The Student Affairs Job Hunt

Candidate #0000 - The END

2006-06-16T22:38:00.000-04:00

Wow, I can't believe this will be my last entry in this blog. I feel like I have to say something really smart...monumental...one of those amazing "final thoughts" that will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Ummmmm....

Yeah, that's just not gonna happen.

So let me just say this:
I really enjoyed writing this blog. It helped being able to reflect on what was going on in my life...putting my thoughts out there...sharing the highs and the lows...and just putting into words what was going on in my head and my heart. I'm honestly going to miss this blog. :(

I'm not going to miss the job search though. Let me tell you, it's definitely been an emotional rollercoaster and I'm glad it's over!!!

Job searching...

...is one of those "once-in-a-lifetime" experiences (just that you know you'll have to go through it again some day...but hopefully it won't be as bad because you'll have more experience and usually won't be as pressured to find a job)

...means that your self-confidence will take a beating. There's just no way around it. Keep your head up and remember: there's a light at the end of the tunnel (as cheesy as that sounds, but seriously, you'll make it through). And remember, you only need one offer - the right offer.

...is not a competition, even though some people will try to make it one. Don't let them drag you into this comparing who has more interviews at conference, who had more on-campus interviews, etc. Job searching is one third luck, one third experience and qualifications and one third coincidence. Some people will find a job early; others won't. It doesn't mean that one of them is more qualified. It also doesn't mean that one of them will get the better job. It just means that one of them was in the right place at the right time.

...is about finding A job, not necessarily the perfect job. Don't get stuck on what you think your dream job, dream location, dream institution is...this will be your first job. You'll have many more chances to get to that "ideal position and institution." Keep re-evaluating your priorities...and maybe you'll end up somewhere totally different and be much happier about it.

Last but not least, THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading this blog. Thank you for all the supportive comments. It has meant a lot more to me than you'll ever know. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Good luck to all of those out there, who are still going through the job search. You can do it! Believe in yourself!

Okay, this is really it...
THE END

Candidate #0000 signing off. ;)

Now Hiring?-Post 30

2006-06-16T15:43:00.000-04:00

Post 30 from Now Hiring?

On my 24 inch Television: "Star Trek: The Next Generation"

It's a hot, sticky day out here in my land today. My major task was to go to work, dance and toss a kickball around with my colleagues' son, and finish up some last minute grading for my class (that ended over a month ago, for cryin' out loud). Other than that, I've been packing up my apartment. In fact, my girlfriend has been helping me pack...help in the sense that the constantly tells me "you have too much stuff" and "you don't know how to pack", yet neglecting the fact I'm an Air Force kid and I've had to pack up and move a time or two.

It felt a little weird to come into my office for the last time and clean off my desk. Part of me felt like I was getting fired and ordered to clean everything off. But, since I knew better, it felt kind of bittersweet to clean everything up and see my desk completely spotless. For the past two years, I sat there, fussed at students for the stupid things they did, laughed with my colleagues, did my fair share of homework there. There were a lot of good memories there at my desk, and though I know I must move on, there will be some hard feelings leaving an environment that was so comfortable and where I grew so much.

Well, since this the last blog entry, I want to share that it has been a joy and pleasure to do this weekly and share what was going on in my boring life. It was also great to hear feedback from others who were experiencing some of the same feelings and had many of the same questions I had. Finally, to all of you either still searching or got that "perfect" gig...keep your head up and remember to trust your gut. If we all do that, then we'll all be successful and our students will greatly benefit.

Peace,
Now Hiring?

Now Hiring?-Post 29

2006-06-15T12:10:00.000-04:00

Post 29 from Now Hiring?

On the Tube: "The First 48"

Well, I must tell you that I've had a question brewing in my mind for the past week or so. It had been keeping me awake at night and made me nervous. At times, my palms would sweat and I would pace around my apartment. I was a wreck; should I ask the question or just let it go? Should I not let it bother me or treat it as an important decision.

Last night, I decided to be a man and take a chance.

I popped the question.

Yeah, I did it. I was nervous, but it felt good to get it off my shoulders. So, the answer is...

Digital cable over standard cable.

You thought I was getting married or something? I had you going there for a minute, didn't I? Please, I'm focused on making my move next week, so I had been wondering whether to go with standard cable or splurge and get all 25 HBO channels. Since that momentous decision is done, maybe I'll ask my girlfriend to be my wife.

Other than that, I've bounced into my office a couple of times to say hello and clean off my desk. I've been asked questions about grading for my class, and I've given the standard "I ain't workin' here no more!" answer...only to actually try and resolve the situation (I guess my standard answer needs more work).

Okay, I've got to keep packing. I've got so much crap to box up...it's gonna take me a while.

(Many thanks to my main man Johnathan Sprinkles and his "5 Minute Motivator" for the inspiration for this entry).

Candidate #0000 - Post 34

2006-06-13T23:40:00.000-04:00

33 days until I start my new job

The things you find when you start cleaning/packing…

I came across one of my old diaries. I only wrote in it during my last month as an undergraduate and then there is this one random entry from last summer. Wow, that brought back memories.

The entry from last summer is probably the funniest one. I wrote it the day after the sixth Harry Potter book came out. I had just finished the book and was totally freaking out about what would happen to Harry in Book 7. So the entire entry is one crazy theory after the other interrupted by little rants on how it is summer and I should be working less and hanging out with friends more.

This summer isn’t shaping up to be much different. I’m rereading Harry Potter 6. I’m still working too much. But I am finding a little more time to hang out with friends though…partially because I’m starting to panic about saying goodbye to everyone and am constantly questioning whether or not I will be able to stay in touch with people after I leave here.

You’d think that someone like me – who spent every vacation traveling, was an exchange student in high school and moved to another continent for college – would be used to moving and saying goodbye to people. But I’m not. And I feel like, with every move it becomes harder. The truth is, I’m scared. I’m scared of leaving my friends and losing touch with them. I was lucky that my three best friends from high school in Austria have been absolutely amazing about staying in touch. I may only see them every other year, but we e-mail back and forth and whenever I see them, it feels like we’ve never been apart. They even came to visit me in the US last summer. After high school, my luck must have run out though. Even though I only moved two and a half hours away from my undergraduate after graduation, I rarely talk to any of my friends from there. And not a single one has come to visit me. Granted, two of my friends were in the Peace Corps in Africa…and of course it had to be the two that would have come to visit me. But everyone else…

Yeah, I am bitter and very very disappointed. And I can’t help but wonder if the same thing will happen again after grad school. I keep telling myself that it won’t. Because even though we’ll all be much further apart, we’re all in Student Affairs. We have a lot more in common than my undergrad friends and I do. And there’ll probably be reunions at national conferences. But I can’t stop worrying sometimes.

Candidate #0000 - Post 33

2006-06-13T01:12:00.000-04:00

33 days until I start my new job

Last person I talked to on the phone:
One of my best friends from undergrad, who has just returned to the US after 2 1/2 years in the Peace Corps

Biggest accomplishment of the day:
Deleting lots of people I haven’t talked to in years from my AIM Buddy List.

My apartment is a total mess right now. You can’t even walk from the door to the bedroom without tripping over at least two or three stacks of paper that are spread out on the living room floor. I wanted to do one of my “dance workout” videos tonight, but there is no way I can find enough space to even stand in my living room with few of the TV…let’s not even talk about moving around. I guess I’ll just have to go running again tonight. That means I have to drive back to the center of campus though because it’s getting very late and it’s way too dark around my complex to go running at night.

But before I jump into my car, let me explain first why there’s such a mess in my living room: No, I haven’t suddenly turned into a total slob, although if you hear my mom or grandma talking about me you’d think I was one. No, but seriously, I’m actually attempting to organize all my class notes and various other documents, articles and handouts that I’ve collected over the past two years. But I get this organizing thing isn’t as easy as it sounds…it’s definitely getting worse before it’ll get better.

I can’t believe how many random notes and articles I’ve collected in just two years of graduate school. I have two huge binders filled material from classes, plus a third binder just for this year-long assessment class I had. And that’s not even including any of the materials from my two practicums and the graduate assistantship.

Most of my friends told me that they’ve thrown a lot of articles out because they figure they’ll be able to find them online if they ever need them again. But I just can’t do that. I always think, “What if….” Like maybe one day I’ll be in charge of RA training and then I’ll be happy if I have a couple old RA training schedules from various schools that I can base my training off. You just never know. The only thing I know is that I’ll regret this attitude once I start packing things into boxes.

Oh, I have another confession to make. I finally gave in to MySpace. I’ve been on Facebook for the past two years, but I always said that I wouldn’t get sucked into another one of these sites. Well, a couple of my friends who graduated before “Facebook” became the “thing to do” aren’t on it but are on MySpace and they’ve been bugging me for months to set up a profile. I guess, they finally won. But don’t worry, I’ll be extremely careful what I’ll put on there.

Candidate #0000 - Post 31

2006-06-09T23:12:00.000-04:00

37 days until I start my new job

My AIM Away Message: “Five days ago I died. After that, things got really weird...”
– Liz Parker, Roswell

Sound in my apartment: The guy from upstairs snoring. (Can you believe it? This guy snores so loud that I can hear him in my apartment! It’s been driving me insane. But the second I turn on music to tune out his snoring, he and his wife complain that I’m keeping them up. Grrrrrrrrr….)

My summer plans are finally starting to take shape. This weekend will be dedicated to some packing…particularly going through old classnotes and sorting through all the material I have received at work throughout the past two years.
Next weekend (June 16th) , I’m going to Maine to visit a friend…and just to go to Maine because I’ve never been there. Then, I’m hoping to visit another friend the following weekend (June 23rd) for one night, stop by another friend’s place on the way back and attend a party that evening. And then I may take a day off work to pick up one of my friends (she doesn’t have car) and bring her back here. We’ll hang out for a few days and on the weekend or the latest on July 4th, I’ll drive her back home. And the following weekend (July 7th) will be my last day at work and my last weekend here, so I’m sure I’ll be busy packing. And then on Tuesday, I’ll be handing in my keys and moving half-way across the country to a new job, a new life. :)

It’s crazy trying to make plans for this last month. There’s so much I still want to do, so many people I want to see before I leave. At graduation, it felt like I’d have an eternity before leaving for my new job…now it’s just 30 days and when you’re thinking about it in terms of weekends, there’s barely any time left.

Now Hiring?-Post 28

2006-06-09T15:22:00.000-04:00

Post 28 from Now Hiring?

How I'm Feeling: My tummy hurts...
What's Blastin: Tom Browne "Funkin' for Jamaica"

Well, it's time for another blog entry. I haven't been feeling well for the past couple of days due to some stomach problems (for you and I, the gory details will definitely be spared). There have been some periods of excitement this past week, and long points of absolute bordeom. I'll highlight the exciting times for ya...

1. I actually stepped into my old office this week to chat and clean off my desk. I saw some friends that are working for our office's summer programs. Since I have worked with the same program for the past couple of years, I offered my assistance if they needed. Plus, one of my friends brought her 16 month old son, so he and I were dancing in the hallway as our secretary got a good laugh out of us. Fun times once again.

2. I got pictures of my nephew in an e-mail. He's already 10 pounds and only 9 weeks old. Pretty soon he'll be eating a rack of ribs, jamming to The Roots with his uncle and driving my old Chevy Blazer trying to pick up women at the local mall. While that may be a strecth, I'm looking forward to seeing the little turd whenever I can. Plus, my little niece called and wanted to say hello. I distinctly the last time I saw her, when she and I were eating banana popsicles while watching Dora the Explorer, and she and I would knock popscicles like they were glasses and say "cheers!". I miss those two with everything I got.

3. I got an apartment in my new town of residence. I had to survive a credit check (which I knew I passed; they did it on a computer and got my results with 5 seconds) and a background check. I knew I wouldn't have any trouble with my background check, because my only contact with law enforcement was when I dialed 911 and hung up...when I was 5. Once I got the phone call saying everything was cool, I was pretty relieved. It's a nice 1 bedroom apartment with a spacious living and dining room, but the bedroom is pretty small. Plus, it has covered parking with a free car wash bay, so I can keep my sparkling car shiny and relatively new-looking. Plus, there's shopping, entertainment, and restaurants (yep, there's a White Castle across the street) nearby. And, it's only a 10 minute drive away from campus. I'm glad that part of the move was taken care of...now it's a matter of packing everything up here and moving it there.

Well, Dr. Phil is about to come on TV, so I must cut this short. I'll catch you later. Peace!

Candidate #0000 - Post 31

2006-06-07T10:21:00.000-04:00

39 days until I start my new job

Quote of the Day:“It is our choices that show who we truly are far more than our abilities.”
– Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter

It’s Wednesday, 10 a.m., and I should probably be at work. I have lots of stuff to do today. But for some reason, I’m having a slow start today and right now, I just feel like writing. ;)

I went to bed early last night – earlier than I have in months – with the intention of getting up early this morning to go running or do one of those exercise tapes before going to work. But when my alarm rang, I just turned it off and rolled over on the other side.

I haven’t been very successful at achieving my goals for the summer. I was doing really well in the beginning and then I just kind of fell off the wagon. Now, I’m back to exercising sporadically; while I have lots of new Student Affairs literature that I purchased, I haven’t read much of it yet; and I’m still addicted to caffeine. The only thing I’ve been doing well at is the leasure reading and I’ve once again made it through Harry Potter 1-5 and have just started the sixth book. Can the seventh book come out soon PLEASE? I can’t wait!!!

I called one of my friends yesterday. She was in the Peace Corps for the past two and a half years. We’ve been writing letters back and forth and the occassional e-mail when she’d get near a computer, but it’s been two and a half years since we talked to each other. It was very surreal talking to her again. Part of me felt like she’d never been gone and it was just yesterday that we were hanging out in the basement of her residence hall (we were both Resident Assistants) laughing and having fun. But then again, it felt like an eternity since the last time that we’d talked. I can’t really believe that she’s back…at least not until I actually see her.
My other friend, who was also in the Peace Corps, is supposed to be coming back this week and I’m not sure when and at what phone number I could reach her once she’s back, so I’m waiting anxiously for my phone to ring. As soon as she’s settled in a little, we’ll have to have a reunion or something.

These past few weeks have been strange. Some days, it’s just business-as-usual. I mean, I’m still working for ResLife here; the only thing that’s changed in my life is that I don’t have to run to classes after work and there’s no more late-night studying. But in that sense, it just feels like another summer, not THE summer before the rest of my life as a professional Student Affairs administrator.

One after the other the graduate students from my program are leaving. We just had another dinner last night to say goodbye to one of them, who’s moving tomorrow. It’s so surreal (I think “surreal” is the word of the day). You stand there and you say goodbye and your brain is telling you that you probably won’t see this person in years, but your heart isn’t able to comprehend that and you shrug it off and think, “I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.” SURREAL!

Okay, I really need to get to work now. Talk to you later!

Now Hiring?-Post 27

2006-05-30T23:26:00.000-04:00

Post 27 from Now Hiring?

The Tunes on iTunes: The Isley Brothers "Just Came Here to Chill"

Another late night watching the 10:00 news, another blog entry. Sorry to make this seem boring, but it's a quiet night around here. I just watched "Rescue Me" on FX and my girlfriend is studying for a test she has in a couple of days. My mind has been running around in circles about a couple of things, and since I don't want to drive myself crazy I'll share them with you:

1. Since I start working in a couple of weeks (June 30 to be exact), I'm starting to worry whether I can handle the task of working full-time at my new school. I remember all the lectures I got about being a "new professional" and always saying "hell, I put man on the moon...I can handle this". But now, putting man on the moon sounds a whole lot easier. I was extremely confident about being the best professional when I interviewed there (duh dude...you wanted the gig, so you had to show you were professional), and I felt really confident until a couple of weeks ago. I guess reality is setting in, and in a couple of weeks I'll be working for real, making real money, and making important decisions.

2. Even though my contract at my assistantship ended, my students are still getting on my mind. For the class I teach, I required 4 out of 7 e-mail reaction opportunities to be turned in by the end of the course to recieve a passing grade. A vast majority of my students completed their work on time, but a few didn't. And those few decided (not asked, but decided themselves) to turn in the work a few weeks after grades were due and declared they passed. Well, one tried to tell me that someone in my office told her to turn in the work and she'd be fine...but the only secretary in the office didn't even talk to her (since she has first contact with everybody). So, this vacation I've been in meetings to try to resolve the grading situation and communicate to the students that since they didn't do the work, they don't deserve the passing grade. It reminded me that they're trying to learn even when they try to get slick with me.

Okay, Robot Chicken is coming on...I'll catch you later.

Now Hiring?-Post 26

2006-05-29T09:20:00.000-04:00

Post 26 from Now Hiring?

On the tube: "Honey We're Killing the Kids!"

Let me tell you that I am extremely tired from this weekend's journeys. I've been out on business and experienced some pleasure from my travels. But, I'm hungry and got some Dunkin' Donuts coffee waiting for me, so I'll make this quick (and possibly very student affairs related). Plus, I've got to get on the road again to visit my baby niece.

SATURDAY (in the park...I think it was the 4th of July!): I went to my new city to apartment hunt. I found a couple of places that looked pretty nice (in my thinking, if it doesn't have roaches, then it's fine). The first place I looked at was relatively nice, and had a nice view of a large park adjacent to the complex. I went to the second place, and it was fantastic. It had a large bay window in the living room, a nice sized dining room, and an underground parking lot with free! car wash bay. But, I had to put a lot of money down to get it, and I'm not sure if it's the joint I want to lay my head down in. And, it's only a 10 minute commute from work. I went to a third place...and that was an adventure. It featured two guys trying to get a referral prize of $250 for a friend (that didn't live in the apartment complex), an angry woman wanting to get a guy out of the pool because he was splashing everyone, 5 questions about fishing permits, and the cops. Yeah, I don't know if I'll live there.

SUNDAY: I started some planning and saving money for the 2007 Joint Meeting in Orlando (I've got family close there, so I'm super excited). Then my girlfriend and I went to visit my grandmother who returned from the hospital. She had some surgery to correct some problems and had a bunch of tests ran on her, but she's feeling much better. Being the great grandson I am, I even made her dinner and did some laundry (you may commence the "awwws" and "that's so sweet" now). It was good to see her and do a good deed.

Well, the coffee's made and my niece is probably wondering where her uncle is. I'll catch you later. Peace!

Candidate #0000 - Post 30

2006-05-27T23:02:00.000-04:00

50 days until I start my new job

Movie I just watched:
Cadet Kelly (Yes, I’m addicted to the Disney Channel. I’m not ashamed to admit it…well, the fact that this blog is anonymous does make it a little easier…haha.)

It’s been one of these days.

The Hungarian Dance from Antonin Dvorak, the ring type of my cell phone, sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet apartment. I woke up with a start. I threw back the blanket and tried to get up to reach my cell phone that was lying on my dresser across the room. My foot got caught in the blanket and I fell. My glasses went flying – why were they still on my head? I must have fallen asleep again while reading with my glasses still on – and I almost slipped on the book that was lying on the floor – yet more evidence that I must have passed out while attempting to read.
I grabbed the phone and looked what number it was. The Duty Phone. I looked at my watch: 10 a.m. Okay, not really early but on a Saturday!!!

