by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Mar 25, 2010 | Career Skills, Job Search, The Placement Experience
Today was a good day.
It started simply enough. I had a scheduled call with a potential new client, and it went well. She was happy with our consultation and at the end booked her initial sessions (4 of them), and indicated a possibility that she might be looking for longer-term coaching.
Getting this new client topped off what was a pretty good week for me in general. During the ACPA conference, which I could not attend, I remained engaged and involved in the many conversations people were having, via Twitter. I found great ideas shared in people’s tweets. I joined some ongoing side banter about a #fakeacpa conference with all sorts of people from all over, many of which are also members of the weekly #sachat community sponsored by the Student Affairs Collaborative Blog.It was fun to stay engaged and be a part of all these conversations.
During my weekly small group coaching session on Sunday, one client at ACPA called in to say he was offered a campus interview at a school he is really interested in. I’d helped him prep for his phone interview before the conference, and it was nice to see him making the kind of progress he’s been working for and envisioning in our talks. I was able to connect with and encourage several candidates who I’ve connected with via Twitter as well.
When I left my secure job at Penn State last November, I took a great leap of faith into the unknown territory of starting my own business. I did it for a lot of different reasons and in my heart I have never felt like it was a mistake. But it was nice to see that after several months of hard work, and of putting myself out there, that the universe was finally coming around to meet me halfway, and maybe in some way, telling me to stay the course.
After lunch, I got the e-mails about my new client’s payment for her sessions, and another one I couldn’t have expected. Her sister was having a job interview today and wanted to get some coaching to be ready. She asked if I could meet via phone with her at 2 pm today. I called her but got her voicemail, so I sent her an encouraging e-mail, in hopes that she would at get it before her interview and at least know I had tried to reach her. She called back shortly thereafter, and we talked for about half an hour before her interview. She later wrote me an e-mail thanking me for the talk and idicating she would like to schedule another meeting about possibly working with me long-term.
All these varied events reaffirmed for me the value in taking leaps of faith, and trusting that when you follow your heart, trust yourself and work hard, that good things will happen. Reading over the e-mail I sent her, I thought how applicable it is in relation to my own situation, as well as those of the many student affairs job seekers who are smack in the middle of their own searches right now, and trying to evaluate possibilities and choose the right next steps in their lives and careers.
I’ve adapted the e-mail below, and hope it will provide some needed encouragement and inspiration to anyone contemplating not only life and career changes, but the leaps of faith required to bring them to life.
Dear Job Seeker:
It looks like you have great experience. If we don’t get a chance to talk 1-on-1, here are some quick thoughts for you….Faith in yourself and your abilities brought you this far in your job search. Whether you are graduating and looking for that first job, or looking to make a step up, down or sideways on the career ladder, in your heart you know there is a reason, and you know it is good. Your work is good and the fact you have so many great examples to show is a testament to that fact. You don’t need to convince yourself you are successful enough to get your next job. You clearly are.
With most employers, experience is not as important as motivation, talent, and fit. You have the first two for sure. You worked hard to get through grad school, or to succeed in your current or last job. When you committed to this search, you had faith in yourself and felt some possibilities would emerge if you trusted yourself enough.
So you made it this far in some processes, and it wasn’t an accident. You took the leap, and so did they. Something must be working, because they invited you to interview. This doesn’t happen usually out of a sense of charity. If you aren’t good, or your style and temperament aren’t a good match, you don’t get invited to the next step.
Well, you got invited. Go in with faith enough to be yourself and if it is meant to be, fate will open the next door. It may be in the way of offering you the job you really want, or it could be in their faith at giving you a shot, even if they go with someone else. Inviting someone to interview for a position is an act of faith. Taking an interview is another one. If your mutual faith is well-founded, it will survive past the interview, and the next door will open when it is time.
Until then, believe in yourself, be yourself, and go kick that interview’s a** three ways from Sunday. Good luck with your search!
by Shannon Healy | Mar 22, 2010 | Job Search, The Placement Experience
Next!
I have an 0n-campus interview! Let the celebratory dance party start!
But also – I have an on-campus interview! Let the overwhelming fear and worry begin as well. This school is one of my top 3 choices, and I’m hoping it goes well. It’s also the only school I’ve heard back from so far, so I’m trying not to let that affect me too much. Lots of schools are still recovering from OPE, TPE, or NASPA. Some are now on spring break and some are attending ACPA. I fully admit that I stalked down the academic calendar for all the schools I interviewed with to find out when their spring break was and tried to infer anything I could from that. In summary: not so much. Still a waiting game.
But I will not let the fact that I haven’t heard anything lately discourage me. It will sit in the back of my mind bothering me, but I won’t let it get me down. Instead, I will celebrate this one small triumph in the job search process. It does feel good. I like that I have some positive news to post on here. Now it’s just preparing for that very big jump of 30 minute interview to 36 hours spent interviewing. Bit of a difference. I’ve attended an etiquette dinner twice, so I have an idea of how to eat a meal while interviewing. My cohort has had professional development sessions on what to do (and not to do) at an on-campus interview. I think I’ve been told all I can about it. I’m ready to jump in there and do it, while at the same time incredibly worried that I’ll jump in and realize I forgot how to swim.
