Pick Me-Choose Me-Hire Me #11: Thinking
"My head is full." ~Patient"It's called thinking. Go with it." ~Meredith Grey
First, an apology is in order for my dear readers. Yes, I realize that it has been almost two weeks since my last update. Yes, I realize that this is unacceptable. Yes, I am deeply apologetic. However, I have a very good reason for being a slacker:
I ACCEPTED A JOB OFFER!!!
Did you fall for it? Sorry, I couldn't help it! No, I have not accepted a job offer, however I have been super busy with other things in my life. First, I agree with Media Res. that job searching could be a full-time job. However, for some reason, I really enjoy pretty much every single thing about the process. I love checking higheredjobs.com, studentaffairs.com, and the ACPA/NASPA website for new job postings. I love looking at job descriptions, love going to institution's websites, love distilling the job description down into neat and an orderly Excel spreadsheet, love going on weather.com to see what the weather is like now (as well as during winter times), love seeing what type of town/city the institution is located and what kinds of things there are to do, love telling my friends about an exciting new prospect, and love writing cover letters (yes, I realize I'm a dork). Basically, I love crafting a new life for myself in an hour or less based solely on a page or two job description.
I think that my semi-obsessive love of job searching has paid off. I now have 17 interviews which is simultaneously exciting and super scary/intimidating. I was talking with some of my friends who have a healthy amount and once again, the guilt crept into my mind. However, I did start the job search over Winter Break and have applied to over 30 schools. Ridiculous, I realize. To put it in perspective, one of my mentors INTERVIEWED for 40 different positions at ACPA and went on TWELVE site visits. He says that people still talk about him with reverance with a misty look in their eye. I told him that he was being dramatic, but there is a part of me that has that number in the back of my mind. I realized this about half-way through my search and slowed down a little bit, but it is tempting to apply for everything that sounds remotely interesting, especially since I'm doing a semi-national search. However, I just went through my spreadsheet to double-check my motivations, and I am happy to say that any of the jobs that I have interviews with I would accept positions for if on-campus interviews went smoothly and felt congruence with the environment.
That last sentence leads me into my next topic. My comprehensive exam for my graduate program is fast approaching. It is next weekend (t-minus 12 days) and I already feel like my head is full. Last week was our Spring Break and I spent the entire week studying with some of my friends who decided to stay on campus. Let's just say that I am slightly peeved that my last Spring Break as a student was spent holed up in a computer lab discussing Chickering ad nauseum. I am not necessarily mad to have to show my professors that I have actually been awake and learning for the past 18 months, but I am more mad that we have to take a test. A test! You would think that for a field that goes on and on about the wonders of experiential learning, learning styles, and the evils of standardized testing a more appropriate form of assessment would be in order! Enough venting...
I guess the whole point of this post was to make the point that I now feel like a have three-full time jobs. Let's be honest, Res. Life for a grad is basically full-time, I am studying whenever I have a break in my day, and whenever I don't have work, class, or am studying, I am doing job searching. I feel like my head is truly full! I have so many projects, theories, and prospects floating through my consciousness that it is hard to be productive on any one thing at one time. I find myself smushing everything together like today when I managed to say the following to one of my RA's during a 1:1. "So, if I find a job in California, I feel like I will probably experience a major life transition like Nancy Schlossberg talked about in her theory of transition, but if I'm at a school where the Res. Life is aligned with my own personal values and skills, then I think I'll be okay." Who says that? Seriously! I am going crazy! I just need to take this test, dump out all of that theory, and move on with my life. Until next time!
posted by StudentAffairs.com @ 7:59 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home