It was one of my student staff members, telling me that building 12 had no hot water and that she’d been unable to get in touch with Emergency Maintenance. I told her to keep trying the phone number for another 15 minutes – sometimes they just step out for a second and then nobody’s answering the phone – and if she wasn’t able to get in touch with them after 15 minutes to give me another call and I would call the Complex Manager.

My head had started to hurt. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. I stared in the morning. What was I going to do today? I had nothing planned. There was really no rush in getting out of bed.

With a sigh, I went back to my bedroom and crawled into bed. I had just closed my eyes and was about to float off into dreamland when the familiar sounds of the Hungarian Dance interrupted my thoughts. With a groan, I got up again.

It was my staff member, just telling me that she had gotten a hold of Emergency Maintenance now.

Now I wasn’t able to fall asleep anymore. I grabbed the book I’d been reading last night, “Beginning Your Journey” and continued reading. After I finished the book, I decided it was time to get up and have some breakfast.

I spent the rest of the day reading – switching back and forth between Student Affairs literature and Harry Potter – and walking back and forth between the couch in my living room and my bed being unable to get really uncomfortable in either location. My head continued to throb.

I definitely handle late-night incidents better than early morning phone calls. At night, I’m usually still awake. Or even if I am woken up in the middle of the night, it doesn’t seem to screw up my entire day. Being woken up early in the morning on the other day (or at least what I consider early)…I’m just not a morning person.

Later today, I realized that I was probably having a headache all day because I hadn’t had any caffeine. I’ve been trying to slowly cut down on my caffeine-intake (I’ve become way too addicted to soda) and today had been the first day in a few months that I didn’t have any.

After that realization, things turned around for me. I went running on campus and even though I was absolutely exhausted afterwards, it felt good. I read an article by Baxter Magolda on active learning and got inspired. I kept thinking about the article and finally sat down and came up with a new community building plan that I want my staff to try this summer – it probably won’t all happen until after I leave, but I’m sure I’ll find out how it went. And it’s all about leaving a legacy, right?

Now I’m going to eat an apple – trying to eat healthy – and then I will continue reading Harry Potter for a little while. But I’m going to make sure that I’ll take my glasses off and turn the light off before I fall asleep.

Let’s just hope no phone call wakes me up tomorrow morning!

Now Hiring?-Post 25

2006-05-25T21:11:00.000-04:00

Post 25 from Now Hiring?

The Tunes: Curtis Mayfield "Move On Up"

Well, this man is back from his "vacation" home. I went back to work a couple of days ago, and it's been hard to get back into the groove of doing...work. I'll admit, there have been times where my concentration has lapsed and I've lacked motivation. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to spend my first week after graduation laying on the couch watching Jerry Springer all day. But, tomorrow is my last official day at work. I've been employed at that office for many years, and I've seen a lot of good times and been through some rough periods. But, come tomorrow, there will be some sadness to leave a place I've been for a long time, and finally leave people with whom I've made some great relationships with.

On that note, I've got some good news. Two of my friends got jobs! They had been looking but found the positions they had really wanted. It's kind of surreal that everyone I know is moving to opposite parts of the country and doing some pretty cool things after seeing everybody every day for 2 straight years. At the time, I didn't appreciate seeing all my cohort members together, but now the student affairs-sentimental apprecation for those times is starting to get to me. Ugh, before I was a steely engineer that didn't cry nor show emotion, and now I'm getting sentimental.

Well, I'm off to my new place of livin' to do some apartment shopping. I'll let you know how that goes.

Candidate #0000 - Post 29

2006-05-23T23:16:00.000-04:00

54 days until I start my new job

Song I’m singing right now (yes, I can sing and write at the same time…I’m a woman…women are good at multitasking!): “Anywhere But Here” – Hilary Duff

Student Affairs book I’m currently reading:“Beginning Your Journey: A Guide for New Professionals in Student Affairs” by M. J. Amy and L. M. Reesor (Eds.)

“You’re not a grad student anymore. You’re a professional now.”
This has become my supervisor’s favorite new saying.

I’m definitely not used to thinking of myself as a professional yet. But I have made some progress in regards to “having a life” again. At least, I’ve come up with some goals for the summer. Here they are:

1. Doing some “leisure” Student Affairs reading. I’ve started with “Beginning Your Journey.” I also, just last night, purchased $100-worth of Student Affairs books, mainly ones for working in residence halls and working with student groups. I figured it never hurts to expand my Student Affairs library a little. And now, that it’s the summer, I may actually find some time to read.

2. Getting in shape. I’m not into working out or going to the gym and all that stuff. I used to be in pretty good shape when I was younger because my parents would take me on hiking tours on the weekend or we’d go skiing in the winter, swimming in the summer, etc. But in these past few years, workaholic me hasn’t really done much. So the goal for the summer is to actually utilize some of these Dance Aerobics tapes I bought months ago or go running once in a while.

3. Saying my goodbyes. I’ll be moving 13 hours away from most of my friends in just a few weeks. After undergraduate, I only moved 2 1/2 hours away, but I still lost touch with many of my friends…and rarely saw any of them. I don’t even want to think about what it’ll be like with 13 hours. And besides, I don’t really want to spend my weekends sitting in my apartment doing nothing, so it’s definitely time for some roadtrips and visits.

4. Treating myself to some fun things. I think tomorrow night, I’ll take myself out on a date. Just to explain: I’ve been single for a VERY long time, so a few years ago, I decided that just because I’m not seeing anyone, doesn’t mean that I have to miss out on fun dating activities. So once in a while, I take myself out to dinner (yes, it takes some getting used to, but if you go to a low-key restaurant and bring a good book, eating by yourself can actually be very nice) and a movie (again, it just takes some practice and soon you’ll stop feeling weird about going by yourself). And if I really want to spoil myself, I’ll stop for some ice cream on the way back.

Now Hiring?-Post 24

2006-05-19T14:40:00.000-04:00

Post 24 from Now Hiring?

On TV: VH1 Soul
Mood: Hot as hell

Well, greetings from hot, steamy central Florida, home of yellow grits, 13 feet long gators and conk peas! I've been down here for the past couple of days visiting family. Plus, my younger cousin is graduating high school today (If you wanna guess where she went to high school, one girl from "My Super Sweet Sixteen" is from this city and went to her high school). For the most part, everyone is pretty reserved. At first, I thought I spoiled the graduation festivities by everyone coming to all my ceremonies, but then the weather man said it will be around 95 degrees today, and the ceremony is at 7 p.m. tonight...outdoors.

For most of the day I was hanging out with family, chatting and joking around with members I haven't seen in a long time. I saw my auntie and uncle that own a watermelon and cucumber farm, and gave me a watermelon for a graduation gift (one I will enjoy tonight after dinner). Seeing all the family today made me feel good about all my accomplishments and seeing that all their hard work (i.e. fussing, cursing, lecturing) has come to some good results. They were all really happy that I got work ("any time a man's got work is a good thang" my uncle said), and it made me really proud that I can carry the family name and represent them well.

Well, the food's just about done, and there's a banana popsicle with my name on it. Catch ya'll next week.

Candidate #0000 - Post 28

2006-05-18T00:55:00.000-04:00

60 days until I start my new job

Song being blasted way too loud on my stereo right now:
“Because Of You” – Kelly Clarkson

Last Student Development Theory I thought about:
Schlossberg’s Transition Theory
(Okay, so I may be a nerd, but even I don’t sit around in my apartment and think about Student Development Theory on a daily basis - even though I catch myself watching movies or TV shows and analyzing the characters’ development or questioning how realistic certain situations are based on recent legal trends - but I swear I only thought about Schlossberg because a friend asked me a question about it.)

I can’t believe that I won’t be taking classes next fall. For 18 out of the 24 years of my life, I have been a student. I’m so used to coming home in the evening, grabbing a book for class and reading until I pass out. I’m used to spending hours and hours in front of the computer writing and rewriting a paper. I have To-Do Lists and a calendar of upcoming exams and due dates posted on my refrigerator.

It hasn’t really sunk in yet that I won’t be a student next fall. I mean, technically I know that I’m done with school - at least for a while, even though that PhD may be in my future somewhere – but somehow I can’t phantom what life will be like as a non-student. What do you do when you don’t have to study at night?

I know I’m going into a field where not having enough work is never a problem, but I highly doubt it will be as crazy as these past two years have been (partially due to my own doing as I just never say no and always try to do everything…yes, I know I have to work on that). Just in the past few days since graduation, I’ve suddenly had all this free time and no idea what to do with myself. Let’s take today for example: I stayed at work late because I was trying to take care of some things (bad habit, I know…I keep telling our secretary to go home because the work will still be there the next day, but I never do it myself). I got home around 7 p.m. I walked into my apartment, looked around, didn’t know what to do, finally decided to grab some flyers and post them in my area. Then I got back into the apartment again, still didn’t know what to do. I figured I should eat dinner, so I did that while watching a little TV. I don’t like the fact that I watch so much TV though. I mean, there should be something more productive a person can do. Around 11 p.m., I finally decided to go running. So I did that, then took a shower and now I’m IMing friends and writing this post. But I really need to figure out what to do with myself again. I used to have a lot of hobbies when I was younger: anything from horseback riding to dancing to skiing to reading to attempting to write my own stories to traveling and and. But for these past two years, I was either at work, studying or too exhausted to do anything.

So here’s my personal goal for this summer: FIGURE OUT HOW TO HAVE A LIFE AGAIN!

Now Hiring?-Post 23

2006-05-15T19:57:00.000-04:00

Post 23 from Now Hiring?

On TV: Orioles vs. Red Sox on ESPN

Well, I'm back home for a week long "vacation". I just got in, and I am suffering from jet lag. The trip was uneventful, however a little bumpy getting in. Let's just say my cup of ginger ale had waves up to 2-3 feet.

But...I got to see my baby nephew. He is even more cuter in person than in all the pictures I got in the mail. I got to hold him and watch him squirm as he laid on the couch. All the time I was with him, I was in student affairs professional (or S.A.P.) with him. As soon as I had him in my arms, I was giving him valuable advice on what situations to not get into. On the plane ride here, I was thinking about what I would say to him, and how the past engineer-self and the new S.A.P. would approach the first ever uncle-nephew chat...

ENGINEER: "Um...okay...well, you're my nephew, and there are some things we need to talk about. First I want you to learn the word 'calculus'...because you're gonna start learning it soon. Also, I'll be around to help you learn structural dynamics, chemical food processes, and advanced aerodynamics. Remember, engineers run the world, and make a damn good living too! Well, since you're awake, let's begin learning your multiplication tables..."

S.A.P.: "Welcome to your first chat with your nephew. First off, I am here to help you. I am open, ready, and willing to hear your needs. Second, I will always be your ally. If there's something I can't help you with, then I'll find your dad or grandfather to help. Feel like an icebreaker...no?...well then, let's start my first lesson...roomate conflicts. One of these days, you'll have a sibling, and you might have to share a living space with them. One way to avoid this is to remember to be open and willing to learn from your sister or brother's experiences."

The chat didn't go that way, but it was good to connect. Next time we talk, I'll get him started on Kegan and Chickering. I'm all about getting him into the student affairs family already...

Candidate #0000 - Post 27

2006-05-14T22:38:00.000-04:00

63 days until a new life

[Continued from Post 26]

And we’re getting into our time machine again…
The first of my two on-campus interviews had gone alright…better than alright, I had a job offer and even though this hadn’t been my top choice, I could see myself being okay there.

But when it was time to leave for my second on-campus interview, I was a nervous wreck again. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure if that other school was the right place for me. Every fiber in my being told me that this school that I would be interviewing with the next day was the perfect fit for me. I tried really hard not to let myself think that, because it only made me more nervous. I was putting way too much pressure on myself. What if this didn’t work out? I had to be realistic. I couldn’t get my hopes up before I got an offer. I couldn’t allow myself to fall in love.

But how do you stop yourself from falling in love? I have never been able to do that. With every minute I spent on that campus, I liked it more. I could see myself enjoying my job, was excited about the opportunities I would have, and was just in general very impressed by the department. I also saw myself fitting in with the staff, working with likeminded people who were passionate about what they did.
I probably enjoyed the conversation with the director most. He talked about the values of the department and many of them echoed exactly what I value and believe in.

I felt like I had finally found what I was looking for. Granted, the school isn’t in the location I had originally been hoping to move to, but it had everything else that I was looking for in an institution and a new job: a clear emphasis on bridging the gap between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs, a student-centered approach to Residential Life, opportunities for positive interactions with students, and a focus on learning for students, student leaders and staff.

You can probably imagine how nervous I was when I left from the on-campus interview. I had asked about their timeline, explaining that I had another job offer, and was told that it’d take about one week. If the search committee liked me, I would still need to do a phone interview with the faculty member of the learning community that I’d be working with. But after that phone interview, they’d be able to tell me pretty quickly.

All week, I couldn’t think about anything else. It was finals week and I had about a million things to take care of, but nothing seemed to matter anymore. I went through each day in a trance, attending to business as usual but not really paying attention. People – friends, colleagues, faculty, my parents – kept asking me how the on-campus interviews had gone and if I had heard from them yet. I tried to hide my excitement about my new top choice school. I really didn’t want people to know how much I had enjoyed the on-campus interview…if I didn’t get the job, I’d be crushed. I wouldn’t be able to handle others feeling sorry for me. So I kept trying to convince them and me that I really liked the other school, which had already made me an offer, and I was just waiting so that I could weigh out all my options. But I wasn’t able to convince any of them anymore than myself. We all knew that everything depended on that one phone call.

A few things did manage to distract me for a couple hours: There was the planning for our class gift; the graduation reception from our graduate program (which was just wonderful); and graduation (which is definitely a lot more fun when you’re in a cohort program). Sadness started to creep in with the realization that I wouldn’t see the rest of my cohort on a daily basis anymore. I couldn’t and still can’t believe that these two years are really over now. What a ride it has been…

But back to the job search: Halfway through our festivities, I got the e-mail saying the faculty member of the learning community would be contacting me soon. After that, I was hanging on to my cell phone for dear life. I even took it with me to the bathroom…I don’t know what I would have done if it had rung while I was taking a shower. And then, two days later (it was the weekend), it finally rang.

The interview was brief and I thought it went pretty well, even though I didn’t dare to say that out loud. I didn’t even tell anyone that I had already done the faculty interview, because I didn’t want them to ask how it went. Saying it out loud felt like jinxing it. I’m not the superstitious type, but when it comes to job searching, it’s better safe than sorry.

I was walking from the Accounting Office, where I had just dropped off the security deposit for one of my new residents (one of my least favorite parts of the job), toward the main Student Affairs building on our campus. I needed to fill out some paperwork for the summer. Suddenly, my phone rang. “Unavailable ID.”
My hands started to shake. This could be it. What should I do? I froze. Okay, deep breath, then press the talk button. “Hello?”

I’m going to spare you off the most nerve-racking few moments of my life that followed. Who cares about small talk? Just give me the answer I’ve been waiting to hear for over a week now!

I got the job!

For one fleeting second, I thought about restraining myself…asking for a night to sleep on it. Then, I decided that it was stupid. I knew what my answer was, so why not tell them. I’m not the type of person that plays hardball, tries to negotiate salaries or benefits. I’m the type of person that follows her heart. My heart was telling me very clearly to say yes.

I felt like jumping up and down. Instead, I ran to the office where one of my friends works and told her…and then we jumped up and down. :)

Candidate #0000 - Post 26

2006-05-11T22:38:00.000-04:00

66 days until…. [I’ve started a new countdown. But what am I counting down to now? Wouldn’t you like to know?]

[Continued from Post 25]

Randomness:
Shout-out to my fellow grad students! Congrats on graduating! Congrats to those of you, who already have a job! Good Luck to those of you, who’re still searching…I know you can do it. I believe in you!
I’m going to miss all of you next year!

Let’s do a little timetravel again…
Remember, it’s two weeks ago and I’m about to start the on-campus interview craziness. Two interviews with just two days break in between, one school I’m not sold on, and one I’m already crazy about.

The pressure is on.

I went to the first interview. I spent the plane ride trying to convince myself that I would like that school. I kept going over things that I liked about the position, things that had positively stood out to me during the conference interviews. It really wasn’t a bad position either…it had a lot of the things I liked. There were definitely some exciting opportunities there. It just wasn’t what I had dreamed off.

I got there late and one of the staff members picked me up from the airport. We chatted on the way back to campus. He was very honest, extremely almost shockingly honest. I soon found out what he liked, but just as much what he didn’t like about the department. He didn’t seem to be “in love” with the job.

Was I expecting too much? Were my exceptions unrealistic? I mean, is there really “the perfect” institution? A school where people just LOVE working at? A department that has everything I’ve ever dreamed off?

I went to bed confused and exhausted. It had been a long week at work as well, so I was badly in need of some sleep. But who can sleep the night before an on-campus? I tossed and turned, trying to think over all those first impressions I had gotten on the ride and by looking through the materials they had left in the apartment.

What did I think? Did I like it or not? Would I be happy here?

The interview started early the next morning. Breakfast with one of the staff members. Then interviewing sessions back to back. Lunch with staff, followed by even more interview sessions.

I felt like the interview were going pretty well. I liked what I heard. The position became a little more attractive to me. I could imagine some great opportunities being made available to me…saw myself making big changes in a department that was looking for input and change agents.

I also liked the staff members I was meeting throughout the day. They seemed like a fun group. But I couldn’t help but worry how I would fit in with them. They just didn’t seem like “my people.” I know I’d enjoy working with them, but it didn’t know if they’d be more than colleagues.

The day came to an end. I was ready for it to be over. My whole body was aching…I was so exhausted that I felt like I was going to start crying any minute. The last thing of the day was a meeting with the director. We talked for a bit, then he offered to show me around campus and the town.

We were driving around, when his assistant director called him to ask a couple question…one was for me related to my visa. The two talked for a bit longer, then the director got off the phone, finished his tour and drove me back to campus. We pulled into the parking lot, and then…

He offered me a job. Right then and there. I totally hadn’t expected that. It turned out, I was their last candidate, so at this point, they were ready to make offers.
I had no idea what to say, other than “Oh wow.” I probably sounded like a total idiot…haha.

I couldn’t form a coherent thought. I felt like crying again, this time because I was so overwhelmed. What should I say? What should I do?
I’d been so worried about not getting a job; now that I had one, half of me was screaming “yes, take it,” the other half, “no, think about this first. Is this really what you want?”

I must have looked very confused, so the director finally asked me where I was at in my job search. I explained that I had another on-campus in a couple of days and that I just wanted to see how that would go. I got some of my brain power back and was able to thank him for the offer and explain that I was really excited and honored, and would let him know as soon as I could.

We left it at that. One of the staff members was taking me home, and I was asking questions along the way trying to figure out how I would fit in with the staff. When I got to the airport, taking this job was a definite possibility. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted. I wouldn’t be deported….

I called my friends from the airport. Talking to them got me even more excited about the job offer. Yes, I could definitely work there. It hadn’t been my top choice from the beginning, but it was a good school, an interesting job, a nice opportunity. Yes, I could definitely do this.

[To be continued….]

Now Hiring?-Post 22

2006-05-10T19:39:00.000-04:00

Post 22 from Now Hiring?

On TV: Entertainment Tonight (Mary Hart's still on ET?)
My Feelings: Soooooo relaxed on the couch...

Let's see...what happened after my last post. Well, graduation came upon my campus, and I finally graduated. Let's just say I couldn't control my excitement for graduation, and my official graduation picture looks eerily similar to Issac from "Love Boat". Plus, I had most of my family and my girlfriend's family there to cheer me on. It was a good time all together, and it's something I won't forget. The other thing is...it will be the last time I might see members of my cohort in a while. I know that I didn't get along with many of them, and we had our moments where we didn't agree, but in truth I'll miss them and wish them the best in their careers.

In truth, it feels good to be a graduate. It feels great to not have any more homework, papers, and a break from working with faculty members. I get to sit around my place for the next month, hang out with my girlfriend, and just relax. I've gotten really acquainted with my couch, and the remote control is my new best friend. The only stressor I have is making sure I find a comfortable apartment in my new town and making sure I make my flight to see "the little turd".

Candidate #0000 - Post 25

2006-05-10T08:14:00.000-04:00

3 days AFTER graduation.

Quote of the Day: “To lead by example is the true treasure, the secret of leadership, in one simple measure.” – Victor Gonzalez

Last TV Show I watched: Gilmore Girls, Season Finale (Can I just say…AHHH! When does the next season start?)

Okay, so I really have lots to tell you, but I’m going to start at the beginning because I don’t want to ruin the surprise… J

The last couple of weeks have been rough, as I’m sure you have all noticed in my last posts. I just felt like between being an international student and having worked in Family Housing for the past year, I would never get a job…or at least not a job that I’d be excited about. And here’s the thing: work is everything to me. My family is so far away; friends come and go. The only constant in my life for the past five years has been ResLife and the fact that I love what I do. Without that, I don’t know what I’d do. This year has been hard enough because I didn’t really love my job…or at least I didn’t like all of it. Fortunately, I still had RHA and being an advisor for them got through some rough times.

The other three ResLife graduate students had all accepted jobs – accepted great jobs. With their faces lighting up every time they talked about their new position, I didn’t know how much longer I could stand this. I was happy for them, of course, but I also couldn’t help but be jealous and bitter over the fact that they had a job and I didn’t. What had I done wrong???

People were now coming up to me on a daily basis asking me if I had accepted a job – Hall Directors, other grads, students. I felt like crying every time someone asked me. Others suggested I should apply at my current institution but that would have felt like giving up. I didn’t want to work here; I’d only do it because I couldn’t find a job anywhere else. And on those rare occasions when I had a smile on my face, my supervisor asked me if I had been offered another on-campus interview. I couldn’t do it anymore. So I stopped smiling and started avoiding people.

Then, the last week before graduation came around and I had two on-campus interviews scheduled for that week. I wasn’t at all excited about the first school, but I’d become excited about the 2nd one. Neither school was in California. I’ve long ago given up the dream of ever making it out there. But at least with the second school, I knew, it’d be an amazing position at a wonderful institution, and I could really see myself LOVING my job there. But did I have a chance of getting that job?

[To be continued…]

Candidate#0000 - Post 24

2006-05-08T15:25:00.000-04:00

Wow, I owe you all a HUGE apology. I'm so sorry I didn't write in so long. The last weeks have been absolutely CRAZY!
I'm at work right now and am trying to e-mail all my student staff members their grade from our class this semester and tell them my comments on their final paper. I need to take care of this before meeting with my friends to go running.
But I have LOTS to tell you!
Keep your eyes open for another LONG post coming SOON!

Now Hiring?-Post 21

2006-05-04T12:08:00.000-04:00

Post 21 from Now Hiring?

How I'm Feeling: On a sugar high, thanks to Snickers
What I'm Listening To: Brian McKnight "Find Myself In You" (from the "Madea's Family Reunion soundtrack...make sure to cop that)

I'll have to make this short, since I'm at "work"...here are three developments

1. Since I've been pretty busy this week, I almost forgot that I graduate tomorrow. To tell you the truth, I haven't thought about the fact that I will be getting my Master's degree and I'll be done with school (for the time being). I think it will hit me tomorrow, when I'll say "Oh snap...I gotta grow up!"

2. I got my plane ticket to visit my family the other day, which means that I'll get to see my new nephew. I'm excited to see "the little turd" and get to hold him and give him all my wisdom and advice...while he tries to hold his head up and distributes his lunch all over my shirt.

(Sidebar: in my family, we all have weird nicknames. I call my brother "the turd", just because it's brotherly ribbing. My dad calls me "gatorhead", and my granny calls my cousins "peanut" and "fatman", despite the fact that both don't resemble a food or have significant weight problems. It's a family thing, and it's done in love).

3. The other day I get a call from a school, and they wanted to get my permission to check my references. I thought it was really weird, but since everyhthing was in order, I said "sure, why not?". I didn't think anything about it and went about my day. Later that day, I get a call from the same school...

They offered me a job.

I was pretty speechless, so I tried to compose myself and asked for a couple of days to think it through. After I got the call, I burned up my cell and talked to my girlfriend, parents, her parents, her brother, and the local crazy guy walking down the street. I went home and started praying. It was the ideal job...it had everything I wanted (minus the Dunkin' Donuts, but it has White Castle next to it, so it's a good substitute), and they were really interested in me. So I decided to take the offer. But, later that night, it finally hit me...

I have a job.

To tell you the truth, I'm still in a state of shock. I'm in awe that I actually lived through the entire process, and it came out successfully. I don't know what to think...I guess I'll have to sleep on it and tell ya'll.

Now Hiring?-Post 20

2006-04-27T23:20:00.000-04:00

Post 20 from Now Hiring?

The Mood: Tired, but not tired enough to do dishes
The Music: Al Green "Love and Happiness"

Meh...just got back from class. Tonight I had History of Higher Education. We've studied higher education since cavemen emerged into sunlight. We've looked at the beginnings of colleges during Roman time, to English institutions like Oxford and Cambridge, to the "German model", and on to the evolvement of U.S. colleges. Tonight, we all gave our final presentations on a subject relating to the historical development of U.S. institutions. Being the sports geek that I am, I focused on college basketball tournaments. Let's just say I bored the class with the intracacies of tournament scheduling and seeding.

However, I'm done with class and finished my final project. Except for a final paper I have to e-mail, for all intensive purposes...

I'm done.

I've been in college 7 years straight, then another 12 years through our wonderful public education system here. And, after tonight...I'm done with school (for now). It feels kind of weird, not like after undergrad studies and I knew I was going to grad school. I'm going into this unknown territory called life, and it's a little scary and exciting at the same time. I don't know how to feel...maybe it's fatigue from all the studying I've done the past 19 years.

In closing, let's just say it's been a helluva ride getting a good education. It's had its ups and downs, but next week I'll be getting a Master's degree. It's crazy if you think about it...I'm recieving an advanced degree. I don't think it's hit me head on, but it probably will next week when I'm on that stage and I hear my name.

Candidate #0000 - Post 23

2006-04-24T01:02:00.000-04:00

12 days until graduation.

Quote of the Day: “Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same.” – Flavia Weedn

Song of the Day: still…“Bad Day” – Daniel Powter (I just LOVE this song!)

This weekend has been extremely busy. If I wasn’t sleeping, I worked. And there really wasn’t much time to sleep, which is why I’m absolutely exhausted now. But hey, I’m a workaholic, so I actually had a pretty good weekend. I got to hang out with some of my favorite staff members (you know who you are...THANKS for making me smile!); and I felt like I was working in ResLife again and not being a glorified landlord. And hey, I was so busy, I didn’t have time to worry about the job search. Yes, I definitely had a really good weekend!

Now the week is starting though and I have two papers to write by Thursday, lots of work to do and then an on-campus interview on Friday and one on Monday. My parents are coming on Saturday (yes, they’re coming for graduation), so I’ll briefly see them in between interviews. I feel bad because I don’t know how much time I’ll have to hang out with them. It’s just such a busy time right now.

I’m not really excited about graduating without having a job offer. I’m still hoping that one of those two interviews will result in a job offer that same week – I know that’s asking a lot, but a girl can dream, right? I know it’s not all about having a job offer when you graduate, but it’d just make me feel so much better and let me enjoy my graduation ceremony a lot more.

Oh, my OPT was approved. I just got my Employment Authorization Card on Saturday. Finally good news! I was definitely relieved. But I’m just so anxious about all this job searching right now that I can’t even truly be happy. How pathetic is that?

I’m debating whether or not I should get a hair cut before graduation. You always take ten million pictures at graduation, so I should probably try to look my best. I don’t know if I’ll have time though.

Alright, time for a bubble bath (for some reason, I’ve been freezing all day…probably because it’s freezing outside and raining and just nasty) and then it’s off to bed.

Now Hiring?-Post 19

2006-04-22T15:51:00.000-04:00

Post 19 from Now Hiring?

Music that keeps me going: Goapele "First Love"

Yes, yes it's been a long time since I've written. Well, patience my friends. I'll detail what's been going on in Now Hiring?'s world...

1. My dad came to visit. I guess he was pretty bored and decided to visit his oldest son. We chatted a while, saw "Scary Movie 4", and had some good Godfather's Pizza (yummy!).
2. I became an uncle. My brother and his lady had their first child, a son. He came in 7 lbs., 8 ozs., and had a full head of hair. Already he has had ladies want his phone number (when he gets older, of course) because of his good lucks. He gets it from his uncle, no doubt.
3. One of my students got into trouble...serious trouble with the law. It pertains to the next point below.
4. Our annual spring celebration is in full swing, so I've been trying to take in the festivities before graduation. Our celebration is to, as the PR folks would say, "to showcase our university and its students". It's more like students get a free pass to act a fool and imbibe as much spirits as possible.

Lemme just say, this weekend has been an experience in watching the different developmental levels of my students here on campus, and in some ways, how we as professionals have a long way to go. While my girlfriend and I were walking to the parade, I overheard several students (who looked like freshmen) talking about going to a "kegger" after the parade...that ended at 12:00 in the afternoon! I wanted to stop them and ask them "why drink in the afternoon? why drink underage?" And this got me thinking about a couple of points...
(1) As a professional, we should immediately focus on moral development and making "good choices". And, we should go to the student's level and educate. The police out here are doing that with advertisements on campus saying "Don't drink in public; it doesn't look good to the ladies" (or something to that effect). We can use theory, but it only goes as far as the level of the student.
(2) I feel (and this is personal) that I'm more "reactive" than "proactive". That means, I handle problems after they surface, rather than before it becomes troublesome. When it comes to responsible decision making, I guess I trust my students to do the "right thing". But, what I think the "right thing" is doesn't usually correlate with the student's upbringing and thought processes. I try to relate to my past experiences, but with some students they want to experience life for themselves. It's a bitter pill to swallow, because I want them to succeed, but I want them to live.

Okay, enough of the fussin' and cursin'...back to work. I guess I better finish this paper or I won't graduate, and who wouldn't want that?

Candidate #0000 - Post 22

2006-04-18T22:32:00.000-04:00

17 days until graduation.

Quote of the Day: “Impossible are only the things we don’t do.” – Princess Fantaghiro

Song of the Day: “Bad Day” – Daniel Powter

There’s not much going on with my job search. I still have those two on-campus interview coming up (toward the end of the month) and I’m getting more nervous and confused the closer they’re coming. Do I really want to work at these schools? They are nothing like what I dreamed off just a few months ago. Will I be happy there? How important is it to be happy?

And will I even get an offer with this attitude? I’m trying very very hard to be positive, but how can you be positive when you had to give up on all your dreams over the past few weeks. They’re not bad schools…just not what I was looking for. One of them stands out for me right now…but I don’t want to put this pressure on me…what if this new top school doesn’t offer me a position…what do I do then?

And what about the schools I haven’t heard from yet. Does that mean they didn’t like me? Or are they just slow in their process? But if they’re not doing any on-campus interviews until later in May or June, can I wait that long? I should be able to stick around at my current school for May and June and possibly the first half of July. But after that, if I don’t have a job, I’ll be out on the street. And for me, being out on the street means that I’d have to pack my stuff and move back to Austria. And then it’s not just goodbye dream job, but goodbye America and possibly even goodbye Student Affairs.

Candidate #0000 - Post 21

2006-04-12T11:23:00.000-04:00

24 days until graduation.

Mood: drained

Music: noise of the maintenance workers fixing the apartment upstairs

The students of our Residence Hall Association recognized me at our Banquet on Monday. It was the cutest thing ever. They had this whole little speech for me that almost made me cry, and I got beautiful flowers and a book. The whole thing was totally unexpected. And it meant so much to me because it really seemed to come from the heart. I will miss these students so much!

But while things are going well at work, the job search is continuing to cause me headaches and pain. I got two more rejections on Monday, one before and one after the banquet…so much for being happy for more than an hour. I have set up another on-campus interview, but the school is not necessarily a place I’d love to go. I just feel like right now, I need to take any offer I can get because there aren’t that many coming in. And if I don’t get a job, I will have to leave this country…and this may sound immature and childish, but if I need to leave after this year, I am not planning on coming back. I will move to England or Australia and start a new life there and try to block out all the bad memories of my time in the United States.

I haven’t thought of myself as an international student in five or six years, but suddenly I feel like I have ‘international student’ branded on my forehead and suddently everything I ever dreamed of isn’t possible anymore. At the same time, some of my colleagues, who haven’t worked half as hard as I did over the past two years, will get job at their dream schools. It’s enough to make anyone bitter and frustrated.

But hey, at least I got three on-campus interviews now. One already done, two more to go. I may not be doing cartwheels by the thought of working at any of these schools, but it’s a job and somehow I’ll manage to get my motivation and energy back (not sure yet how but it’ll just have to happen). One of those schools I do like, a lot; I’m just not excited about the location. But I can get over that because it is a really really good school. It’s the one school, where it wouldn’t upset me that I didn’t manage to find a job somewhere nice and warm. But then again, I only have a on-campus interview so far…I don’t even know if they’ll like me and offer me a job. So putting all my hopes in that one school probably isn’t the smartest idea because if it doesn’t work out, I’ll crushed once again.

I’m also still waiting to hear from a couple of schools. I e-mailed one of them on Monday and am now anciously waiting to hear anything. So I guess there’s still hope out there…I’m just feeling very hopeful myself right now.

Candidate #0000 - Post 20

2006-04-09T20:12:00.000-04:00

26 days until graduation.

How am I feeling right now? I have a bad headache, to be honest, and am really really tired.

Last person who e-mailed me: my friend from undergrad, who is currently in the Peace Corps and will be back in the country in June. I can’t wait to see her again!!!

Okay, so I have to apologize for not having posted anything in a while. This past week has been absolutely crazy. It’s “Appreciation Week” here, which means Hall Directors want to rip out their hair becaue of the stress of appreciating everyone else. Hey, I’m a member of NRHH, the National Residence Hall Honorary, and I truly believe in recognition. But when I have to appreciate everyone in a week that’s already busy and hectic, the appreciation just becomes something forced and painful instead of something from the heart. We had Maintenance & Housekeeper Appreciation Week and were supposed to do something for them for every day of the week. We also had a Student Employee Appreciation Reception, then the Resident Assistant Banquet and tomorrow is the Residence Hall Association’s Leadership Banquet, which unlike at other schools I know isn’t organized by the RHA members but by the RHA Advisors, which basically means I do the bulk of the work here. And it’s not like we could postpone all the other things we have to do to have time to appreciate various people…no, we still have to do judicials and housing assignments and and and.

But enough about my hectic week: Let’s talk about the job search. I’m still slightly bitter and upset about schools that are not able to hire me because of my international student status. I think at this point, I have just given up on my dream of moving out West. Now, I just want a job…and preferably one where I actually get to interact with undergraduate students. Because that’s why I got into this profession but I barely get to do any of that now.

So I had an on-campus interview and I think it went pretty well. I mean, obviously I won’t hear anything from that school for another month or so, especially since I was one of the first candidates to interview on campus, so it’s hard to say anything right now. I have a really hard time knowing whether or not I did well. There were some interviews at ACPA that I thought I had nailed and then I didn’t get a second interview…and there were some where I felt like I had bombed and was ready to curl up in a corner and cry about it, and then I got a second interview. So now I just don’t know anymore.

But I enjoyed the interview and I could see myself working there, although there were some things I didn’t like that much. The school is definitely not my top choice right now, but you never know, it may be my only choice…or it may not even be a choice.

If you don’t like ambiguity and are not the most self-confident person in the world, this job search process won’t be a positive thing for you. My self-esteem has entirely evaporated over the past few weeks. I was never the most confident person to begin with (even thought I try very hard to come off as such), but I thought I did a decent job as a Grad Hall Director and would have some good job prospects. After all, I have won an outstanding graduate student award from NASPA, a Student Life Award from my institution and many of my supervisors and colleagues have told me that any place would be lucky to have me. Right now, it sounds like I will be lucky if any place wants me.

I really need to send out another round of resumes, but my hectic schedule has kept me from doing so. I have also lost a lot of motivation in regards to the job search. It’s become this black cloud that’s hanging over me every day and is threatening to crush me. Right now, I feel like taking the first job offer I get (if I get one) just for this process to be over. Who cares about fit? I just need a job!!!

Now Hiring?-Post 18

2006-04-08T13:34:00.000-04:00

Post 18 (actually 19) from Now Hiring?

TV: Cardinals vs. Cubs
Radio: Raheem Devaughn "You"

Well, this is post 19...but your beloved blog screwed up on my entry and it didn't show up. Nonetheless, I'll recap this past week for ya...

Monday: Nothing
Tuesday: Nothing
Wednesday: Had oral defense...and passed!
Thursday: Nothing
Friday: Nothing

The past week has been pretty boring. With the semester winding down, there's a lot of "down" time in my office. Students know what's coming up (finals, spring celebration on campus), so there's no immediate need to swing by and say hello. With all the down time, I've started cleaning off my desk (it was an absolute pit, trust me) and making sure the next graduate assistants have everything (I've also had enough time to draft my fantasy baseball team, though my starting pitching lineup is left to be desired).

On the job front, it's still a wait-and-see approach. I have an on-campus interview later next week with a pretty good school. I went to their reception on ACPA and was impressed with their family atmosphere and willingness to get to know me. I'm having a good feeling about this visit and the kinds of people there.

Well, baseball is here, and it requires some of my attention. Take it slow, peeps.

Now Hiring?-Post 17

2006-04-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

Post 17 from Now Hiring?

What's Blastin?: LL Cool J "I'm Bad"

Well, sorry for the delay. I've had some computer trouble here in my world, plus when I got back from my on-campus interview (I'll explain later) all my students came en masse with their questions and troubles. How good it is to be back...

