Oh, the job search. People are already asking me how it’s coming. And inside I freak out a little thinking, “Is it supposed to be in full-swing already? Is everyone way ahead of me and have they already applied for a couple dozen positions? Is there a secret job board that I don’t know about that is posting hundreds of available positions?”
For me the job search is not coming or going. It’s not much of anything right now. Granted, I did sign up to receive weekly emails from HigherEdJobs.com and InsideHigherEd.com. If you don’t know about these, they are great (FREE) job search tools. At each of these websites you can check off which positions and geographic locations you are looking for, provide your email address and then every Thursday or Friday you receive an email listing positions that match your specifications. Awesome, right?
Well, it would be except not much is available yet. I want to give a shout-out to Pat, the other job search blogger, on applying a position that sounds like it fits her skill-set perfectly. I wish I could find an opening like that. Maybe I could, if I wasn’t limiting myself geographically. In fact, I am interested in Career Development/Services positions, so I would have also applied to that job if I was doing a national search. So there you go, Pat. I am currently one less competitor for that job because I (sometimes foolishly, I think) want to stay in the area.
I say “foolishly” because I sometimes wonder if my boyfriend and I are actually headed down the same path. Well, maybe that isn’t the correct term. What I mean is, I feel I have more depth of feeling and am more committed to being an “us” than he is. This is still coming out wrong. I am not saying he has a wandering eye or isn’t committed to me. He is just in a more “I am still an independent person” place than an “I am in a serious relationship where I should put our needs above my needs” place. So am I a fool for trying to stick around? Maybe if I went far away that would give him the kick in the pants I think he sometimes needs to figure out how much he (hopefully) loves me and wants me around. Or maybe he would then figure out he doesn’t need me around. Now THAT is a scary thought. All I want is to be loved and wanted. Is that too much to ask?
Sorry - back to the job search! The one that hardly exists right now. Let’s talk about functional areas/positions I would apply for. This has been pretty consistent since I entered graduate school, with a few additions: admissions, academic advising, career advising/counseling and study abroad advising. Do you get the sense that I am the advising type?
Truth be told, I want a job with (mostly) regular hours. Eight to five. Eight-thirty to five. I don’t want to do student activities where I am busy five of seven nights each week. I want my nights and weekends for me. I also do not want to do residence life if I can help it (no offense to all those wonderful hall directors and assistant hall directors and other res life staff out there). It’s just that I have dabbled in it before and figured out I am just not a res life kind of person. I wish I was since there is a proliferation of residence life jobs available. But I am not. On the other hand, I am not saying I would NEVER take a residence life position. I could suck it up for one or two years. Hence, if a residence life position becomes available within my restricted geographic arena, I will probably apply for it. Oh, the joys limiting your options….
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment