The Awesomeness of Twitter

Hello everyone! Welcome again to another entry of the Fishbowl! I am still searching for a student affairs job but I actually am really feeling connected with the field of student affairs and residence life and that is thanks to....(horns blowing) Twitter!!

Yes..Twitter. Which I found out is an amazing way to network with professionals that previously you would have been unable to do or do in limited capacities (networking events, conferences) I feel you really get to connect with them on a level that you could not do before. I used to be dead set against Twitter and as a matter of fact, I used to be proud that I hadn't used it before! What a moron I was! LOL! Twitter reminds me of something that one of my college professors used to say..You get out of something, what you put into it. Twitter is exactly like that. You can't just sign up, mention you are job searching and then expect something to happen. Unless you are lottery winner lucky...or even lottery winner twice lucky! You need to meet people, connect with them, get involved in conversations, if people ask for help, ask them what you can do. You might be very surprised with the response! I think you also need to develop a strategy if you want to successfully network on Twitter. I wouldn't constantly post every day that you are looking for a job..I think that would be annoying. Once a week seems to be the standard for something like that. I think you also want to get new followers before you do any more postings. Always expand your network. If the same ten followers get the same mention every week, no one benefits from that. Always try to get new followers and never dismiss the connection. Maybe it isn't a hiring manager that you are talking with, but you never know who someone else knows. Finally, I feel I have already benefited from Twitter. I don't have a job yet but I have connected with a lot of great people and professionals. I found out about a few jobs exclusively through Twitter and had one professional offer to email them my resume and they would keep their eyes open. I appreciate that so much and I dont think I would have experienced any of that if I had not been on Twitter!

Opinions

Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying my blog as much as I love writing entries, and lately I have been more into than ever! Now the whole point of this blog is me talking about my efforts to get back in the field of student affairs. I really don't want to get overly political, it isn't the spin that I am looking for. However an incident happened that really has me wanting to talk about it and I think my blog is a great place to do that.

If you are in the field of student affairs, you may know about what is going on with Michigan Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell and University of Michigan student Chris Armstrong. Chris Armstrong was elected student body president of UM. Andrew Shirvell decided to make a personal vendetta against Armstrong because he is gay and Shirvell felt that Armstrong was radical in his lifestyle. I know there are more details than that, but that is the abridged version that I am aware of. Andrew Shirvell should be ashamed of himself..absolutely ashamed of himself. If one has their opinion..they are entitled to it. I don't agree at all but he can have his opinion. However, to do what he did was so far out of line, I hope that he is fired from his job as soon as possible. He acted immaturely, he has been about as discriminatory and closed minded as one can get and basically has acted like a big bully against a young student leader. I dont know the every day operations of an Attorney General but I am going to assume standing outside of Armstrong's house at one in the morning is not part of the job detail. I think he has much more on his agenda instead of harassing a college student. I hope the right things happen and he publicly apologizes to Mr. Armstrong and that he steps down or is removed from Attorney General. I am very happy that UM banned Shirvell from their campus. Backing up Mr. Armstrong was the absolute right thing to do. Ok..like I said before...this blog is not intended to be a political one..but I had to voice my opinion on the topic. Hope you enjoy the reading!!

Mobile Technology

Hello everyone! This is the second post of talking about smartphones. Like I stated before, I think they are a wonderful tool especially if you are someone who might have a busy schedule and need some sort of organization. They are also fantastic if you might be someone who is on the go a lot, lots of meetings and need various means of communications at a moment's notice. Now one thing that almost every smartphone needs is a data plan. That enables a phone user to be able to go on the internet freely and not get charged an arm and a leg to do it. Keep that in mind if you are looking for a new phone or want one of those great phones that do everything except make coffee..lol! A lot of those phones need a data plan. Now what a lot of providers are doing is coming up with a tiered pricing plan for heavy data users which means that you pay for a certain allotment of data a month. AT&T and Verizon already do this and Sprint is giving it serious thought. I was absolutely against this until I realized I would save money because the data plan I have was far more expensive for an amount I would never come close to using..and I am a heavy data user. This way, it seems the company and the customer both come out ahead. Another topic about phones that I have been hearing about recently is the Walmart Family Mobile plans. I know a little about them but I think it is better if you get the info straight from the source so check out www.walmart.com and type Family Mobile. I will post soon!! Take care!

Mobile Technology

Hello everyone! I hope it has been a good few weeks for everyone! Not too much to report, the job search is still continuing and still fighting the good fight! Today's blog entry, I figured I would talk a bit about mobile technology..expanding on what was talked about in #SAChat, which is very addictive, might I add!! Today's chat they talked about mobile technology in student affairs. Definitely a topic close to my heart, because currently I am working in the field of mobile technology. I wish that cell phones had been more available when I was last involved in the field, it certainly could have made some situations easier, such as needing to get a hold of an RA or a member of security at a moment's notice. These days, cell phones can do so many things it is remarkable. I would be very surprised to come across a professional that doesn't have a smartphone in some way, shape or form. I think it is a necessity at this point and it seems that it is almost a requirement to have some sort of rudimentary knowledge of how to navigate around a phone. I have a Palm Pre, which I love..( I love it even more now that I have a decent charger!) and one of the first functions that I started using was the scheduler on it. I can't wait to get back in the field to take full advantage of it..certainly beats posting reminders all around my cubicle like I used to do or write things down in an appointment book that I couldn't find half the time! Something else I love on a smartphone are applications, they come very much in handy! I downloaded mobile apps of LinkedIn and Twitter and I have been able to get leads on jobs without even needing to be near my computer! Another helpful option that I like on a smartphone is the use of data. I think it is important to be able to get on certain websites very quickly and access information. Data plans can be a bit pricey but I think for professionals, it is worth it to be able to come and go on the internet with ease. I think I am going to make this entry two parts so keep your eye out for more info! I can talk about this all night!!!