First, the on-campus interview. I had it scheduled before ACPA, so I had a half-day to rest then I was on a plane. The interview went pretty well. The campus is really progressive when it comes to issues of diversity and multiculturalism, which I really liked. Plus, the staff seemed receptive to the things I've done here. The students were really intelligent (they critiqued every answer to my question, even the "Which is better...Coke or Pepsi?") and had a keen sense of what kind of education they wanted. I felt it went pretty well, and I'm just waiting to hear back from them.

One question for ya'll...you work with faculty? How's that like? Because I had an encounter with some faculty members that has me going nuts. Here's the scenario...
The program I work for is a collaboration between multicultural affairs, admissions, and the provost (hence the faculty part). Admissions admits students, multicultural affairs provides student affairs support (and teaching freshmen level courses), and faculty oversee the academic components of the program. Pretty simple, right? Well, the faculty kind of want to take over the admissions and multicultural pieces because...they're faculty.

NOTE! I like faculty, I really do! Many have done some great things and care about their students. Whom I'm speaking about is a small minority of this group.

So, we're presenting to the faculty about some of the student characteristics. Some professors feel our students aren't up to an academic par as their previous counterparts. So, one of the grads (who's getting her PhD in statistics, mind you) gives some numbers that show our students are achieving at the same levels as their former peers. Simple enough, you think...but one professor (in...STATISTICS!!!) starts asking statistical based questions. Ugh. After 10 minutes of that, 2 of my colleagues start talking about some students that are, for a lack of a better term, "at risk". They put up some characteristics (family issues, learning disabilities, personal health issues, etc.)...and the statistics professor asks for numerical data on this. Now, I'm trying to stay cool here, but here's the interaction between him and I
HIM: You have no data to support this?
ME: Well, it's hard to get numbers when we're worried about their well-being.
HIM: But, you're making completely unsubstantiated claims about students, when you could have some bias towards them.
ME (getting pretty angry): Since we don't have that kind of instrument, could you just trust us and know that we...
HIM: No! I'm a statistician, and I need to see numbers to support your claims.

I guess I shouldn't have asked for trust in the very first meeting, but that disconnect between academic and student affairs we learn in class? Yeah, it's there. So I have to get "data" to support our claims. I've tried to learn a lesson of walking a mile in their shoes to see their points, which I do. If I had data, maybe he would't have been the way he was, and they would see the issues more clearly. But, if they actually saw the students and heard their stories, then we'd probably work better. From this, I'll be a little more professional (and a little more calm) the next time we talk. It's all about the students, right?

Candidate #0000 - Post 19

2006-03-30T08:28:00.000-05:00

37 days until graduation.

“Out of the dark
Hörst du die stunde, die dir sagt
Into the light
I give up and close my eyes
Out of the dark
Hörst du die stunde, die dir sagt
Into the light
I give up and you waste your tears
To the night”
- Falco, Austrian rock star (1957-1998)

Sometimes I feel like my life is a graveyard of broken dreams.
In the Anne of Green Gables books (one of my favorite books), someone warns Anne about the dangers of putting your whole heart in dreams and new ideas and getting too excited and happy about something, because when things don’t work out you’ll be extremely disappointed.
Anne argues that this is the only way to live your life to the fullest and that she wouldn’t want to give up the highs, even if she knows they come at the cost of severe disappointments.

Anne and I have a lot in common. And usually, I would agree with her, but today I’m seriously questioning if it’s all worth it. But then again, I know I couldn’t NOT get excited and invested in my dreams. I just don’t know how to only put half of my heart into something.

Today has not been my day. No, that’s an understatement. Today, I feel like my life has become a graveyard of broken dreams. And as I mentioned before, I put my whole heart into my dreams. They are like my babies. And when they die, part of me dies. And after that, I’ll never be the same again.

I don’t know if any of this makes any sense, but I don’t know how else to describe how I’m feeling right now.

But I probably should have started from the beginning.
I had already scheduled an on-campus interview with this school. But when I scheduled the interview, I also asked whether or not they would be able to sponsor me for a visa, as I wanted to find out that information prior to coming on-campus. They had to check with Human Resources and today I got my answer…and it wasn’t the answer I was hoping for. So I had to cancel the on-campus interview.

Let me just say, the ResLife staff there was really great and I really feel like they tried their best. It had nothing to do with them and I really appreciate that they went through the hassle of looking into this for me.

But after I got the phone call, I felt like my world was falling apart. This school had been on the top of my list at the moment. I really liked the staff members I met. The more I learned about the position the more I liked it. I really felt like this would be a great fit and I would greatly enjoy working there. I was starting to fall in love….

The rest of the day I just felt like crying. All my energy went into trying not to cry in front of anyone. I spent about an hour in the office trying to do work and just didn’t get anything done. I had the hardest time paying attention in class today and of course we had to talk about conference and job searching, which just made me want to throw up.

I know I shouldn’t take this so too heart, but it was just one of those nightmares that suddenly came true, caught me by surprise and totally knocked me over. My brain tells me that I’ll get over this – life goes on, right? – and then it’ll be just one of those unhappy memories that I try to block out. But right now, it feels like this is the end. I’m probably going to spend the rest of the night curled up on my couch under a thick blanket as if I was sick, eating ice cream (yes, I eat ice cream when I’m sick) and watching TV. I taped tonight’s One Tree Hill episode and it promises to be sad one, so I’ll be able to have a good cry and pretend it was just because of the sad storyline.

Sometimes I just really feel like I’m not wanted in this country, and I don’t know why I keep insisting on staying here. Why do I put myself through this torture? Is it really worth it?

Candidate #0000 - Post 18

2006-03-27T02:05:00.000-05:00

40 days until graduation.

Song I’ve been listening to all day: “Blaue Augen” by Bluemchen
(Yes, I’ve rediscovered German ‘Eurotrash,’ as one of my friends would call it. I haven’t listened to this stuff since 1998, when I was a little sophomore in high school and obsessed with dancing. I actually bought the CD – The Dome Vol. 6 – only because it had Ricky Martin’s ‘The Cup of Life’ on it and my dance team was doing a routine to that song. But somehow listening to some of the other songs on the CD has been very therapeutic for me lately.)

Strangest development of the past few days:
So I’ve actually started watching basketball on TV. Me! Ms. I-don’t-even-know-what-a-3-pointer-is. Okay, so I haven’t really really been watching it. I only try to catch like the last ten minutes, so I know what’s been going on. But that’s a lot for me, because I usually don’t believe in watching any sports on TV (except for skiing of course but that’s part of being Austrian).

Okay, so here we go: I’ve been back from ACPA for 4 days. It’s been rough being back. I’ve been struggling to catch up on work, while I’m also fighting a bad case of “no motivation.”

On the job search front, the emotional roller coaster continues. I’ve gotten an offer for an on-campus interview – and I turned it down. It just really wasn’t the type of position that I’m looking for and I figure I’ve been unhappy with my job for long enough…I really need to find something I love again or I don’t know how much longer I’m going to make it. But of course, as soon as I had turned down the offer, the panic set in. What if this was the only on-campus interview I would be offered? What if this was my only chance and I screwed it up because I’m too obsessed with finding the perfect first job? Well, it doesn’t have to be perfect…just better than what I’m doing right now (and this isn’t asking for much, trust me).
Then, I got another on-campus interview. For a couple minutes, I was in seventh heaven. Then, panic set in again because now I had to tell them that I’m an international student. I had mentioned it in the interview at ACPA, but wasn’t sure if they realized what exactly that means. So I called back and brought that up and it went surprisingly well. They had actually figured that I would need sponsorship for a visa eventually and were prepared to help me with that. Yay! But of course, things couldn’t go that easy. After I had set up an on-campus interview with them, I realized that I had messed up the date and that I had a prior commitment on that date. So now I have to contact them and ask if I can reschedule. That’s going to make me look like an idiot! Way to go me!!!
I did get another on-campus interview and it was even from a school in California. Wow! I could feel a huge grin spreading across my face. But of course, once again, I hadn’t told them about me being an international student yet. I ended up e-mailing them this weekend. But now I’m freaking out that they may change their mind, once they realize what my particular situation is, or just tell me that they won’t be able to sponsor me for a visa next year…and what’s the point in working there for a year then? So once again, I’m panicking.

This emotional roller coaster is really making me sick. I spent most of the weekend in bed because I just had no energy to even get up. I’ve been trying to hide away – read a little Harry Potter in an attempt to forget about the real world, but even that hasn’t been successful. You know something is wrong with me when I can’t even escape into my Harry Potter dream world. I just really wish this whole process were over. I’m ready to know where I’ll be next year, ready to settle down in and relax in the knowledge that I’ll be in that position for at least two or three years, ready to sleep through the night without having crazy nightmares about messed up on-campus interviews and people telling me to ‘go back to my own country.’ I’m ready to have a life again!

Candidate #0000 - Post 17

2006-03-23T21:24:00.000-05:00

44 days until graduation.

Quote of the Day:
Patience is a virtue.

How am I feeling today?
EXHAUSTED!

So...I have no idea where to start.
ACPA is over. These past few days have been an emotional roller coaster and if today was any indication, this involuntary roller coaster ride will continue for a while.

As I’m staring at my screen, I’m starting to release that summing up the past couple of days in a few paragraph is absolutely impossible. So I will try to give you just a little snapshot on what’s been going on:

Top 5 Frustration Factors:

5) The Questions. Once you return to campus, EVERYONE will ask you how the interview went and what your favorite schools were. And at least for me, I have a hard time figuring out how well an interview went because my perceptions have proven to be totally wrong at times, and my favorite schools are the ones, who will hire me. I’ve been trying very hard not to fall in love with schools that do not seem too interested in me, because I don’t want to get my heart broken. Even worse is the question, “Have you heard anything about campus interviews yet?” because immediately, you’ll start asking yourself, “Should I? Did other people get offers yet? Does this mean they didn’t like me?”

4) The “I don’t know what that means” factor. If someone sends you a really nice Thank You note, does that mean they didn’t like you and wanted to make you feel better or they liked you and will contact you about an on-campus interview soon (especially in regards to those institutions, who didn’t have second interviews)? If someone sends you a note after the second interview that says, “I enjoyed meeting you and we will be in touch,” does that mean that they really enjoyed meeting you and are going to invite you to campus or that they just liked you as a person but you may still not get an on-campus interview? If an employer stops when he/she sees you and starts a conversation outside of Placement, does that mean they liked you or do they just want to be nice to everyone?

3) Colleagues who treat Placement and this whole job-searching process as a competition. Maybe it helps your self-confidence to tell me exactly how many interviews you’ve had and how great you think they went, but I’m sorry, this not-emotionally stable grad student CANNOT handle this. I have enough self-esteem issues without others trying to destroy all my self-confidence!!!

2) Nightmares are not just nightmares. For the past two years, I have been worried that because of not having the traditional residence director experience but instead spending my first-year as an Assistant Hall Director with no supervision experience and then being placed in a Family Housing area with very different responsibilities, I would have a hard time getting my dream job (Hall Director of a traditional residence hall, preferably with first-year students). Supervisors and friends have been trying to tell me for the past two years that I had nothing to worry about. Well, they were WRONG. Many institutions asked for the number of student staff members I have supervised, the number of residents in my building, etc. and once they heard my answers, they clearly seemed to loose interest in my candidacy. So after two years of hard work, I feel like I have NOTHING to show for it. (And yes, maybe I’m being a bit of a drama queen and I’m making it seem worse than it was, but that’s how it felt. And after being unhappy in my positions for two years now, I don’t think I deserve having to deal with this…in addition to all the other stuff I already have to deal with as an international student.)

1) Once you make it through Placement, the torture isn’t over. Now, actually it has just begun. I have no idea how I’ll keep my sanity in these upcoming weeks where all I can do is sit around and wait to hear from institutions.

Top 5 Happy Highlights:

5) Placement is not as bad as you may think it is. Yes, it was stressful, nerve-racking and exhausting, but it could have been a lot worse. I soon got used to concentrating on the person across from me and ignoring all the distractions and conversations going on around me. After the first day, I felt like I knew where to go and what to do. You fall into a routine and are able to leave some of the butterflies and fear behind.

4) You’re so busy that time just seems to be flying by. Before you know what really happened, Placement is over.

3) For once, it pays off to be a geek. Having a folder with sections for each school and a cover sheet that summarizes some of the most important aspects about the position was really useful…and for once, people didn’t make fun of me for being a nerd but thought this was a really good idea.

2) You get to meet some amazing and extremely supportive professionals. I really had some good conversations – some during interviews or around Placement afterwards or at Socials – and really appreciated working in Student Affairs again.

1) Getting text messages, cards and phone calls from colleagues and friends, who are really trying to support you and brighten your day.

This is my update for today. Now, I’m just trying to wait to hear from schools about on-campus interviews. I’ve thought about ranking schools and then given up on it. I just can’t think about all this right now because it’s making me way too nervous. Now, being back from ACPA, the whole international-student issue is causing anxiety for me again. How do I tell an institution that I am an international student? I feel like I need to do this prior to accepting an on-campus interview? I don’t want to go and waste my and their money and time with interviewing for someone, who may not be able to sponsor me for a visa. Yes, I have the Optional Practical Training for a year, but I don’t want to just go to an institution for a year and then have to go through job-searching hell again next year to find a school that’ll be able to sponsor me. No, I need to know that they would consider sponsoring me (as long as I don’t mess up in my first year and that they really like me and want to hire me back for a second year). But how do you ask that? How do you bring that up? How? How? How?

Sometimes, just going back home and working at the local McDonald’s sounds like an amazing idea. Or I could always take a year off, travel to Australia, work random temporary jobs and just put my life on hold for a year. Maybe in a year, I’ll be more ready to deal with it.

But in the end, I know that’s not possible…or at least not a good, practical idea, so I guess I’ll just have to deal with this stress and hope that I won’t crack up in these next few months. Sometimes I feel like I’m getting horribly close to cracking up.

Now Hiring?-Post 16

2006-03-21T14:21:00.000-05:00

Post 16 (16!) from Now Hiring?

WOW. I just had my last interview during Placement. Let me say that I am extremely tired, and for good notice, my feet really hurt like hell. It's good to be back in my hotel room and relax for a few minutes. However, I have a business meeting to attend, dinner with a colleague and fellow Placement survivor, then a network meeting, then sleep. This past week has been non-stop...I don't even know what day it is. I finally got to see a session (one of my grad school cohorts presented, and did a great job!), and tonight I get to mix and mingle.

Well, I'm guessing you want to know how Placement went. Let's just say, if I have this opportunity again, I won't schedule a lot of interviews back-to-back. It was a lot harder to shift gears from one school to another in the span of, oh like, 2 minutes. I had a lot of interviews, and many went well. I had 6 second-interviews, and they went fairly well. I hope to start hearing back from places next week (pretty much everyone's time line is the same). Now I'm realizing the proverbial professional ball is rolling, and all I'm doing is trying to relax and pace myself.

For those of you about to do Placement or are curious about the process, lemme detail some things you won't learn at orientation:
1. You can be professional, but don't try to be outlandish. I saw a lot of professional wear, some stand-out outfits (pastel color shirts, colored hair, piercings), but don't go into your top-choice interview dressed like a clown or in a pimp-suit. You can be individualistic but not tacky at the same time.
2. WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES! Placement is in a spacious area, but walking on concrete for 4 days straight is not fun. Ladies, keep this in mind (I saw a lot of limping women in high heels, especially today).
3. Your ACPA bag is nice, but it only handle a small load. During Placement, schools will give you a lot of nice goodies. One recruiter was right with this assertion: You'll get so many folders, you won't have to buy your kids any of those when they go to school.
4. My untested theory: If you get a nice parting gift (not a folder, but something really nice), you probably won't hear back from them. However, a colleague of mine disproved my theory...he got a pretty nice gift, but got a 2nd interview. If you can prove or disprove my theory, lemme know.
5. Thank you cards...let's just say that Hallmark made a killing this week. I brought everything but the cards, and almost paid $17 for them at a hotel shop (that's why you have friends with extra cards). Make sure to buy them early and bring them...and expect to get some nice ones back from schools.

Well, I have to get back to the festivities (plus housekeeping is waiting patiently for me to leave). I have a campus interview on Thursday, so when I get back I'll blog about that experience. Take it easy, and stay safe around all this damn snow (I thought it was Spring around here...ain't it?)

Candidate #0000 - Post 16

2006-03-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

ACPA Day 2

It's Sunday, March 19th, 4:01 p.m. I have 29 minutes before my next and fortunately last interview of the day. My throat is definitely starting to hurt from talking too much. I'm starting to get a bit tired and it's harder to convey my energy and enthusiasm in the interview. But overall, these past two days, while crazy busy, haven't been all that bad.

I have to say, I absolutely love my friends, colleagues and supervisors. Everyone has been so supportive...leaving me notes in my mailbox, giving me little present, encouraging me and most of all believing me in. Their support has meant so much to me and has really made this experience a very positive one.

The interviews have also been going pretty well. I have had a couple of invitations for second interviews and now my Monday is just as busy as my Saturday and Sunday have been. But hey, I'm starting to get in a routine and even waking up early in the morning hasn't been as painful as I thought. I can do it, right?

Leaving at least half an hour between interviews has definitely been helpful. At least, you get around to taking a quick break, writing some thank you cards and refreshing your knowledge on the institution that you're about to interview with.

Okay, it's 4:06. Time to get back into the Placement Center, write two Thank You notes from an interview I had this afternoon, then read up on the next institution I'm interviewing with...a quick stop by my mailbox (which has become a bit of an obsession for me) and then I'm off to my next and LAST interview for the day. And then, the Opening Speaker and all that fun stuff! It'll be good. I'm excited about getting out of placement and actually getting a chance to see a bit of the conference.

Now Hiring?-Post 15

2006-03-18T21:27:00.000-05:00

Post 15 from Now Hiring?

My Feelings: Pretty damn tired
On TV: "Walkout" on HBO

Well, today was my first day at ACPA and at Placement. It was a long day for me; I had 5 scheduled interviews today, and for the most part they went pretty well. I didn't realize how tiring the process could be, but I'm glad to get the first day out of the way without major trouble.

Yesterday, however, I was a nervous wreck. I went to the first Placement orientation session, and there were a lot of people there. My main concern was "Are there going to be enough jobs for everyone?" It was the only time that I was worried about the competition. At that exact moment when I walked into the room, I was fearful that I would not get an offer. My greatest fear was that I was going to have a lot of interviews but recieve no offers. Also, during the tour of the Placement area, I was completely lost on how to check my messages, set up interviews, or how to ask questions. When I got back to my hotel, I was a mess; I didn't want to even take part of Placement.

That night, I was reviewing my notes and doing some last minute research. When I finished, I said my prayers and just asked only that I could survive the entire process. When I walked into Placement this morning, I felt at ease with the entire situation. I sat down and told myself "just do your best, the rest will fall into place." Tonight, as I sit down and reflect (ugh, that dreaded word) about today, I'm proud that I was able to handle myself professionally and do the best I could. I also saw and met some fellow anxious Placement participants, and I realized that I wasn't alone in this journey.

