webinars on resumes, networking and job interviewing soon.
I recently signed up for DimDim’s webinar service and will be offering periodic webinars for higher ed job seekers, college students and their parents. I’ll also be making custom presentations and meetings available to college departments, companies and other groups. A
My first DimDim webinar that is open to the public will be “Mastering the Job Interview” from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm September 23 (Next Thursday). Tickets go “on sale” tomorrow, Friday September 17. The first 50 tickets will be free, and sales for free tickets will end at 11:55 pm this Sunday. On Monday, (or after the first 50 tickets go, whichever comes first) the remaining seats will go on sale for $10 each.
Please register for the webinar! I’m looking forward to doing it, and getting feedback from those who attend about what I can do to offer more webinars and workshops on topics of interest.
Job interviews can be a lot like stacking blocks. Once you have "just enough," it's time to stop.
Lately, I’ve been having some good discussions online, over e-mail, and on the phone with the participants of my 8 Weeks t0 August Career Coaching Program. It’s a small group but we are getting into the swing of things and hopefully having a program like this one, with 1-on-1 coaching, online activities and some dedicated times to have practice interviews, will help the participants find some clarity, focus their searches, and find great jobs by this September.
One of the topics we’re spending time with early on is obstacles.It’s hard to move ahead when you feel stuck, unless you can recognize the obstacles in your path, and clear them.
Since I’m not looking for work right now, I related something that I struggle with as a businessman, because it really isn’t that different from the things I struggled with in my job searches, and it’s this…
Saying just enough to answer the question.
Think about that for a minute.
Just enough.
In a job interview, your answers have to address the question, but beyond that, the issue that most of us struggle with is not coming up with a good answer. It is the “enough.” And more particularly, the “just enough.”
So when do you know when you’ve said enough?
Is it when you describe your job and your tasks?
Is it when you say something memorable?
Or is when you do both of the above, in ways that the interviewer will connect with?
Are your answers “connecting?” If not, where can you find clues on how to connect?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, and how you might apply the idea of “just enough” in your interview strategy. Please comment below and share your thoughts on how to say “just enough,” or share some of the obstacles you find yourself up against, and maybe we can help you figure out ways to get over them around them, or to go right through and smash them to pieces.
Sean Cook, M.Ed.
Sean Cook is a Life and Career Coach from Athens, GA. He attended Clemson University, where he earned his B.A. in Political Science (with a minor in Administration) and his M.Ed. in Counseling and Guidance Services (Student Affairs in Higher Education concentration.) Before founding Cook Coaching & Consulting Ltd., Sean spent 15 1/2 years working in higher education, mostly in residence life. His interest in coaching was a natural outgrowth of his personal experiences as a job seeker and his professional experiences as an advisor to college students and student organizations, and as a supervisor to students and young professionals from a variety of backgrounds.
Higher Ed Career Coach Sean Cook delivers a brief introduction to his “8 Weeks to August” Career Coaching Program and his professional and personal motivations for offering it.
Registration for My “8 Weeks to August” program
closes today (Friday, June 10, 2010).
If you are still seeking a job in higher education,
you still have a chance to register at
I will not be extending the registration period past today (Friday). It will automatically close at midnight, or when the registration cap (20 participants) is reached.Why? Because I want to get started, and those who have already registered probably would, too.
As mentioned in the video, please do not let financial concerns determine whether you join this program. If you want to be a part of this inaugural program, just sign up! If you can pay some part now, that’s cool. We’ll figure out the rest later. I’m also offering a money-back guarantee if the program doesn’t work for you, so the money part is neither here nor there to me. Let’s just make this an engaging, interactive, fun, informative and useful experience for all who participate. The rest will fall into place as it should.
So go ahead and register, and let’s get you back in the hunt, and on to a new job this fall!
Sean Cook, M.Ed., Certified Life Purpose & Career Coach, Publisher & Lead Writer
Sean Cook is a Life Purpose and Career Coach who specializes in working with job seekers in higher education. Prior to becoming a Certified Coach through the Life Purpose Institute, Cook earned his M.Ed. from Clemson University, and spent over 15 years working as a student affairs professional.
You can listen to Sean every Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern on His Higher Ed Career Coach Show on BlogTalkRadio.Com.
Today, we’ll be discussing more about the art and practice of the “elevator pitch,” as well as exploring essential interview skills for today’s job seekers. Listeners are also welcome to call in their questions and comments to (347) 989-0055, or by clicking on the Skype “click to talk” logo at the page for today’s episode.
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.