The nice part is how supportive my cohort has been. There’s 24 of us all out there struggling for jobs right now, and it’s nice when people are truly excited when you call and tell them your good news. They’re willing to jump on furniture with you in celebration, or go for dessert and drown your sorrows when news comes back that isn’t so good. When so many of us are looking in the same region or at the same school or even same position, it’s nice that people are spreading good feelings and not getting overly competitive.
Off to dance while looking over campus brochures and job descriptions. I’ll keep you posted!
by Mickey Fitch | Mar 13, 2010 | Career Skills, Job Search, The Placement Experience
Occasionally on Higher Ed Career Coach, we need to take a break from our day in/day out professional lives and have a laugh about what we do (or should be doing). Join writer Mickey Fitch as she laughs and writes about the “lighter side” of working in student affairs.
At this point in the year, job search frenzy is at its peak, and all student affairs folks are abuzz with this placement exchange and that career conference.
(See Fig. 1 for a detailed explanation of the job search process.)
This is a really stressful time for year…for the searchers and the employers! But, it’s also a really fun time of year, and we forget that sometimes. So, in order to bring more fun to our lives, let’s share a few stories that might make you chuckle and also learn a few lessons.
(Click for enlarged image.)
Cherry Coke Makes Campus Interviews Easier. When I interviewed for my Hall Director position at Iowa State University, I was very excited about the new suit and shirts I had bought. I was also very excited about the possibility of working at ISU. My interview day was going great, and then we went to one of the dining centers for lunch. Feeling a little low on energy, I decided to have a few glasses of Cherry Coke to up the energy level a bit for the next round of interviews. My host and a few other Hall Directors walked me around and helped me get to the Coke machine. As I put my cup up to the machine and pushed the button, Cherry Coke blasted outward in every direction instead of into my cup. Turns out the dining staff had not put the cap on the end of the spout that helps form the stream into the cup. And there I was….with my brand new expensive suit, with my fancy shirt….covered in Cherry Coke. Luckily, two good things happened for me: 1) I was staying in an apartment on campus that was close to the dining center and 2) I had packed another shirt that matched my suit. As it were, I went back to my lunch, poked some jokes at myself and we all had a laugh about my Cherry Coke misfortune. With a few minutes extra over lunch (which always happens) I was able to run back to the apartment and get rid of my suit coat and stained shirt, and put on a fresh shirt. Not only did this give me a chance to show my “true colors” (i.e. my sense of humor) to my interviewers, but it allowed me a few quiet moments to gather my wits and get focused for the afternoon. Moral of that story: always bring two shirts…and a great sense of humor.
The Miss That Prefers Mister. We all know that when you’re writing cover letters to potential employers, that it helps to be very proper and address them to Mr. or Ms. Soandso. But what do you do when you don’t know the gender of the person to whom you are writing? Well, at the time I decided to just go with the gender of people I had known with the same name, which was female. A few weeks later I get told by one of my friends that this person is actually a man, not a woman. Fast forward a few weeks to the Oshkosh Placement Exchange (the big interviewing conference from residence life folks) and I am interviewing for all the graduate assistantships and grad schools I really wanted to get into. There I am, waiting in the lounge for my name to be called (insert clapping and cheering), and as I am walking back with my interviewer, he introduces himself. As the person I wrote the letter to….the person whom I referred to as Ms. Potential Employer. Being the honest and humble person I am, I apologize profusely about the gender mistake in my cover letter. We both turn red and have a little chuckle over it, but I am thinking that this mistake cost me the opportunity to go to my #1 graduate school. Well, how did it turn out? One year later when I was not only attending that school and working in that department, I was asked to be on the graduate staff search committee…and I made the recommendation that we have the “big boss” put Mr. in front of his name. Guess little mistakes are good things to laugh at…and learn from.
Emergencies Happen. A friend of mine was at a on campus interview for a high level position a year ago. He was really nervous, but also really excited, at the possibilities that lie within this university and job. As anyone who has done a mid or senior level search knows, typically some type of “open campus presentation” occurs through your interview day. Sometimes you know the topic beforehand and are able to prepare a detailed presentation, sometimes you are given the topic just hours beforehand. In his case, he was given the topic a week prior and was really jazzed about it because it was an area of expertise for him. He had handouts, a powerpoint presentation, and some YouTube videos with interactive elements. He was determined that his half-hour presentation was going to knock the socks off his interviewers and would be the icing on the cake for them to hire him. About ten minutes into his presentation, the fire alarm in the building he was presenting in went off. Completely thrown off, he evacuated the building with everyone else. Unfortunately, the alarm could not be silenced despite it being a false alarm. Being a warm day outside, the head of the interview group asked him if he would be able to continue the presentation outside away from the building. He did, and he made quite the impression: his impromptu presentation away from his computer/handouts/videos landed him the job just two hours after leaving campus! Moral of that story: emergencies happen. You can’t plan for them, but you can prepare for the worst. Know your material, and know yourself and you will do just fine.