Well, I'm trying to get ready for tomorrow. If you're in Placement, best of luck to you. In the end, we'll all do just fine. If you're at ACPA, enjoy yourself and, as the Placement folks have been telling me, just smile!

Candidate #0000 - Post 15

2006-03-17T01:53:00.000-05:00

49 days until graduation.

Leaving for ACPA: TODAY!!!

Music I’m blasting (let’s hope none of my residents will call and complain):
Dawson’s Creek Soundtrack

Mood:
tired, anxious, excited, nervous, exhausted, thrilled, apprehensive

It’s 1:30 a.m. What am I still doing up?
One of my friends is picking us (another one of my friends, who is coming to ACPA with me and will be rooming with me) up at 8:30 a.m. to drive me to the airport. Our flights leaves at 10:40 a.m. We’ll get there around 1 p.m., which will give us enough time to settle into the hotel before going to registration and then the Candidate Orientation and getting ready for tomorrow.
My bags are half packed. I have two folders with crazy amounts of information about every institution that I’m interviewing with (which is way too many…haha). I have glanced over the information and made little summary sheets for me, but there’s still a lot more reading/research I need to do. When? Who knows!

Today was kind of a day from hell (excuse my language). I had only a few hours of sleep (because of doing research the night before). I spent the morning trying to deal with an issue with compensation for my student staff, which has been an ongoing concern since the fall semester (VERY VERY long story…let’s keep our fingers crossed that it’s just a miscommunication because otherwise 2/3rds of my staff may quit next week). We had our Complex Staff Meeting. Then lunch. A One-on-One with my supervisor followed by a meeting with my complex manager to discuss my draft of a new rental handbook for my area. At the same time, I was trying to work out some issues in regards to a program that is supposed to happen on Saturday and lots of things have been going wrong. The whole time, I was thinking about a concern, which a paraprofessional staff member has shared with me, and trying to figure out what I could do to help the student. Potential residents kept calling inquiring about vacant apartments and wanting to set up meetings with me and not understanding that I was not available from Friday through Wednesday. I had a two-page To-Do-List of things that needed to happen before I could leave that I was slowly trying to work through. And then class in the evening, while I was still trying to work through some of the problems mentioned above.

But then things got A LOT better. My colleagues gave me a Good Luck card…well, I’m not supposed to know yet what it is. They told me I can’t look at it until ACPA. And I’ve been good…I put it in my bag and haven’t read it yet. I will some time Saturday afternoon, I think. That was just such a cute gesture! Oh, I love them. And some of us went to dinner after class and it was so nice. Now, that graduation is coming closer and closer, I’m starting to think more and more about how much I’ll miss everyone. The other graduate students! The staff! My students (One of them just told me that she is going to Colorado for an internship next semester and she won’t be going home for Thanksgiving…so if I end up somewhere on the West coast and since I also won’t be going home for Thanksgiving, we could totally meet up somewhere. How much fun would that be?)

So I should really get back to packing. Most of my clothes are still on my bed instead of my suitcase. But I have a feeling I’ll be too much in an emotional turmoil tonight to get much sleep anyway. I get really nervous/anxious/excited before any big event in my life. I remember the night before I came to the US as an international student during high school – I was 16 – I didn’t sleep that night at all. I was reading a book to try and calm my nerves but most of the night, I lay awake and wondered what it’d be like. Then, the night before I left for college – now 18 – all I kept thinking about was what if something goes wrong. My parents won’t be there. Nobody I know will be there. What if my English isn’t good enough and nobody will understand what I’m trying to say? What if I get on the wrong bus and never make it to campus? What if I didn’t find the way from the bus station to the campus? After all, I’d never been there before – had no idea how far the campus was away from the bus station. And I wasn’t even sure where exactly I had to check in.

Okay, enough reminiscing about scary nights. Tonight shouldn’t be all that bad, but I still have this weird feeling in my stomach…butterflies. Maybe some vanilla ice cream will help. Vanilla ice cream makes you happy! (I truly believe that. It’s always worked for me.)

Well, wish me luck and I will let you know next week how ACPA went.

Now Hiring?-Post 14

2006-03-15T19:35:00.000-05:00

Post 14 from Now Hiring?

My Mood: Pretty relaxed
My Music: Next Level "Player's Paradise"

My usual posting this week has been circumvented by an event that I had been planning for some time: My spring break "getaway" to Las Vegas. I'd been saving up for it, and my girlfriend and I had been anxiously awaiting the day we'd drive to the airport, fly to Vegas, and just chill. Let's just say that Vegas is a wonderful time with a lot of sites, and the buffets were pretty good, though I've had enough scrambled eggs to last me a year. I also dropped a couple of dollars in the slots, and only won $3. My girlfriend, however, won $40 (as if I'll see any of it). If you haven't gone...make plans to do so. If you've got the "Dean of Students" or "University Professor" gig, I suggest the Bellagio or Wynn (their Ferrari collection was wonderful...some were on sale for only $131,000!). If you're like me, Bally's or the Flamingo will provide plenty of entertainment and comfort for nominal costs.

Well, tomorrow I'm driving to ACPA, and to tell you the truth, I'm pretty excited. I'm anxious to get there, stay downtown, and relax. I'm not too nervous about Placement yet...I just hope I have all my interviews written down and I don't start blubbering like a fool when they ask me questions. I think that the on-campus interviews I've had has helped me with what to expect. I'm more nervous about bringing my resumes and business cards...

That's the thing about me; I can bring all the small items I might not need, but I'll completely forget the important item that I really need. It's like this...I can bring my power cord, memory stick, and mouse, and completely forget...THE COMPUTER! Or, I'll bring my suit, socks, shirt, and tie, and forget my dress shoes. So, I'm going to spend most of the evening making sure I have everything. I don't want to get to the interview site and realize I'm missing my dress shoes (I have a short memory like that...dunno why I'm like this)

Here's my gameplan: I'll post before and after Placement to give you a head's up on how I'm feeling. I hope you're looking forward to reading my experiences, as I'm excited to share.

Candidate #0000 - Post 14

2006-03-13T00:11:00.000-05:00

53 days till graduation.

Music I’m listening to:
Billy Joel

Favorite Quote of the Day:
“I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.” – Robert Frost

Okay, so I know I haven’t posted in a while. We had Spring Break, which was fortunate, because I was in desperate need of some “alone time”. So I locked myself in my apartment and let my mind do the wandering. Sometimes, I really don’t enjoy reality and then there’s no better cure to melancholy than daydreaming.

Other than that, there wasn’t much going on this week.
I meant to do all this research on institutions that I’m interviewing with and I didn’t. Oh well, I still have a couple more days before ACPA, right?
I got some of my homework done, so I won’t have to stress too much about it this week and can actually prepare for ACPA.
I had dinner with some of the other grad students from my program. We definitely all have the job search on our mind 24-7. Whenever we get together, that’s all we talk about. Some days, I enjoy the conversations. At other times, I hate it because it just causes too much stress and anxiety. I’d much rather avoid thinking about all this and just deal with it, when I absolutely have to. I know denial doesn’t solve anything, but it does make life so much more enjoyable…at least for that moment. And things always do work out in the long run.

I do have a little story to tell you from last night:
It was about 11 p.m. when I realized that I should have gotten my next Netflix movie that day (for those of you, who don’t know what Netflix is, it’s a Video Rental, where the movies are mailed to you). So I threw on a sweatshirt, got in the car and drove down to the post office to check my box. The movie hadn’t arrived yet, so slightly disappointed and shivering in the cold night air, I got back in the car and drove back. I don’t really know what made me stop, but for some reason – let’s call it female intuition – I decided to stop and check my mailbox in my apartment complex. I hardly ever check that mailbox because all my mail goes to my P.O. box. Well, this time I had mail, and it wasn’t just the usual advertisements and mail for residents, who haven’t lived there in three or four years. It was a letter from the Department of Homeland Security. I think my heart literally stopped for a second. I got back in my car like in trance. At first, I was going to open the letter right then and there, but then I figured that might not be the safest option. Depending on what the letter said, I might, in joy or shock and desperation, hit the gas pedal and crash into the garbage cans on the other side of the parking lot. Trying very hard to be sensible, I decided to park my car first, get back to my apartment and then open the letter. Any emotional outbreaks would be much safer inside.
I don’t know how I made it to my apartment. My hands were clearly shaking as I tried to turn the key. Finally inside, I ripped open the letter and….

It was a receipt just letting me know that the Dept. of Homeland Security had received my employment authorization application and will review it. Processing time: 60-90 days. I don’t know what I expected. After all, I had just sent out the application two weeks ago.
I don’t know what I’ll do when I get the actual letter either granting or denying my employment authorization. I may need someone else to open the letter for me. But then again, if my request were denied, I wouldn’t want anyone to witness the nervous breakdown that’s inevitable after that.
Okay, so you probably think I’m a total drama queen now. Maybe I am. But this is my life and there are people making decision about it, who have never even met me.

Wow, just writing this caused me a little too much stress and anxiety for my last night of break. I think I need to do some major daydreaming before going to bed and returning to reality tomorrow morning.

Now Hiring?-Post 13

2006-03-07T11:39:00.000-05:00

Post 13 from Now Hiring?

Mood:VERY Tired
Music: Destiny's Child "Girl"

Well, I'm back from an on-campus interview I had yesterday. I'll break this up into two important sections...travelling and interview.

TRAVELLING
I have three conjectures on this section...
1. I love flying. I have an aeronautics background, and I'm working on getting my pilot's license. I have to sit next to the window so I can gaze at the clouds like a 5-year old. If I couldn't work in student affairs, I would definitely be a pilot.
2. I love Chicago. It's a wonderful town. Many of my students are from the South Side, and there's a certain pride you'll have there. Plus, my best friend is from Chicago (the letter avenues on the South Side) and is the hugest (make it the only) White Sox fan I know.
3. I hate flying through Chicago. It is the most awful airport in the country. I used to like it, but aviators joke that if a mere cloud forms overhead, the entire place shuts down. Here's a chronolgical order of the past two days...
-Get to Airport in my hometown. Flight to Chicago "on time"
-Get to gate. Flight to Chicago delayed 30 minutes to "weather"
-Flight now delayed an hour to "air traffic control"
-Flight boards 2 hours after it's supposed to. Take off.
-Land in Chicago. I realize I missed my connection. Go to customer service, get seat on next plane. Leaves in 2 hours, is "on time"
-Run to Dunkin Donuts (you know me), pay for 3 donuts and coffee. Run to gate, realize I recieved 2 donuts and coffee.
-Time to board. One problem...no plane. Flight delayed to "aircraft availability"
-Flight finally comes in. People get off, I get on. Sit down...breathe
-Pilot comes on...maintenance problem with rear inflatable slide door. 15 minutes, he tells me.
-30 minutes later, flight is delayed for another 25 minutes. Movie "Aeon Flux" starts showing.
-25 minutes pass...delayed another 15 minutes.
-15 minutes pass...flight cancelled. Go to customer service, try to get on another plane
-No flights available...get a hotel room. I also get $60 voucher for taxi. Go to taxi line, get in cab, realize NO cabs in Chicago take travel voucher.
-I get smart, call hotel. They have a shuttle. Wait 45 minutes, cram on small van to hotel.
-Get to hotel, wait 30 minutes to get a room. Finally get to bed. Wake up 3 hours later to catch early flight.
-Early flight delayed. Got the plane, got the passengers, got the luggage...no pilots.
-Finally get to destination. Start interview on drive to campus.

INTERVIEW
Due to my travel woes (which continued after the interview...that's another blog entry), the interview was very fast paced. What was scheduled for 2 days was compressed into a 4 hour block. Despite my lack of sleep, I still felt very prepared for the interview. I also had to give a presentation on an activity I do for my classes. I also met with some students, and they gave me a great glimpse on what life is truly like at campus. I also talked with the search committee, and they too gave me insight on what I was like to live and work on campus. I felt very at ease with the students and the campus partners, and I felt a very strong vibe when I walked through the dining area of their Union (that "gut" feeling I was talking about).

So, the moral of the story is...when you go to an on-campus interview, keep in mind that the completely implausible scenarios can come up...anything can happen! But, on-campus interviews can say a lot about the job and how interested the school may be in you. I told some colleagues today that no matter how prepared you may be for the questions you may be asked or how many times you've looked at their benefits package, TRUST YOUR GUT!

Back to work...next week is ACPA. I'll definitely let you know how that goes. Peace.

Candidate #0000 - Post 13

2006-03-06T11:47:00.000-05:00

60 days until graduation.

Sound that fills my apartment:
Silence (except the sound of me typing, the noise my refrigerator makes and occasionally the sound of a car driving by)

“Project” I’m working on:
Making Thank-You cards. (Can you use Thank-You cards that you made yourself? At first, I thought that’d be a really cute idea, but now I’m not so sure anymore. Maybe I should just buy a set of really nice cards.)

It’s Monday, but just not any Monday – Monday, the first day of Spring Break. I love breaks: sleeping-in, watching TV, reading a good book just for the fun of it and not because you have to write a paper about it the next day, more sleeping-in.

We had the interview days for our graduate program on Friday. I was hanging out there all day, helping out and just soaking up the atmosphere. The whole time, I kept thinking: That’ll be me in just two weeks – dressed all professionally, sweating and being nervous, trying so hard to impress everyone. I can feel butterflies in my stomach when I just think about placement. My hands start shaking too. If I’m like that now, I don’t even want to think what I’ll be like when I’m actually at the conference.

Besides worrying about the interview and being nervous, here’s the other thing I’ve been thinking about: There is a couple of schools I sent my application materials to and I haven’t heard from them yet. I know, this is really stupid, but I just can’t help wondering why I didn’t hear from them. I mean, there’s other schools who send me e-mails to ask me to interview with them, but I’m not good enough for these schools? It’s really stupid to even think about this, because my interview schedule is more than full and I’ll be going crazy at placement. But I can’t help it. I just keep wondering why they didn’t respond? Sometimes I tell myself, maybe they just didn’t get around to contacting everyone to set up interviews. But then again, ACPA is in less than two weeks! Then I tell myself that maybe they just had way too many applicants and I wasn’t the most qualified one. That doesn’t really help my self-confidence either. Argh, I just need to stop thinking about this.

Alright, I didn’t even have breakfast yet and it’s almost noon. I should probably get going. But before I do, let me tell you briefly about my plans for break (I figured, if I write it down, I’m more likely to actually do it): catch up on some homework (there’s a few assignments I need to do) AND (and this is the important part) prepare for the ACPA Conference by making cheat sheets about the institutions I’m interviewing with and reviewing their job descriptions in detail.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that I'll actually be productive this break.

Now Hiring?-Post 12

2006-03-02T23:37:00.000-05:00

Post 12 from Now Hiring?

My Mood: Really Tired
My Music: Amerie "1 Thing"

It's been a really long couple of days, but I have to keep this short. I've been running around in circles with things in my mind. After the conference last week, I kind of went into a depressive mood. I enjoyed everybody being here, I could be myself, but then they left, and my life went back to reality...and I didn't like it! I was sick on Monday, Tuesday, and yesterday, but I'm feeling a little better. I have another conference tomorrow where my students are presenting. I'm not anxious about it; it's the second time in 2 weeks where my students are the showcase.

I also had an on-campus interview with a local university yesterday. I was pretty anxious to visit a rival school and see what opportunities they had. I was nervous during the drive, thinking about the types of questions they would ask me. When I got there, I could feel the environment was relaxed, and that I could probably funciton in the atmosphere...until I told people where I was from. I got a lot of stares (like the "how the hell you'd get here?" kind) when I told them where I came from. The search committee seemed really nice, and I felt I could work for them without any problems. The drive home was conflicting...should I worry more about the questions I answered or the comments I got from 1-2 people?

During the drive home, I called my dad (yeah, very safe having a conversation flying down the highway at 75 miles an hour). I asked him about what I should do. His suggestion was classic...trust your gut. My initial feelings were positive; the office was expanding, the university had a dedicated focus on students, and the benefits were good. Even the tour guide made me feel welcome. But I couldn't shake the "oh's" I got. I'll give it some sleep and prayer to see what my gut tells me. It's worked for me thus far, and I'll see where it takes me.

So the moral of the story is...no matter how prepared you are, how much research you put into looking at your job, your gut feeling is something that will trump it all.

Okay, I've gotten little sleep the past few days. It's about time I got some before I just drop during tomorrow's conference. Take it easy, y'all.

Candidate #0000 - Post 12

2006-03-02T02:15:00.000-05:00

64 days until graduation.

Movie I’m watching right now:
Three to Tango

Way I’m feeling:
absolutely exhausted and unfortunately really sick.

Okay, so I have to admit, I used to make fun of my parents when they were sick but still went to work. I thought it was the stupidest thing anyone could do. I mean, work is never that important that you won’t take advantage of a nice, relaxing sick day. Lying in bed all day, having your mom make you tea and soup…what could be better?

Well, just a few years later, I’ve turned into my parents. I’ve not been feeling well since Sunday and have had a fever for the past couple of days, but I’ve continued to go to work and classes every day. With Spring Break coming up next week, there is just so much to get done that I don’t feel like I can miss work right now. I’m just glad it is Spring Break next week, so I will get to stay in bed until I feel better.

I should really be in bed right now, but Interview Days for my graduate program are tomorrow (or actually today, since it’s past midnight) and Friday. I’m hosting two candidates and my apartment is a mess. So I’ve spent the last couple of hours cleaning and doing laundry.

The job search has had its ups and downs this week. I have scheduled a few more interviews for ACPA. My interview schedule is basically full for Saturday and Sunday, as I definitely don’t want to have back-to-back interviews. Right now, I have at least half an hour between interviews and I’d like to keep it that way.

My phone interview went really well. I always get so nervous before these things. But I didn’t even have to talk much. They let me ask questions for most of it and then they were telling me all these things about their institution and I got really excited about possibly working there. I’m not sure if I expressed that well over the phone though. It’s just so hard! But I have an interview scheduled with them for ACPA now, so that’s exciting.

I saw another institution that I was interested in, but as I started reading through their position description for Resident Directors, I noticed that it stated that the institution would not be a sponsoring agent for an international student. I was pretty upset after reading this. It just doesn’t seem fair. If I am qualified to do a job, it shouldn’t matter what country I was born in. Sometimes I really can’t remember why I want to be here so badly…I’d be much better off back in Europe, where I’m actually wanted.

What’s really frustrating is that most Americans have no idea about immigration laws. How many times have I been told: Why don’t you just apply for citizenship? BECAUSE THEY WON’T LET ME!!! You have to be a permanent resident for four years before you can even apply for citizenship…and any years as an international student don’t count toward that as you are not considered a permanent resident.
You know what also really annoys me? Every time I fly somewhere, whether it’s leaving the US or coming back, I get checked like five times at the airport. I’m pulling out of the line; my luggage is checked; I’m searched. I was told that I just fit the profile of a terrorist: single, college student…and then, of course I’m a vegetarian. We all know that a lack of meat intake makes you want to kill people, right?
I just don’t get this country: If you have well educated, qualified people, wouldn’t you want to keep them in the country instead of kicking them out?

