East Coast Transplant in the Midwest Seeks Repatriation to the Homeland; or, Please Hire Me!

Volume 1

Having been tasked with introducing myself, my viewpoint, and my blog for your viewing pleasure, I thought I’d give you all a bit of background…

I’m a second year grad student with a Res Life background. I came directly from undergrad with a major in the Humanities from a large Northeast urban school. I am currently workin’ my butt off at a medium/large Midwest school, and the culture clashes that come up are many, and usually quite amusing (I’ll make sure to include a few now and again!) My interests lie in the diversity/multicultural/underrepresented students field, and my job search will definitely reflect that in the schools I am looking at. I’m also a bit of a nerd, B-Horror movie buff, and a lover of Caramel Brulee latte’s at Starbucks (they do own all of our souls’, don’t they? I think my supervisor actually has a “satellite office” at the local one, at any rate…).

I’ve been told that I’m quick on my feet, unafraid to speak my mind, observant of office dynamics, and generally pretty open-minded. Save the last trait, I’ve been compared to a male version of a Real Housewife of New Jersey. I don’t think that was a compliment however… :/

Enough about me, however!

When thinking about what students might want to read this blog, I decided to make a list, here for your viewing/reading pleasure, and see if this sort of job is something that I could see myself doing.

The list with which your wonderfully anonymous blogger tracks what you all want to hear!

-Advice: What is everyone else doing? How can I do things better? Who else is getting job offers?!?! WHY IS NO ONE CONTACTING ME?!?!? Seriously, does cookie baking help?!?!?! I think many folks would like a baseline with which to compare themselves, see how they are doing, and just get a general feel for what the job search will be like when THEY start it, if they haven’t already (and trust me, you’ll KNOW when it starts…)

-Schadenfreude: Everyone wants to know how badly everyone else is feeling, so that they can feel better. Come on, folks, it’s the truth! It makes us feel a bit better knowing that others are also having a hard time, and that we’re not the only ones facing challenging times. Plus, it’s a fun song from the play, Avenue Q. Take a listen!

-Humour: People need to laugh. This is a stressful time that leads to baldness, break-ups, and general breakdowns. Having someone or something to laugh with/at is a nice break from reality. Plus, writing this allows me to vent my own frustrations and say some amusing things that can be said nowhere else. Also, note the spelling of *humour.* Yep, I can be uppity here all I like…so, THERE! J

Okay, so I ran out of steam with my list…which could be some perfect metaphor for every assignment I have ever done in grad school…hmm, I’m not touching that one.

Anywho, I think the above only scratches the ice. But, most of all, humor (fine, I’ll spell it the normal US way) is what everyone needs to get through these tough times. We’re all going to be facing one of the most difficult points in our lives, oftentimes with very few frames of reference with which to compare. Did you want to get that Hall Council position? Sahweeet! You go, girl! Did you want to get into your favorite sorority/fraternity? Congrats! Either you got into that one, or hopefully another that was also a good fit. Same goes for being an RA, a desk worker, etc etc etc… We all had positions that we wanted, and many of us got them.

But now, at a job search…we won’t know our competition. We don’t know everyone else’s history, their highs and lows….we have no idea who or what we are up against. The best we can do is to make ourselves as friggin amazing as we can, hope our shirt’s aren’t untucked, and smile more than we ever thought possible.

If you get a few wrinkles in the process, I’m sure that Botox is possible what with our incredibly well-paying Student Affairs Jobs…oh, wait… :/

WE DO IT FOR THE STUDENTS, REMEMBER THAT!

If the job search doesn’t work out, I’m sure you could find any retail or customer service job that should pay on par with what we’re all hoping to make….errr…j/k?

See, humor is a good thing!

It’s a whole new ball game, and there’s oftentimes only one person that the school is looking for. Sure, we may think we’re that perfect-OMG PICK ME I’M THE BEST!-fit, but that’s not always the reality.

So, how does one deal with this? Truth be told, I’m not so sure. I’ve always done pretty well with job searches, and got offered one of the best GA’s at my institution right off the bat…yet, this means little right now. I saw the folks at the GA day, and knew how to sell myself as someone different from the pack…I can’t do that in this round of job searching. Trial by fire, I say!

I just hope that in addition to making it out alive, I can offer you all an idea of what this whole job search thing is like, and remind everyone to laugh a bit each day. I’m sure of one thing…laughter keeps us young and happy. And quite possibly might keep us out of a padded room by the time this process comes to a close… If not, I wish you all a room with a view come June/July…

Here’s to a great search for all of us!

Your loving blogger,

Epix