Karaoke Brought Us Together!
Karaoke Helps Get You Jobs. A few years ago I attended the Oshkosh Placement Exchange again, this time as an interviewer for the second time. As an employer, life at OPE is much more relaxed and fun. One night, a few colleagues and I decided to meet up at one of the local establishments that was known for its great karaoke nights. With Oshkosh, Wisconsin being the somewhat smaller town that it is, the bar was overrun with employers catching up and some brave candidates out for a relaxing brew. There were a few candidates there that it seemed “everyone” was really interested in, and one of those candidates just happened to be getting up on the stage every few songs to sing. I was impressed: not only was a candidate seeming very relaxed, having a few drinks, but also was nailing every song he sang. That next night, Karaoke Guy was swarmed by employers at the socials and I had heard that he had been offered several on campus visits right then and there at OPE. Moral of that story: Be yourself….always. In student affairs, we are hiring for not just a job, but a lifestyle. Showing your true colors helps employers see who they are getting as a whole package.
Have a great job searching story that makes you laugh, cringe, cry, or do all of the above? I’d love to hear it, please leave a comment below! And check back often for more “On the Lighter Side”!
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.
by sean@higheredcareercoach.com | Mar 11, 2010 | Book Reviews, Career Skills
For the most part, pending and recent graduates do not know how to search for a job.
There’s a strong need for quick, easy-to-digest information about entry-level job searching.
So @heatherhuhman wrote ‘#ENTRYLEVELtweet’ to fulfill that need.
I wish I could say I was creative enough to have come up with the comments above, all of which are under 140 characters. But I am not.
Heather Huhman, however, is. And she’s created a simple, effective book, chock full of job search advice for the Twitter generation, all delivered in snippets of 140 characters or less.
Readers will easily digest the practical wisdom doled out in the book, on subjects including identifying your “unique you,” developing career tools, networking, applying for internships and entry-level jobs, accepting and rejecting offers, and succeeding on the job.
Huhman, Founder and President of Come Recommended, is an expert on helping students and recent college graduates pursue their dream careers. Besides her website, she has nearly 9,000 followers on Twitter, is a career expert for the CAREEREALISM Twitter Advice Project, the job search expert for Campus Calm, a contributor to One Day, One Job, One Day, One Internship, Intern Advocate and Personal Branding Blog and author of the e-books Relocating for an Entry-Level Job: Why You Probably Have to & How to Do It (2010) and Gen Y Meets the Workforce: Launching Your Career During Economic Uncertainty (2008).
My favorite tweet: Individuals in your life love you dearly and give you advice with the best intentions. But they’re probably wrong.
#EntryLevelTweet is powerful in its simplicity, and makes for an easy read. It would also make a great gift for upcoming graduates and entry level job seekers you know.
by Shannon Healy | Mar 7, 2010 | Job Search, The Placement Experience
Placement is Over...Now the Waiting Begins. Woo-hoo.
OPE and TPE are now done. While it’s incredibly nice to be done with placement conferences, I can’t help but feel a bit antsy about what happens next.
Up until now, my job search has been completely under my own control. I decided which schools I would send interest letters to, which interviews I would accept and when to schedule them, what to say in interviews and thank you notes. Everything was up to me. Now that interviews and socials and thank you notes are all said and done, it’s up to the school and the interview team to decide if they want to bring me to the next step.
This scares me. There’s nothing else I can really do outside of preparing for second interviews, or hopefully an on-campus interview. It’s just sitting and waiting. The ball is in their court, and that makes me nervous. I know I should take this time to relax (and do my thesis), but it’s hard not to go over each interaction over and over again in my head to decide what I should have done differently.
The thing I’m needing to work on now is phone interviews. During a couple of interviews the school mentioned doing interviews over the phone before bringing anyone on campus as a way to save money. I hate the phone. I’m not that great on it, because you can never tell how the interviewer is feeling about things. Are they slightly smiling and nodding and seemingly interested in what you’re saying? Are they frowning and shaking their head “no” and glancing at the clock? On the phone you can’t tell if they’ve already written “no way” on your application and picked up the latest People Magazine crossword puzzle.
Some people have heard my horrible phone interview story from last year when I did interviews for my summer practicum. I talk with my hands, and got very excited during one story and accidentally threw the phone across the room, where it hit the floor and hung up. Completely mortified, I called back and profusely apologized. Thankfully the interviewer just laughed and said the next question was about how I deal with unexpected complications on the job. This is still not a situation I’d like to repeat, however.
So now I’m taking some time to travel the Midwest on my Lake Michigan Circle Tour and get my mind off interviews and job placement and things. I’m fairly confident I’ll get a job – I’ve done well in my classes, have a strong resume, and have (what I think is a) fun personality. It’s just this time in between step one and step two that is probably going to drive me crazy.