Alright, enough rambling. It’s time for another load of laundry. TTYL.

Now Hiring?-Post 11

2006-02-26T22:42:00.000-05:00

Post 11 from Now Hiring?

Okay, okay, this is a day late. However, I have been really really really busy with our conference here on campus I had been advising. I am extremely proud to say that my students did a wonderful job planning and hosting 1200 students for the past 3 days. When registration began, I was amazed at the ease people were getting their information and t-shirts. Our conference services staff here did an extraordinary job with logistics, and catering made some pretty damn good food. There were no major problems, and many people commented on how nice the facilities were and how there were no slip-ups. I must tell you, it was a beautiful sight to see all these people at my school. And, in all honesty, I was sad to see everybody go, because it was such a wonderful time.

Also, I was a host for a great speaker. He flew in early to take part of our festivities and was very popular with everybody he met. In his lunchtime talk, he said something that struck me and is constantly swimming in my head. He told the participants "It's not your fault how you got here, but it's your responsibility to get out of here". It made me think on two fronts. First...my students...many blame society for the lives they've lived thus far. Some will tell tales of woe and horror about what they've gone through. I feel at times we'll say "it's okay" and let them be. I also feel that we complain about where our students are, or how the world is...and leave the discussion there. Let's take our work "to the next level"...let's go out and try to impact change. Let's not live vicariously through our students, but let's work alongside them to make our campuses, and ultimately our nation, a better one. I commented that it's easy to point fingers at the problem, but sometimes we don't have the initiative nor the care to help fix it. Note: I'm not saying this towards everybody in our field, for I know there are some dedicated "change agents" out there, but our American society as a whole is more "me" instead of "we"; we're an important part of this society, and must critically look at ourselves and see what our impacts are.

Second...I think about this job search. Sometimes I complain about how I got into the field and how it would be easier to just quit and make some real money. But, I'm here, and I ain't quittin'. It's my responsibility to make change. It's my duty to help people "take it to the next level". It's my honor to work with kids that want to make themselves and their environments better. I am a student affairs professional; I am proud to say that. And damnit, I ain't quittin'!

Enough of the rant...I'm feeling pretty empowered right now. Remember, I'm not calling everybody out. But as Charles Barkley said, "I might be wrong, but I doubt it".

Candidate #0000 - Post 11

2006-02-25T11:04:00.000-05:00

69 days until graduation.

Olympics Medal Count:
Austria – 19 medals (hopefully 20 soon, if Benni Raich has a good second run in the Slalom)

Last DVD I bought:
RENT

It’s Saturday and I’m exhausted. Last night, one of our Hall Directors had his weekend program – a Drag Show. It was awesome! I had so much fun! Afterwards, a couple of the other grads and I went out for a bit – not too long – but when I got back, I just wasn’t tired yet, so I went on a little road trip to Walmart to finally get the RENT DVD. I’ve wanted to buy it for the past couple days (since it came out), but just hadn’t gotten around to it. And then that I had bought it, I had to watch it, of course. I mean, what do you expect? So I was up half the night and now I’m exhausted. Today will be a busy day though: one of my CAs is having a program, then we have staff development and I need to write two papers. So much for a nice relaxing weekend!

This week has been crazy busy on the job-search front. After I finally filled out some online applications and mailed a couple of resumes, I got a couple more interviews for ACPA. I also have a phone interview for Monday. The person called me as I was walking to a meeting. I was totally out of breath and seriously confused. So I just threw my bag down (in the snow), hectically searched for my planner and at the same time tried to sound totally calm and professional. After I scheduled the interview, I couldn’t stop smiling for an hour.

The smile faded though as the interview has been coming closer. I printed out a lot of information about the institution and their ResLife department and I keep reading through it whenever I have a free second. I want to be well prepared for the interview. I just didn’t expect an interview already…the plan was to prepare over Spring Break, so that I’d be ready for ACPA. I don’t even really know what I’ll do to prepare – it’s more just getting mentally ready to be interviewed – but now it’s on Monday and I just don’t feel ready. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel ready. I’m not a big fan of interviewing. I say “ummm” and “well” a lot, my accent comes out more and I sound like a total idiot, at least that’s how it feels. When we did the Mock Interviews a couple of weeks ago, I got a lot of positive feedback. But that was different because it was people I knew and especially people who knew me. I’m not so sure about the first impression I make. I know I can do these jobs and I know I’m a good candidate because I’m a very hard worker, dedicated and absolutely in love with working in ResLife. But how do you express that in an interview without sounding stupid?

Oh, I need to stop talking or I’ll make myself even more nervous. So back to the good news: lots of interviews scheduled for ACPA (maybe a few too many, as most people think…but I’ve always preferred rather too many than too few), already a phone interview for Monday and waiting to hear from a bunch of other schools that have told me they received my materials and would be reviewing them soon.

Now Hiring?-Post 10

2006-02-21T20:07:00.000-05:00

Post 10 from Now Hiring?

The body's feeling: meh
The mind is groovin' to: Leela James "My Joy"

Well, this week is going to be very busy. My students' conference is this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and I'm pretty excited. They have worked very hard and are going to have a wonderful time. But, as an advisor, I have a lot to worry about. Did we order enough food? Is there enough security? Is the transportation we secured reliable? Will everyone enjoy their experience? I have those thoughts, but now I'm focused on picking up a keynote speaker and "hosting" him during the conference (it sounds like he's gonna crash on my couch, but he's shackin' in a swank hotel in town), so I have to go to "host training". It shouldn't be too hard...pick him up from airport, take him to hotel, take him to speak, take him to airport..or maybe it's a little more than that. We'll see tomorrow.

On the job front...good news! A school wants to conduct a on-campus interview. The only problem was they were in the Eastern part of the USA, and I'm not. So, they say "we'll fly you out". I figured I would have to run up my credit to visit, but it sounds like they're interested. I had a phone interview with them last week (the one I thought I absolutely ruined my semi-good name), but I guess I didn't. I'll be going out there before Spring Break, so I'm going to rack up my frequent flyer miles (maybe I can upgrade from "cattle car" to "I finally have my own seat!...next to a crying baby and a guy that smells like a combination of sausage and menthols").

Well, I hate to cut this short, but the capstone paper is calling my name again. I'll update you with happenings at the conference, as well as anything else that's going on.

Candidate #0000 - Post 10

2006-02-21T00:29:00.000-05:00

74 days until graduation.

Olympics Medal Count:
Austria – 15 medals (tied in 3rd place with the United States)

Isn’t it slightly ironic that my two countries are tied in 3rd place in the Olympics medal count? I used to root for the United States – back in the days when all I wanted to do was move to the US. My friends used to joke that I had been “Americanized.” I put up a big American flag in my bedroom. My parents questioned my loyalty to Austria.
But now with all this visa drama going on, I’ve lost any ability to cheer or root for Team USA. Ironically enough, the harder I’m trying to get into this country (and be allowed to stay and work here), the less I actually like it. It’s just that all these immigration laws and regulations are so ridiculous and seem to be set up simply to make my life hell.

So back to happier topics and the Olympics. What a day for Austria! Two gold medals in Alpine skiing, another gold in ski jumping and couple others just because…
I’ve getting really frustrated with the fact that I can’t watch the Olympics live this year. So this morning, I kept checking the live results on NBC, but after I found out that the Austrian ski jumping team was in the lead after the first jump, I stopped checking. It ruins all the fun if you know already, who has won. So I waited till tonight (just a few minutes ago) to see the last minutes of the second jump. It was definitely worth it! I was attempting to read this article – coincidentally it was about sports, college sports to be exact – but right before Morgi was about to jump, I just sat there and almost forgot to breath. And I’m not even into sports!

It was a great day for Austria not just at the Olympics. I scheduled two more interviews for ACPA. (Well, I don’t know if the rest of Austria actually cares whether or not I’m scheduling interviews…but hey, at least in this blog, it’s all me, right? And I know those Austrians that know me, very much care about my job-search progress… “Hi Mom! Hi Dad! Hey Sis! And of course, hello to my three best friends from high school!”)
My interview schedule is starting to fill up quickly and I haven’t heard from some of my top schools yet. I need to slow down a little to give those schools time to review my resume and hopefully contact me in regards to an interview.

Did I mention that when I filled out one of those online applications, it said that I was “not qualified” for the position? I’m still confused how that happened. A representative from that institution, one of my top choices, wanted to schedule an interview with me. But I need to figure out first what’s going on with this online application. I called Human Resources like five times before I figured out that they may be off due to President’s Day. So I will call again tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll have some good news for me and it’ll be another good day for Austria (although at the Olympics, I don’t expect us to get any medals tomorrow because none of “our” sports are taking place tomorrow.)

So let’s take a minute, think of these “awesome Austrians” (as NBC likes to call them) and your one, favorite absolutely amazing Austrian, a.k.a. Candidate #0000.

Candidate #0000 - Post 9

2006-02-19T23:56:00.000-05:00

75 days until graduation.

CD I listened to for 6 hours today:
Romeo & Juliet Soundtrack

Last person I talked to online:
RHA President

First of all, I wanted to thank everyone, who e-mailed me! It’s very helpful to hear from people, who have dealt with the same visa issues. It makes me feel like maybe there is some hope for my situation.

So I spent about 6 hours in the office today – on a Sunday!!! What’s wrong with me? At least, I was only doing “work” for the first 2 hours. Then, I threw myself into job-search craziness. Can I just say that I really hate those online applications? It takes forever to fill them out! And I filled out one of them and once I was done, it said “not qualified.” I’m so confused. I have no idea why. So I e-mailed the Human Resource department and asked them. Hopefully, I’ll hear back from them on Monday. And it was a school, I was really interested in. :(

Other than that though, today was definitely a success. I sent my application materials to 7 schools. I also have my cover letter written for two more schools. But there was no e-mail address, so I guess I will have to send those via postal mail. That means, I need to print them out nicely on our office printer (my own printer is slightly messed up lately and prints weird lines across pages, so I don’t trust her with something as important as application materials for a school…I think, she’s going through a mid-life crisis – and yes, my printer is a she). Anyway, the printer in the office didn’t work today either. It was driving me insane. I had originally gone to the office to print out my newsletter and make copies, so my Community Assistants can pass them out when they are doing Health & Safety inspections this week. I tried to fix it – and usually I’m pretty good at fixing things – but it just wouldn’t work. So I gave up. I guess I’ll have to give it another go tomorrow morning.

Back to job-search craziness: So guess what happened…you won’t believe it. I’m so mad at myself!!! After I sent out all these application materials, I realized that there is a mistake on my resume. Can you believe it? I have revised my resume like a hundred times (no kidding), had a million different people look over it (maybe not a million but at least 5 or 6) and read through it myself like ten thousand times (Okay, so maybe math isn’t my greatest subject right now…haha…it actually used to be all through high school and I was supposed to become a math teacher, but that’s another story and should be told at another time). What happened is that during one of my last revisions, I changed a few of my bulletin boards to make them sound better. And when I changed one of them, I by mistake wrote everything in present tense although it was one of my past jobs. I’m still so upset over this. And after I have just sent my resume to most of my top choices in regards to institutions and jobs. :( What am I going to do? Well, I guess there’s not much I can do besides hope that all these people, who’ll be reviewing my resume, will look the other way. Everyone can make a mistake sometimes, right?
Everyone always tells you that you CANNOT have a single mistake in your resume, no types, nothing. I’ve tried so hard, I swear. I can’t believe I didn’t notice this stupid mistake. That’s what happens when you revise your resume too many times!

Okay, enough about that. Like I said before, other than the one online application that said “not qualified” and this stupid mistake on my resume (I am so mad!!!), today was a success. I have been pushing this sending-out-applications back for weeks. I don’t really know what I was waiting for or what I was afraid of. I just couldn’t bring myself to actually doing it. But now I did and I’m well on my way. I just hope I’ll hear back from all these schools soon.
I’ve also made a list of 10 more schools that I want to apply to within the next week. It’ll be a crazy busy week.

By the way, I already have five interviews set up for ACPA (Okay, I feel like I’m bragging, but this is supposed to be about job-searching, right? So I’m not bragging, just keeping you all updated on how things are going). One institution contacted me on Thursday. I was at the mall getting my pictures taken for this Optional Practical Training application, and suddenly my cell phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, so I picked it up and it was someone trying to set up an interview with me for ACPA. I was so excited, but also so flustered because I didn’t have my schedule with me of what interviews I had already set up. But fortunately, I remember the times and knew what afternoon I still had completely free.

And then on Friday, another institution contacted me. So now I got five interviews all together. People keep warning me about setting up too many interviews. But I know myself. I can deal with stress pretty well, and I’m good at going for a whole day non-stop. That’s what I do here every day. I get up in the morning, go to work and barely take a break for lunch or even dinner. I do much better if I just keep going all day, because if I do take a break, I have a hard time motivating myself to get back to work. So I figure, I’ll be alright doing interviews most of the day. I am leaving a half hour in between interviews, so I can review notes of institution in between interviews, but other than that, I’m planning on having a very tight schedule.

I just figure that I will need a lot of option. Some institution may just not like me and not ask me back for a second interview or invite me for an on-campus. Then, some institution may be interested but once they find out that I’m an international student, they may not be able to accept my candidacy for their position. So I need to have a lot of options, if I want to get at least five or six on-campus interviews, so that I will get two or three offers.

Okay, it’s definitely time for bed!
Good Luck to everyone else, who’s job-searching right now!

Now Hiring?-Post 9

2006-02-18T15:45:00.000-05:00

Post 9 from Now Hiring?

How the body feels: Time for a siesta
What's the body's feeling: Kirk Franklin "Looking for You"

Okay people, it's me again. The past few days have been trying for a couple of minor reasons:
1. It's really really f-ing cold out here! I know it's too cold when the heater in my car blows air that's colder than the wind outside. That's cold I've never felt before. 3 weeks until spring break, I keep telling myself...
2. I took my girlfriend to see "Date Movie". Now, I'm a fan of dumb movies, but this was one I grimaced at while watching (not because of the content...well, yeah, it was the content...because it was stupid and unfunny).

On the job front, it was slow going this week. I got an invite to do a campus interview, but the only times I can go are when I'm in conferences. I also scheduled another interview at ACPA. I also sent my stuff into a school that was advertising a position that was rather intriguing. All in all, a slow week indeed.

(Okay, you're probably thinking that's not a slow week...that's pretty good or something to that effect. Remember, it's all about eating, sleeping, and breathing, hence my efforts.)

So, about the job search, there's one thing I don't like to do...announce the goings-on in class. In my seminar course, we have the opportunity to tell everyone how it's going. And, I can tell there's hesitation on the class' part to speak up. I know I definitely don't want to talk, because I don't want to seem like I'm gloating...especially towards the people who haven't started their search yet. See, the job search is really important to me, so that's why I've been looking so hard to find the right position. And (probably because I'm crazy), there are probably some people that just don't care how many interviews I have at ACPA, or if I found the "perfect fit". I share my experiences with those that are close to me and, of course, you. (Why not my classmates but the rest of the world?...because this is supposedly anonymous...and the folks at studentaffairs.com probably wouldn't like secrecy as much, this being a blog about job searching and all).

But, I not too concerned about my classmates and their feelings towards my search. In fact, I've found positions and forwarded the info to them, because I know it may be what they're looking for. In retrospect, I'm trying to keep the friendly student affairs touchy-feely perspective in the front of my mind.

OK, this damn capstone paper is really calling me (despite Bracket Busters is on ESPN). Have a good weekend!

Now Hiring?-Post 8

2006-02-14T20:20:00.000-05:00

Post 8 from Now Hiring?

The Mood I'm In: Pretty Tranquil, thank you very much
The Music I'm Jammin' To: John Coltrane "A Love Supreme"

This week has been pretty uneventful, work wise...meaning I haven't been fired yet. I mean that jokingly, but it's been going pretty smooth. I have two big conferences coming up in two weeks (just before Spring Break). The first one next week is one I've been advising for the past year. When I started, these students didn't have the slightest clue what they were facing. This group was responsible for the feeding, entertaining, bedding, and safety of 1400 participants. Also, our students wanted people to "kick it" and just relax...not realizing they were planning a leadership conference. Well, all the fussin' and complainin' has paid off thus far. At last week's meeting, we ran through the entire conference and responsibilities, and loose ends were being tied up. All in all, a job well done thus far. These students have done a masterful job, and I can't stop gushing about it. After that, there's another conference on campus, one where my students are presenting posters on the "-isms" and their evidence on campus. They're not too thrilled to present, but it's a good opportunity for them, if they recognize it or not. At least I'll get to wear my new fancy suit...let's just say it'll make Michael Jordan weep "Why I can't look smooth like him?" However, let's just say my dry-cleaning bill will be pretty huge the next couple of weeks.

On the job front, I had two phone interviews this week. The first one was with a private school on the East Coast for a multicultural advising position. At first, I was a complete nervous wreck. When they called, my mouth was already dry and the butterflies (more like crows the way they were moving) in my stomach were goin' full force. At times I felt like I was babbling like a 3-year old, and at times I felt I was giving answers with the flow of Talib Kweli or Nas. But, they only asked 4 questions for a 30 minute interview. Which means...I talked a lot. I didn't feel good at all...I thought I completely bombed it (not in a "damn, I'll try it again tomorrow; they'll like me then!" sense, but more of a "damn, what am I gonna do if that's the only interview and I'm gonna have to be a grad student forever?" sense). The phone interview today was for a similar position here in the state I'm living in. It went much better, I was flowin' like Jay-Z with my answers, I wasn't nervous at all...I...WAS...THE...MAN. I was proud of myself...until they finished asking questions. Once they were done, they said "Okay, Thanks!"...then "click". I was wondering (and I still am) whether that's the way they conduct interviews or if they were late to lunch or something. I thought I said something stupid, but I figured that's how they do things there...something I'll just have to get used to.

Well, this damn portfolio paper is calling my name...I must attend to it. Take it easy peeps.

Oh, I forgot....I decided to copycat my fellow blogger with an idea (I hope they don't mind...if they do...well they can find me...HAHAHA!). Hit me up at now_hiring2006@hotmail.com with comments, questions, concerns, job offers, chain letters (not seriously), anything. Any feedback (I like positive notes, mostly) will be appreciated.

Candidate #0000 - Post 8

2006-02-14T00:25:00.000-05:00

81 days until graduation.

Song I’m listening to right now:
Ghetto Gospel – Tupac & Elton John

I was about to crawl into bed, after grading 10 papers from my Community Assistant class (I hate grading…I wish I had become a math teacher like my mom wanted me to. Grading math exams is just so much easier. There is a right and wrong answer. But when it comes to grading essays, it’s so hard to be consistent and fair).
Anyway, so I am brushing my teeth (yes, my toothbrush is stuck in my mouth while I’m typing this and I occasionally take a little break to brush some more…I know you really wanted to know all about my daily teeth care) and I decided that I just had to write another post today.

Today was a really good day!

I called this immigration attorney this morning. The advice I got was to apply for this Optional Practical Training (OPT) thing, which will allow me to stay in the country for one year and work within my field of study. Then, during that year, I will be able to apply for an H1B visa. So I still need to find an institution that is willing to sponsor me for this H1B visa eventually, but at least I don’t have to rush through the whole process not knowing if my visa request will be granted in time to start working in the fall. (Thanks also to everyone, who responded to my posts and give me the same advice!)

The only downside to this plan is that I won’t be able to go home for the next year. I haven’t been home to Austria in three years. Fortunately, my parents and my older sister have been able to come visit, but I haven’t seen my grandparents in such a long time. I don’t know how I’ll break it to them that I won’t be coming home in May.

It does make me feel a lot better that I won’t have to deal with the visa issue right away. I started immediately to get all the necessary documentation together for OPT.

The other thing that made today a good day was that this institution from California e-mailed me. They saw my resume posted on the ACPA Placement and contacted me to express their interest in my candidacy. I’m really excited! This is the first California school that has contacted me. I spent the rest of the night checking out their Web site, and I’ll definitely send them my application materials tomorrow.

Okay, now it’s really time for bed though. I have to get up at 7 a.m. tomorrow (Did I mention that I am not a morning person?) so I’ll be able to finish all my work before class.

By the way, I set up an e-mail address for anyone, who would like to contact me directly. I didn’t want to ruin the confidentiality of this blog (although I know I’ve been “busted” a long time ago by many of my friends and colleagues), so here my new e-mail address:
bloggerc0000@yahoo.com (the 4 0s at the end are zeros).

Sweet dreams!

Candidate #0000 - Post 7

2006-02-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

82 days until graduation.

Quote of the day:
"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game."
– A Cinderella Story

Okay, this will be a much shorter post than the last one. It’s Sunday night and since I wasn’t productive at all this weekend, I’m not scrambling to get at least the most necessary tasks done before I go to bed.

I need to call this immigration attorney on Monday to set up a meeting and find out more about my options in regards to applying for a visa. I hope he has some good advice for me. And I could really need some good news right now.

I try not to worry about all this too much. It’s hard sometimes. A lot of times, I feel like screaming or crying or hitting something. Then, I look myself in my apartment, so that nobody else needs to witness my “nervous breakdowns,” as I like to call them. And after that, I try to keep telling myself again that I need to stop worrying. Worrying won’t help. Whatever is meant to happen will happen.

But I need to start taking some serious actions. I have been putting the whole job search off because I’m just too confused and freaked out about this whole immigration issue. But if I keep this up, all the good schools will have their interview slots for ACPA filled.

So here’s my resolution of tonight: Tomorrow morning, I will call the attorney and set up a meeting time for either this or next week. Then, I will respond to all the e-mails from schools that have contacted me so far regarding interviews at ACPA. And lastly, I will contact at least five schools this week that I’m interested in.

Wish me luck!

Now Hiring?-Post 7

2006-02-11T14:34:00.000-05:00

Post 7 from Now Hiring?

How I'm Feeling: 'Bout time for that afternoon nap
What I Downloaded: Grace Jones (yeah, I said Grace Jones) "Pull Up To My Bumper Baby"

Well, there was a development this week on the job search front. A school I was interested in asked for an interview at ACPA. Not just any school, mind you, this was the dream school. I worked there for a summer, and I loved it. It met my two criteria perfectly, was in an urban area, had wonderful people, great employment benefits, everything. I was hoping, praying, wishing, just waiting for them to say hey man...we remember you...come on home! Well, when I checked my e-mail yesterday, there it was..."Let's schedule an interview". I couldn't tell you how elated I was. If I was already excited about Placement, now I'm like a 6-year old on Christmas Eve.

Also, I decided to apply for the job at the institution I currently go to. As I thought about it, I didn't want to be discouraged about past happenings. So, I hope to hear something back from them relatively soon. It's what I would like to do, plus I would keep working with the same people I do now.

However, I do have one problem to speak about. It's time to plan my oral defense so I can graduate. I have until April to get ready...and I'm completely lost. I don't have a clue where to start. I spoke to my major professor, and he cooly told me to look at our department's "learner outcomes" and write a paper about it. Here's two things about that:

1. Now, these "outcomes" seem really intense. I guess this group of people wanted me to learn so much in two years without acknowledging that I might not have time to actually learn them. Thinking about it, in my 2 years in graduate school, I probably didn't hit no more than 2 of them. That's a scary thought with 20 pages of blank paper staring straight back at me.
2. What did I learn that could fit into those "outcomes"? I'll tell you what I really learned...
2a. How to live off $200 a month (nope, not one those "outcomes")
2b. How to discern when students are inebriated or just acting like fools (the blue-ribbon committee didn't think of this one)
2c. How to deal with faculty members (now, wouldn't this be an "outcome"?...it really should be).
2d. How to inform your colleagues that multiculturalism is important in our work and its issues should be acknowledged by all professionals (Eureka! Got one!)

So, now I went through that, I've got to write a paper and defend myself on just one learner outcome. At least I'll have Grace Jones to keep me company (yes, the musical talents of the one and only...Grace Jones...writing this paper will be an interesting experience).

Now Hiring?-Post 6

2006-02-07T20:55:00.000-05:00

Post 6 from Now Hiring?

The Mood: Feelin' good, lookin' good
The Music: New Edition "If It Isn't Love"

It's time for another post from the semi-infamous student affairs blogger. It has been a rather interesting couple of days since I last chatted with ya'll. Well, it seems that I've stopped getting e-mails about scheduling interviews during ACPA. I don't know if this is normal, but I was a little worrisome about this development. However, I have to remind myself that I was sending information to schools in October, so if I want a gig I'll get one. However, I'm just doing the "hurry up and wait" thing. I'm just so excited to get those dental benefits...

I did have one good development this week...a really good job opened up at my school here. The description (as I glance over it for the 49th time) looks interesting, and I would do some programming and some res life work. But...it's here...and there's no Dunkin' Donuts around (you know my fanaticism about those lovely glazed donuts). I can get over that, because I'll be doing some great work with some really good people. However, I had a not so good experience with trying to get a job, and it might skew my thinking. I'll detail it in 8 simple points:

1. Job opens up...I'm encouraged to apply. "You'd be perfect" everybody tells me. "Tell it to the employer" I sarcastically reply.
2. I apply.
3. Get a phone call...on a Saturday morning. "You in grad school?" they say. "Um, yeah" I reply. "Well, you'll have to stop going to work here" they reply. (There's a lot more to the discussion, but you get the jist of it).
4. Discuss with Dad: "Boy, remember, eat, sleep, and breathe". "Yes I know" is my reply.
5. Consult girlfriend. Before I finish the story about the phone conversation, she already has an apartment picked out. It takes me 3 days to realize that she's excited.
6. Negotiate with job. They want somebody now, and in their language, I would have to stop going to school, advising groups, studying, eating, sleeping, and breathing.
7. They tell me "Well, if you want this, you'll delay graduation." Delaying graduation costs, if my math's correct, like $7000 (or more, or less...it was a helluva lot of money, I don't remember the exact amount. It had a lot of zeroes in it). I tell them "thanks, but no thanks"
8. They hire somebody, and from what I hear she is doing a great job. No hard feelings.

So, you can understand my apprehension. I might go ahead and apply still, and hope I don't have to go through the same process. I doubt I will, so I've got some thinking to do.

Candidate #0000 - Post 6

2006-02-06T23:44:00.000-05:00

88 days until graduation.

Song that has been stuck in my head for the past couple of hours:
Bare Necessities from Disney’s Jungle Book

Last University Web site I looked at:
University of California – Santa Barbara

A lot has happened over the past couple of days. I don’t even know where to start. And I’m having a really hard time concentrating right now. I had to bring my computer speakers to a conference this weekend (we needed them for a presentation) and I haven’t put them back yet (because I’m really lazy, which anyone knows who has seen the mess in my living room…I have just been way too tired yesterday to move, let’s not even talk about cleaning). So anyway, I can’t listen to music right now, which means that the only sound is the typing on keyboard. It’s really starting to drive me crazy. I can’t work without some background noise. Isn’t that weird? Some people need absolute silence so that they can concentrate. For me, it’s exactly the opposite. I need some noise because silence makes me nervous. Also, whenever it’s so quiet in my apartment, I start listening to all the weird noises of the plumbing in my apartment, the sound of the refrigerator, the wind outside… I get sidetracked more easily when it’s quiet than when there is a lot of background noise.

Anyway, I’m going to try really hard and write this post and hopefully it’ll make sense. :)

Thursday, I met with our Associate Director of Residential Life and she had a lot of great feedback for me regarding my resume and cover letter. I thought, after I had so many people look at it, that it was good. And it probably was, but there were still a lot of little things that could be improved and tweaked. I tried to do that today and I was surprised myself how much I was still able to improve these documents. I sent them to our director again and she will probably get back to me in a couple of days with more feedback. Once I’ve heard from her, I really need to start sending out resumes and cover letters.

I keep getting e-mails from different universities and colleges, who have seen my resume posted on the ACPA Placement. It’s really flattering and exciting to get all these requests. It’s also extremely scary though. I mean, it’s really starting to force me to figure out what I want to do and where I want to go. And most of all, I am still really worried about this whole visa situation. I’m currently here on a student visa and that will expire once I graduate. So what do I do next? Should I apply for this optional practical training visa that would allow me to stay for one additional year? But what after this year? So should I apply for this H1B visa or whatever it is called, that would allow me to stay for six years but is job-specific? It said on this Immigration Web site that applications take 4-6 months to be reviewed. I don’t have 4-6 months after finding a job, before I need to start working. Is this even a possibility? And what if my request is denied?
I’ve been participating in this Green Card Lottery for several years now, but I guess I’m just not a very lucky person. For those of you, who may not be familiar with this lottery: Every year, the US gives out green cards to people from countries that don’t have a lot of immigrants. It’s an effort to further the diversity of this country. All you have to do is send in an application and if you’re lucky, your name is picked. I was told that people from Austria (that’s where I was born) have a 1 in 8 or 9 chance to win. I’ve participated in this lottery for 4 or 5 years, I think (It’s been so many times that I’ve stopped counting). If I could just win, all my problems would be over. This is so frustrating! I wish that whether or not you’d win had something to do with your education, job qualifications, your language skills, etc. I mean, then I would have a much better change. But pure luck? It just doesn’t seem fair.

So yes, the e-mails regarding my candidacy for a variety of Residence Hall Director are very exciting, but I wonder if these institutions were still interested if they knew that I am an international student and would need their sponsorship to get a visa. There are so many qualified candidates out there…why would anyone go through all this extra trouble? And then, there’s never a guarantee that I will actually get the visa.
Our Associate Director of Residential Life has been extremely helpful and is trying to support me every step of the way. She has figured out the name of an attorney, who may be able to give me some advice. We’ll see how all that goes.

But this wasn’t what I meant to tell you about…
Friday, we had this Mock Placement Conference organized by Residential Life for all of our graduate students. It was absolutely phenomenal. During the morning, we had sessions on every aspect of job searching. And then in the afternoon, we actually did a lot of mock interviews. I had four.
It was a little strange doing these interviews with people from my institutions, since I had known all of them before. I was definitely anxious and didn’t want to look like an idiot in front of them. Isn’t it ridiculous how much pressure we put on ourselves?
But it went pretty well. I got a lot of good feedback. Most people told me to slow down. I know I start talking really fast when I get excited or nervous. Both things usually happen when I’m interviewing and talking about ResLife. I’ll have to make sure I don’t do that during any real interviews.
I definitely feel a lot more prepared now. And the best part: We got these absolutely gorgeous UConn portfolios as a Good Luck present.
We are so lucky to have such a generous Residential Life department. If you think about all the hours of work that were put into this event…it’s unbelievable.

I was definitely drained after that mock placement though. Talking for two hours straight (four 30-minute interviews) and having to pay close attention and concentrate all day took a lot more out of me than I had expected. I will have to make sure I don’t overdo it during the ACPA Placement. I don’t want to crash after the first day!

But instead of being able to sleep in on Saturday, I had to get up extra early for the All of the Above conference. That’s a one-day workshop for undergraduates, graduates and new professionals that sponsored by a variety of different professional organizations. I was on the planning committee for this event. So we had to be there bright and early. I got up at 4 a.m., after only 3 hours of sleep because I was still working on last minute preparations as well as some schoolwork until 1 a.m. that morning. The excitement of being at a conference kept me awake all day, but when we were coming back, I had a really hard time keeping my eyes open in the car (fortunately, one of my friends was driving me home).
The conference went really well. We had a good turnout and everything went very smoothly. If I’m still in this region next year, I would love to be on the committee again. But who knows I’ll be?

I’m starting to get tired of this not knowing where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing next year. I just went through this two years ago when I was a senior in college. It would be nice to settle down somewhere and now that I will stay in that area for a while. I don’t care so much about moving, even changing institutions. But it’s hard when you get involved in a community or region and then have to rip yourself away from it. I’ve met a lot of great people this year, at my institution and others in the region, and I’m going to miss them if or when I leave. It’d be nice to get really involved in an organization and now that you have more than one or two years to contribute to it.

Anyway, it’s time for bed because I’m still exhausted. And just so you know: I’m still humming the “Bare Necessities” while I’m typing this. I’m going to have this song stuck in my head all night!

Now Hiring?-Post 5

2006-02-03T22:27:00.000-05:00

Post 5 from Now Hiring?

The Mood: Work on the weekend should be illegal...
Why the walls are shaking: Tony! Toni! Tone! "It Doesn't Rain in Southern California"

Ah, another week of "work" ends, and the weekend is upon me the vast amounts of work I have to do. It seems that job searching is now my "work" because that what takes up most of my time. It's about Eating, Sleeping, and Breathing. However, I've had to deal with some issues at "work". Some of my students are having difficulties with their living arrangements because of contractual agreements. So, they're in situations when they have to inconvenience themselves to get their schoolwork done. It's rather frustrating when someone comes for help and you're powerless to do anything. I'm not a lawyer, so I can't go sue-happy. I'm not a dirty cop, so I can't kick down doors and "persuade" someone to change their ways. Hence, I'm learning to be as supportive as possible.

As for the job search, I've got some decisions to make. I've been sending my resume for multicultural affairs and residence life jobs at the same time. Now, I have some interviews coming up, and I feel I'm in a bind. The main question in my head is, Which one do I choose? Since I've had experience in both areas, I really like both arenas. I could see myself running around at 3 in the morning chasing down inebriated freshmen trying to get into my building, and I can see myself doing diversity training seminars for administrative personnel who should already have the knowledge. I'm not concerned about the pay, though living rent-free sounds pretty good for a broke fool like myself. Now, if you're wondering why I'm having these thoughts, here's two reasons:

1. Everybody tells me that multicultural affairs is this sort of professional "black hole"...if you get in, you'll never get out. Now, I personally don't believe that, but the more I hear it, the more I get the thinkin'. I LOVE the work, but I'm trying not to believe the negative hype. I work with some good folks, and I'm making a difference.
2. Res life seems the most relaxed way to go. Yeah, there's policy enforcement, roommate squabbles, and the everpresent stupidity that is contained in a dorm. From my experience, working at multicultural affairs can get stressful, and res life was pretty easy-going. But note, this comes from relatively little experience working in both. If I was one of those theorists who's been around the block a couple of times (professionally speaking, of course), then my words can be taken a little more seriously.

So, I've got these thoughts in my mind. Hell, if I could do both, I'd be golden. And...now that I'm thinking...everybody that says multicultural affairs work is a "black hole" has never done it...bunch of haters they are! But for now, if I get either one, I'll be happy. Remember, I've got to get my fix of Dunkin' Donuts...

Candidate #0000 - Post 5

2006-02-02T00:23:00.000-05:00

93 days until graduation.

Low point of my day:
I only slept for about two hours last night, so I am exhausted right now.

High point of my day:
Getting really great feedback on my cover letter and resume from a professor. I am about ready to seriously start applying for jobs.

Our Residential Life department is putting on a Mock Placement for all the graduate students in our Higher Education and Student Affairs program on Friday. In the morning, we will have sessions addressing various topics related to job searching. In the afternoon, we will be doing mock interviews with professionals from other institution in a setting very similar to a national placement.

I’m sure it will be a great event and very useful to all of us in our preparation for the conferences. I am so grateful to the people who organized this event; I truly am. I am still freaking out about it though. I almost feel worse about these mock interviews than if it was the real conference. I will be interviewing with people who know me, who know exactly what I have done. These are people that I look up to and respect. I don’t want to look like a fool in front of them. I don’t want to disappoint them.
Everyone here has been so supportive and helpful throughout this job-hunting hell. And everyone has such high expectations of us, the graduates of our newly revamped master’s program. I can’t fail them. I have to be amazing.

Well, I can barely keep my eyes open, so this will be short post. Wish me luck for Friday and I will definitely let you know how it goes.

Now Hiring?-Post 4

2006-01-30T20:50:00.000-05:00

Post 4 from Now Hiring?

How I'm Feelin': Meh...
Why I Bought that $200 sound system for my laptop: Common "Faithful"

I am proud of myself today. It's not that I'm not proud of myself every day. But, I got some applications done. On Saturday, I applied to 6 places, and I applied to 3 more on Sunday. I sent some information to schools today, and scheduled another interview for ACPA. Blogger's Note: I'm not gloatin' or anything...I'm supposed to talk about this stuff, so here I am. You hear me knockin'?...then let me in!

When I went to work and told my colleagues about my fun-filled weekend, the common response was Damn, are you crazy? Well, lemme respond to that statement in three ways...
1. Hell yeah I'm crazy...I'm an engineer that moved into student affairs of all things. I can explain how students of color develop in college and how the spin of a baseball helps it travel further...at the same time. I will either be revered or committed.
2. My Dad taught me some things in life, such as how to change the oil in the car, how to put up wallpaper, and that, in his words, "Women will make you do crazy things". He also taught me the concept of eating, sleeping, and breathing. The world revolves around this concept, and involving yourself in this concept takes money. In order to get money, you gotta get a job.
3. I had nothing else to do this weekend. It can get pretty boring where I live.

One of my professors (she's one you've heard of, trust me) warned that you don't want to spread your name around too much. However, I want work. And since student affairs doesn't work like White House jobs ("since you donated some money to my campaign...how about leading the Securities and Exchange Commission?"), I have to compete. I don't want to compete to the level that I'm trying to figure out ways to cut somebody's break lines so they don't make the interview, but competition will be natural. Also, I know some cut-throat folks around here, and I don't want to be in that bunch. So, the only way I know how to get that job (remember the 401k and dental plan from last post?) is to use connections and get my name out there. I hope it's not out there too much where I have to start checking my break lines.

