True
Life | I’m on the #SASearch
Ah, the beloved student affairs job search. Since I entered grad school, I have constantly
checked (by constantly, I mean at least 3x a day) job sites, read countless job
search articles and have had my resume checked by numerous professionals and
fellow grad students. With everything
that I’ve heard, you’d think I’d be
ready to face this job search head on.
Yeah, that is not the case, not at all. I think one of
the things that has me nervous is my case of imposter syndrome. I’ve seen a
couple job listings that I truly like but then think that there may be someone
out there who is better qualified for the position and I talk myself out of
applying. As we both may know, that will not get me a job anytime soon and by
soon I mean hopefully by graduation in May.
So what am I going to do about this? Since it is show
time now, I am going to prep for the search as best as I can. I have three ways
of staying organized:
1)
A binder:
The binder is divided by job types. In the front of each section, I keep a copy
of the resume for that job type. I then keep track of each job description and
a copy of the cover letter and references page I sent in.
2)
An excel
sheet: I learned this from last year’s StudentAffairs.com bloggers. My
excel sheet has a record of the jobs I think I can apply to, a list of jobs I
applied to, a list of school login information and a list of jobs from TPE that
I have applied to or been contacted about. This is color coordinated by the
current progress for each job. I have a color for the jobs I applied to, a
color when I get an interview, a color for when a job is offered and a color if I get rejected.
3)
Trello:
The other day, someone posted a link to an article
about using this site to organize your job search. I had never heard of Trello but decided to
give it a shot. I think it is a great tool for my search. I have several lists
including Prep Work, Job Listing Sites, Idea School Locations, Possible Jobs,
Jobs Applied To and Jobs I am in the Running for. I like these lists because you can add
information to each and even attach files and comments to it.
a.
As an avid color coder, I have decided to color
each type of area I am applying to (Student Activities, Academic Advising, and
Multicultural Affairs). Jobs that involve working directly with Student Athletes
also have a special color. I’ve then sorted them by location. New England is my
primary geographic location however; I am open to the Mid-Atlantic region as
well.
b.
Trello is good for supporting my color
coordinating habits because they have labels that are color coded. This was a
plus!
As a bonus: I also keep track
of my search on a white erase board
I have in my room. It mainly has a list of things to do that are related to my
search as well.
Can you tell I like to be organized? I am now officially ready for this
job search to begin!
Graduation Countdown = 125 days
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