It's a residence hall NOT a dormitory - 14

Disclaimer: What happened? Is it still February? I’m so behind on posting and this blog is a little out of date so stick with me and I promise to try a little bit harder.

Committee. It’s a term that is near and dear to university administrators, faculty, staff, and students everywhere. Committee is basically a 10-cent word for group work. It’s the way things get done in the bureaucracy that is higher education. Most committees are inefficient, frustrating, and move at a snail’s pace. Sometimes, however, the rare opportunity comes along to serve on a sexy committee. Sexy committees are named for the prestige they bestow and typically include opportunities to meet extraordinary or influential people, eat really good food, or travel. The sexiest committees, of course, include all three.

All of the housing grads at my university are required to serve on at least one housing committee. Committee responsibilities range from planning professional development events to advising student groups. Luckily, I was placed on the sexiest of housing committees--graduate recruitment. Not only have I gotten to screen all the graduate assistantship candidates for next year (read: pick out new best friends) but I got to travel and eat on housing’s dime. Also, I’ve gotten to experience what it’s like on the legendary “other side of the table.” In the four long days I spent at the Oshkosh Placement Exchange, I learned a lot about interviewing and found that there are many different types of candidates.

Death Eaters
Named for the villainous wizards in Harry Potter, these candidates are much more like Dementors in that they suck part of your soul out during an interview (Sorry HP fans, Death Eater just sounded better). After just three minutes with this candidate you begin to feel sorrowful and drained. Death Eaters are typically dry and boring with little to no spark about them. By the end of a Death Eater’s interview, you have lost most of your energy. It may take up to an hour to fully recover. Thankfully, Death Eaters are rare in the Student Affairs world and it’s unlikely you will encounter more than a handful of these soul-suckers.

Heartbreakers
Heartbreakers are the strongest candidates. They are typically confident and have the perfect answers to questions. An interview with a Heartbreaker may leave you feeling like you’ve learned something new. These candidates seem like a great “fit” and you feel a strong connection to them. You can easily envision working with them and even becoming friends. Unfortunately, heartbreakers are so named because EVERYONE thinks they’re a great candidate. You have to be careful not to become too attached to these candidates because they will probably break your heart by accepting a position somewhere else.

Pound Puppies
Pound Puppies are typically middle-of-the-road candidates. They tend to be OK in interviews and OK in social interactions. Pound Puppies are often very reserved and need a lot of training. Still, there is something about a Pound Puppy that makes you want to give them a chance, some part of you that thinks they could develop into a strong professional and you could help be that difference.

Loud Mouths, Motor Mouths, and Whisperers
Inevitably, there will be a handful of candidates who have trouble controlling their speed, volume, and articulation. You can often hear Loud Mouths from adjoining interview rooms. Loud Mouths typically leave interviewers rubbing their ears. Motor Mouths answer twenty tough questions in three minutes without taking a breath. Whisperers are quiet and sometimes thoughtful but usually lack enthusiasm. I guess my advice here is try to find a good tone, volume, and articulation before taking an interview. On “the other side of the table,” try not to laugh when people talk quietly, quickly, or loudly. I had an especially hard time interviewing a candidate with a unique stutter. Luckily, I kept my professionalism and good karma in tact.

After spending four days in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on that infamous “other side,” I’ve decided that it’s not so glamorous to attend OPE as an employer. In fact, as a member of a sexy committee, there were many times I felt distinctly unsexy. For instance, when I was pushing our rented PT cruiser out of a parking space for the second time. Or when I was running across frozen parking lots in four inch heels. Or when I was chugging Red Bull between interviews to stay awake. You get the idea.

I guess the bottom line is that if something seems too sexy to be true, it probably is. Still, I would never turn down the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and eat those Midwest Airlines cookies.

Takin' Care of Business #13

Unmotivated...

That is the only word that comes to mind when I think about how the semester is going. New semester, new set of courses, new set of professors...but is there a new me? a new attitude?

I remember last year when I was so busy applying for assistantships and school never seemed to be done with. Unmotivated...a primary syndrome of senioritis. But hello! I'm not a senior, I'm a grad. So why this feeling? Why now when midterms are approaching? I should be stressing and pulling my hair out, not merely blah.

My classes are no longer of interest to me. Yes, I attend class, but zone out every time I have a 20+ page article to read. I have one professor for two classes. In one he is serious, and in the other a total spaz. My professor for Law class is super fun because she always has good stories to tell about her days in Law School. Plus, I have a bias towards her because she lets us out early from class and she's from Iowa (and I love everything about the state of Iowa). It just seems that I have reached a slump with classes. I don't want to read, and I absolutely dread homework. I don't know what happened to me? I was doing so well in January. And I just want to be OUT of school already. When will I be done??? Aaaahhhhhhh!

Classes aren't the only ones to encounter my unmotivation. I feel like my assistantship is going the same. I don't feel like I'm learning anything new, and everything about my job is starting to become annoying and of no interest to me. I sit in my office day after day working on programming for the unit, and even so, I can't ever attend the events because I usually have classes at night. How do I get to experience the outcomes of a program that I helped create when I have somewhere to be?

I have everything set up for my summer internship and my practicum for the Fall semester, and those are the only things I'm looking foward to right now. Having a job will really do me some good when all I have to focus on is that.

Also, I'm suffering with financial issues because I'm not making enough with my stipend and have contemplated getting a second job, pawning my jewelry, or even selling off my blood plasma. Since I don't get to have a Spring Break because I work at an administrative office, I was planning on visiting my undergrad at the end of the month. Just escape for the weekend. But with the way things are going I may not have money to pay for gas to get to and from Iowa.

The only good thing that happened this week was that one of our student desk workers got a job offer to teach in one of the best school districts in Houston, TX. I'm so excited for him because I think this would be a great opportunity to explore new grounds. When we talked about what his choices were, he was afraid about leaving our current institution and leaving his family behind. He has never lived more than an hour and a half from his parents. I just think "Geez, try 18 hours like me, and I only saw them once last year". He is also afraid of not making friends and meeting people. He has the greatest personality so it's not like it would be too hard for him to meet others. He asked me "When did you start feeling comfortable here?" and very honestly I answered "I'm still working on it". He seemed to be surprised and asnwered "I would have never noticed", and I explained how I constantly try to find the girl I used to be; but the unevitable happened and I gained more responsibility over myself and my actions. I became an adult. It's not like that's a bad thing, it's just that priorities change.

Talking to this student was like an out of body, deja vu experience...like that student was me but last year "me". And he has all the same apprehensions that I had, but to be able to give advice and attempt to answer the questions he had about Texas...well, it just made my day.