In all seriousness, best of luck on everybody's search. People say there's a job for everybody, and I hope everybody finds the gig they're looking for.

I'm off to work on a presentation. I'll be back later this week, so keep searchin'.

Candidate #0000 - Post 4

2006-01-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

96 days until graduation.

TV show I’m watching while writing this: Screen Actors Guild Awards
Mood: tired

Job searching definitely takes over your life.

Last night, I went out with a couple of friends. I picked up one of them at her apartment and as we were driving to the restaurant, the one thing we talked about was job searching. Did you send out any resumes yet? Have you scheduled any interviews for ACPA yet? What schools are you looking at? We got to the restaurant, sat down and immediately got into the whole job searching conversation with our other friends. Did you see that job posting on the Chronicle? When do you think our professor will hand back the cover letters with his comments and corrections? Do you know what Student Life at this institution is like?

Some of my colleagues have already contacted several schools. One even had a phone interview already. Talking to them makes me incredibly anxious. Am I running behind? Should I have done all that already?

Others haven’t even posted their resume on one of the conference placement Web sites yet. A little chat with them usually gives me back my confidence. I’m doing alright. I still have some time.

But whether I’m feeling confident or anxious, job searching has been on my mind since this semester started. From the moment I wake up, I think about resumes, cover letters, job postings, etc. Right now, I’m obsessing over references. Obviously, you have to ask your direct supervisor. But then, who else do you ask? Is it good to have a faculty member? Or your advisor? Should you go with past supervisors? A supervisor from an internship? This person knows me the best, but then this other one may give me a better reference. Some people are really busy with their job, so will they actually have time to return phone calls and write reference letters? What if my reference forgets to get back to an employer? Of course, I’m also planning on sending my resume and cover letter to at least 20 institutions. Can you really ask someone to be a reference for 20 different jobs?

I really need to decide who my references will be though, because several institutions that I want to apply to ask for their contact information right away. Picking my references is really the one thing I’m waiting for. I’m also hoping to get my professor’s feedback on my cover letter this week, so that I can fix the letter before I send it out. So hopefully, by the end of the week, I’ll mail my application materials to the first 5-10 institutions.

Now Hiring?-Post 3

2006-01-27T22:11:00.000-05:00

Post 3 from Now Hiring?

How I'm Feeling: Thank God It's Friday!
If I'm dancing at my desk, it because of: Cruna "Higher"

How about a post from your favorite student affairs blogger! Yeah, right man. The past few days have been interesting to say. I'm doing this thing called Placement, and so far it's been pretty cool. So, one day this week, I'm sitting at my desk, doing "work", when I decide to check my e-mail. Naturally this would be a instinctive move, but this day I was more focused on "work". Well, some school (to be named...nameless) e-mailed me and wanted to interview. They were public, small, and near a major metropolitan area. And, they were 10 minutes away from the nearest Dunkin' Donuts (more on this later). All of this made me think, Damn, I didn't think this was like this! So, I got me an interview, and I hope to have some more.

This got me thinking...where the hell do I want to work? At the beginning of the year, I wasn't picky at all. If you had a 401k and a dental plan, you're the place for me. If it was the University of Absloutely Nowhere But Migrating Buffalo and Fire Ants Going Here hiring, I'll move out there just for the benefits. But, all those lectures about the "fit" I kept hearing now started to make a little sense. So, I decided to narrow down my choices to two factors:

1. The school has to be a short drive away from a Popeye's Fried Chicken. Over 15 minutes driving time, you're out.
2. You've gotta have a Dunkin' Donuts close by. That's an absolute.

(Lemme digress here...if you haven't had Dunkin' Donuts, then you haven't lived at all. I'm a big fan of 4 glazed donuts and a regular coffee. It's almost addicting, I swear!)

You have to have the things nearby that mean a lot to you. In my case, unhealthy fast food ranks up there. Behind those are running water, electricity, cultural events, sporting venues, mass transportation, blah, blah, blah. I could be offered a job at Backwater State College in the middle of a swamp, where there are more alligators then students and the dorms are made of dead palm trees and mosquito nests...but if there's a Dunkin' Donuts nearby, I'd give them a second look.

But in seriousness, I want to stay close to where I'm doing my grad work. I've got a great girlfriend here that's finishing up her school work, and I have extended family in the area. The cost of living here is pretty low, and the people are nice (maybe a little to nice at times). So there are some heavy decisions to be made. But for now, I'm just looking for the closest Dunkin' Donuts...

Candidate #0000 - Post 3

2006-01-27T01:46:00.000-05:00

98 days until graduation.

Music I’m currently listening to: Crazy, K-Ci & JoJo
Mood: confused

I got one of those e-mails today. An Assistant Director of a Residential Life department e-mailing me because they saw my resume on the ACPA Placement Web site and would like to encourage me to apply for a Hall Director position at their institution.

I know I should be excited. I mean, I am excited; I am flattered; but I’m also nervous and anxious, overwhelmed and most of all confused. So here is this ResLife department that has taken the time to look at my resume and after seeing what I’ve done, they are interested in me. ME!!! But what exactly does that mean? How many people did they e-mail? If I decide to interview with them, how good are my chances really? And do I even want to work at that school? I mean I really need a job, so how picky can I be? And if I decide to interview with them, sign up for an interview slot at ACPA…and then slowly my interview schedule fills up and when a school I’m really really interested in posts a position, I don’t have any open interview slots anymore. Can I just cancel with a school and tell them I’m not interested in interviewing with them anymore? Does that look bad? We all know Student Affairs is a small field and everyone knows everyone.

And here is my other question: How do you know what working at a school is really like? Of course, they will make their institution and department sound great on the Web site. And it may be great, but just not the right fit for me. But how do I find that right fit? Do you just know when you find it?

I am applying to schools all over the country. Unlike some of my colleagues, who know exactly what region they are interested in and even what type of institution they want, I’m up for anything. East cost, West coast, or any of the states in the middle. Okay, I have to admit, California – beach – sun – all that sounds really good to me right now as I’m sitting in my apartment wrapped in a blanket because it’s freezing cold. But then again, if I move out to the West coast, I’ll be really far away from my friends. But should I stay somewhere just because that’s where my friends are? What if they move? But then again, if I pick California, will I really be able to get a job there? Some people have told me that I have a very competitive resume and that I won’t have a problem finding a job wherever I want. Others have warned me that everyone wants to go to California, so getting a job there is really hard. And do I really want to move out to California now or should I live somewhere else for the next two or three years and the move out there?

And how important should the location really be? I mean, isn’t it more important that it’s a school that I love working at? I went to a college for undergraduate that was in a tiny town with not a lot to do and I loved it. After all, I never left campus, so what did I care if I wasn’t living in the most exciting place of America? And if I thought that small town was out in nowhere, I got a wake-up call when coming to my graduate institution. I’ve seen more deer in this past year just in my residential area than in my whole life put together. But even though I jokingly complain about living “out in the woods,” I’ve never really cared. As long as I love the institution I’m at, I’m okay.

Which brings me back to my earlier question: How do you find the school that’s the right fit for you? I read through job description after job description, and most of them sound really exciting and fun. I check out Web sites, read through department mission statements and I think, “Yeah, this could be it.” But is it? How do you know???

Now Hiring?-Post #2

2006-01-23T18:02:00.000-05:00

Post 2 from Now Hiring?

How today went: Well, payday is ONLY next week...Ramen again tonight!
The reason my neighbor's don't like me: La Sonora Carruseles "Arranca En Fa"

Let's see...it's been a couple of days since I posted, and it seems like time has flown by. Why you may ask? I'll tell you why...I work with students...college students. See, I teach a freshman orientation course, and I get to see first hand how today's students act. It's like watching Perry and Chickering develop in front of my eyes. It has to be the coolest thing to see (but not as cool as watching a multistage rocket separate in the outer atmosphere and move to a elliptical orbit...that's sweet). I saw the same thing when I was working in the residence halls, but I wasn't...um...knowledgeable in those things. It probably had something to do with studying stuff like advanced calculus or quantum physics (all of which I apply on a daily basis, believe it or not) and I didn't get to the pages about King & Kitchener and Kohlberg. My bad.

So, today I gave my students a awareness quiz on multicultural issues. It's a nifty tool to open student's eyes on a variety of issues. My section today has 26 students. When I gave them the quiz, they slumped into their chairs with a "Oh crap!" face on. Classic look...I see it all the time. Some crossed their arms, some crossed their legs, and stared at the paper as if it stole their walled and keyed their car. From what I remember, this is the "pre-encounter" stage. Once they took the quiz, we went over the answers. To my delight, several students didn't get an answer right. I know what you're thinking, nice work man, making them take a test they'd fail, very encouraging. Not a very student affairs kind of thing to do, but I digress. Well, the point was that they would learn from their mistakes...kind of a tough love thing. After our discussion, several students explained their choices. Those arms went uncrossed, and the paper no longer keyed their car...it filed the insurance claims, detailed it, put 20's on it, and used 2 coats of wax (but the wallet was still missing). They were learning something that will affect them in their lives. Ah, the joys of moving towards "internalization" within 30 minutes. It's a wonderful thing to experience, like driving a nice sports car or listening to John Coltrane's "Softly As In A Early Morning Sunrise".

As the job search continues, the multiple drafts of resumes and cover letters pile up. However, I've learned that I might need to keep the good ones and not use the bad ones. I found a pretty nice job I might "fit" into and decided to apply. I go through the questions ("Have you been convicted of a felony", "Have you graduated high school", "Have you learned to tie your shoes") and finally get to the uploading page for my resume. I upload it with no problem...then I get an itchin' to check to make sure it's the right one. Well, it wasn't...it was Draft 2B or something. I upload a new one, check it, and it's still not the right one. Then, the voice in my head that sounds like Morgan Freeman from The Shawshank Redemption suggested that I label the resume with the job so I don't get confused. Alas, Morgan Freeman is there for me. So, I get the right one, and finish the application. So, I've made sure to delete all the old resumes and label the ones with the jobs I'm applying for.

Well, enough for now. I trust you've enjoyed the entry...please comment, because it gives me a reason to keep writing (or keep me procrastinating from reading all my homework...ugh).

Candidate #0000 - Post 2

2006-01-23T00:39:00.000-05:00

102 days until graduation.

Music I’m currently listening to: Accidentally in Love, Counting Crows
Mood: drained

Today has been one of those days. Actually, this whole weekend has been crazy busy and I feel like I need a vacation. But let me start at the beginning:
I like to keep Fridays my “day off,” so that I can get schoolwork done, maybe schedule an occasional meeting or catch up on sleep. But somehow, this never happens and Fridays are just as busy as any other day of the week. This Friday, for example, I was in meetings from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., then spent about an hour in the office desperately attempting to get some work done, and finally went to dinner and bowling with the executive board of the Residence Hall Association (RHA) – I’m one of their advisors. I got home late and still had work to do, so once again, it was up most of the night. Not a big deal, you may think, since the next day was a Saturday. Wrong! Saturday, we had another meeting schedule for the RHA Executive Board to get ready for the semester. That took up most of the day, and then I had some errands to run and more work to do. I passed out on the couch around 3 a.m.
So then there was today. I slept through most of the morning, and then dragged myself out of bed to start on some of the reading for class. I was just taking a shower, when my phone rang. I volunteer for this local Sexual Assault Crisis Hotline. I had signed up for the shift that would have started today at 6 p.m., but somehow that got screwed up and I was now on for the entire day and night. Again, that wouldn’t have been a big deal, if today hadn’t also been the Community Room Opening Party in my residential area. I’m the Hall Director for a Family Housing area and after a semester of working on it, I had finally managed to get an empty apartment and change it into a Community Room that my staff and I could use for programs and events. The Opening Party was supposed to be this huge event. I had bought all kinds of food, decorated the community room and invited a lot of important people. So here I was, still half asleep and getting ready for this party, when I get a phone call for the Hotline saying that I needed to meet this sexual assault survivor at the hospital. AHHHHHHHHHHH!
Fortunately, my staff is amazing. I called them in a panic and five minutes later, one of them met me at the community room, so I could show her where everything was and briefly go over what needed to be done for the party. Then, I jumped into my car and rushed down to the hospital.
Six hours later, I returned. Exhausted and drained. The good news is that the party went really well. I talked to two of my staff members and they both had only great things to report. I’m a little bummed that I missed it, especially after I have put so much work into this event. *Sigh*
And once again, it’s getting late and I haven’t gotten all my work done. I wanted to take care of some more job search preparation, but I’m afraid that will have to wait until next weekend.
I did buy this really cute binder – it’s pink, which is my favorite color – that I am planning on using for all my job search material. I’m going to get dividers and then keep track of all the different jobs I’m applying for. For example, I want to print out job descriptions, mission statements and other information about the schools I’m applying to, as well as keep track of when I make contact with them and how far I am in their process, etc. I really want to be organized with this.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you the good news. I finished my first cover letter. One of the many meetings I had on Friday was one with my advisor. I had asked her to look over my cover letter and give me some feedback, so we set up that meeting. The good thing about having this appointment was that it forced me to actually sit down and write this cover letter. I picked an institution that I would be really interested in working at and which is also interviewing at ACPA; then I checked out their job description as well as the school Web site and information about Residential Life; printed out the Residential Life mission statement and core values; and finally just sat down Thursday night and wrote it. I think the first draft turned out all right. And now, after some input and help from my advisor, I’m actually proud about my first cover letter. I think it’s good and makes me sound really smart. I still want to have a couple more professionals look over it before I send it out, but I’m so much closer now to sending out the first stack of cover letters and resumes. Of course, I’ll have to change my cover letter for each institution I’m applying to, but at least I have my first one and can use parts of it for the other ones. I also feel like, it should be getting easier as I’m becoming more comfortable with cover letter writing.
Okay, this is already a really long post, but there’s one more thing I have to mention: Can I just tell you how much I love my advisor? I was really struggling with this job-searching thing, but the meeting with her on Friday helped so much. She has so much confidence in all of us. She kept telling me that I shouldn’t sell myself short and that I have a great resume and cover letter, and many school will want to hire me. I just want one to offer me a job.
It’s great to have someone, who believes in you and is there to basically hold your hand throughout this whole process. I don’t know what I would do without her help. And she’s not the only one. Several other professionals have offered to look over my resume and cover letter. The first few classes for one our graduate courses is focusing on job searching. Residential Life is organizing this Mock Placement for all of us graduate students on February 3rd, and everyone is just being so helpful and encouraging. I’m really lucky to be in this graduate program and have all this support.

Now Hiring?-Post 1

2006-01-17T19:36:00.000-05:00

Post 1 from Now Hiring?

How today went: I'm still breathing...
What song is in my head (or my headphones): James Brown "Make it Funky"

So, I gotta do this "blog" highlighting my job search and my last semester in graduate school. Well, as David Alan Grier's character in In Living Color, "Like to hear it? Here it goes!"

About me...I'm a simple cat, so I'll keep my introduction nice and easy for you...
-I'm in graduate school studying higher education.
-I need work.

Maybe that was a little smart-assed, but bear with me. I'm an engineer by training, so I'm very dualistic in my thinking. How I got into student affairs, I'll never know. It was like I went to sleep with dreams of making TONS of money and designing multi-stage rockets, then I woke up as a teaching assistant in some Women's Studies course, making NO money. Plus...here's the kicker...I work in multicultural affairs at a PWI in the midwest. So, there was the challenge from learning development theories and dealing with the issue of diversity at a place where it's not the in-thing to discuss all the time. And, I was struggling to get over my engineering mindset and learn to do little things like...reflect. Ugh. But, since I'm almost done, there's no point quitting. Plus, I actually like what I do, no matter how paltry the paycheck is.

When I got to graduate school (which was a journey, truth be told), everybody told me their horror stories about job searching, and in particular, Placement at ACPA. I heard several versions about this process, and there were two common themes:

1) Placement and searching was like a meat market, where employers lined up and took their pick for the perfect "fit" (Imagine someone at a big school saying "Um...I'll take 4 hall directors, 2 academic advisors, one of those multicultural affairs thingies, and...um...that greek advisor there...no not that one, the one behind it")
2) Placement and job searching is a modified yet complicated version of the NFL Draft ("With the third pick in the Admissions round of the draft, Nowhere State U. selects...)

However, so far it hasn't been this way. I've found some gigs that I would be PERFECT in. However, the schools didn't feel this way, and I've got a stack of "You were qualified, but we've moved in another direction" letters piling up. And, it seems every day there is a multicultural affairs job opening up somewhere, and everybody I work with tells me "You're the perfect fit!" At times, I wish they said that to the employer. But, I'm also looking at residence life jobs, and I'm liking my prospects. But, if all else fails, I'm hoping NASA is hiring.

Well, that's all for now. Until later, or I get another rejection letter...

Candidate #0000 - Post 1

2006-01-17T08:44:00.000-05:00

108 days until graduation.
Music I’m currently listening to: Breakaway, Kelly Clarkson
Mood: contemplating

It’s past midnight and I’m still sitting at my computer staring at the screen. My goal for this weekend was to write at least a first draft of my cover letter. But now it’s Sunday night and all I have is a blank document saved under the name “Cover Letter Spring 2005.” And instead of coming up with remarkable paragraphs that would make anyone want to hire me, I’m singing “Breakaway” by Kelly Clarkson at the top of my lung. Maybe I should become a singer instead of a Hall Director. LoL. I guess, in spite of the writer’s block I’m currently experiencing and my growing anxiety, I got a better chance of finishing this cover letter and landing some on-campus interviews at ACPA’s Placement, then becoming the next American Idol.
This Cover-Letter-Writing thing is definitely giving me a headache though. I just don’t like talking about myself. Either it feels like bragging or I’m selling myself short. Writing my resume was so much easier. You follow the format; you write down what you did; and then you have someone from Career Services or a supervisor or faculty member (or all of them) look over it, make it sound much smarter, and suddenly you have this great summary of your accomplishments of the past few years. Well, it wasn’t all that easy, but unlike my cover letter, it’s all done and ready to be sent out. Why didn’t I do my cover letter before winter break like I planned?

Somehow, it still seems so unreal that I’m really 23-years-old, in my second year in a Master’s program for Higher Education and Student Affairs, and about to go out into the real world. These past few months have been quite the emotional roller coaster. One day, I can’t wait to finish graduate school and finally start working full-time. I started counting down the days until graduation last semester already. I spend hours daydreaming about the job I’ll have next year, where I’ll be living, what my daily life will be like. But then the next day, I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about having to apply for a job. How do you deal with all this ambiguity? Not knowing where you’ll be next year, what you’ll be doing. What if I don’t get a job? What if I don’t get the job I want? And worst of all, what if my visa gets denied and I have to go back home and work at McDonald’s? (I’m an international student from Austria and currently here on a student visa. So even if I’m offered a job, I’m still going to have to worry about getting a visa to be able to work in the United States.) AHHHH…I can’t even think about it anymore. I’m going to drive myself crazy with worrying. I have to take a deep breath, maybe turn the music up a little louder and just start thinking “happy thoughts.” It’s all going to work out somehow, right?