Prezi Blog!

Well, hello everyone! I hope people are doing well and enjoying what is left of the summer, which isnt much! Today, I figured I would talk about one of the coolest applications I have seen for a computer and it is something I think anyone who does presentations should be using. It is called Prezi and it is a computer web based application for presentations. You can use text, images and group them together in a way you would want to do the presentation. I downloaded it onto my computer and it seems so much easier to use than something such as Power Point. It really does seem to be tailor made for someone like a student affairs professional who might use it to do some sort of training or workshop. There is a free version of it..which I downloaded..but you have to publish it on the Prezi site. There are also the upgradeable versions where can you do private Prezis. I do not think my simple blog will do this justice so I am giving the address and encourage everyone to check it out..it really is amazing and I think if you are someone who may not be the most tech-savvy person in the world, makes for reasonably easy learning and putting it all together. Take a look...http://prezi.com

Prezi!

Hello everyone! I have been sick over the last few days so I havent been on the computer at all..I am not going to post today, but in the next day or so, expect a post from me about an amazing computer application called Prezi..which every student affairs professional, education professional, student should be using..it is awesome!!!! Keep posted!!!

Phone Interview Update

So I figured I would let you all know where I am at in terms of the phone interview last week. I think it went well. The officials from the school were very nice and asked a lot of very deep questions. I really enjoyed talking with them. Two things that I learned from that interview..one..if you have to do an interview on a cell phone, make sure that you put it on speaker. There may be many times during the interview where you have to refer to something and it is good to have your hands free. The other thing I learned is to definitely have a copy of your resume in front of you. There were a few times that one of the officials directly referred to something I had talked about on my resume and it was very helpful to have it right there in front of me so I knew exactly what she was talking about. I haven't heard back from them yet, I am just trying to be patient. Applying to other schools and getting my fantasy football team together...good way to keep my mind off of the search! We will see what happens...send me good karma!

Wow!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't posted in a bit..i am very sorry to anyone who reads and follows this..one..maybe? LOL! Anyways, there is a good reason recently that I have not. I got an email from a school!!! And they were asking if I am still interested in their position. I was like..ummm...YEAH!!!! I sent them back an email that day and spoke to one of their area coordinators the next day. Very good conversation...very nice and professional person and I was told that if the school was interested, they may contact me soon for a phone interview. Here is some invaluable advice that I learned through that conversation....stay current..especially in the field of student affairs. I asked if the fact that I have been out of the field for a while would work against me. I was told if I was current and had been doing things relevant to the field that it would certainly be taken into consideration. I went home that night..brainstormed and came up with a list of all the things that I had done that were relevant to the field and it actually was a pretty long list. I added all that information on my online application which fortunately had not been looked at yet..lol. I also sent an email to the area coordinator summarizing what I had done. The next day, I got an email from the Director of Residential Life wanting to schedule a phone interview. This is where we are at now. Not only would I be back in the field...it is at a school I have always dreamed of working at. I am a little nervous but making myself as prepared as I can possibly be and give the interview of my life! So..I give you this advice. Don't ever give up...have a good attitude. Also...keep the lines of communication open..i got an email on a Sunday so you literally never know when an employer might contact you. Finally, contact as soon as possible..it shows that you are definitely interested. I have followed up both emails the next day with phone calls. Well..I hope to have bigger news in the near future so stay tuned!

Update!

Well...I did have a company call me which was very cool and I am going to see where it goes. It isn't in student affairs so that search will be ongoing but the fact that this company calls me means a great deal and I am at least curious as to where this might go..and the experience is very good as well! The search continues though...applied to two more schools. I do recommend again..if you have not posted your resume on Monster.com...do so right now..stop reading this..if you are..lol...and do it now!!!!! I dont think student affairs really gets that involved with Monster.com but other fields definitely do and it seems as though very positive results happen! Well..if I know more from this company...it should be this week. Still hoping for positive things!!!! Stay tuned!

Updates

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you all know where life in the Fishbowl is at! I did end up doing one of those Facebook ads..not much of a response yet..but I do like the idea. I do think I might have to link it up to one of my other sites. Speaking of links...hehehe..hows that for a segue? I did have people looking at my LinkedIn profile...I definitely feel as though my resume is starting to get noticed..i just hope more schools start looking at it! I also had a friend of mine take a look at my resume..he used to be a recruiter for many years and he is very good at what he does..some advice..if you have resources or someone offers you help..take it..it really is invaluable and particularly if they have background experience. He basically tore it apart..but it really needed to be...I like it a lot better..and at this point..my resume is done..I think. I have done all the tweaking I can do and I do believe it is up to professional standards. Some good news..I did get a call from a local computer company who saw my resume on Monster.com and wanted to talk to me about employment opportunities. A little more advice, if you are looking for a job and you havent posted on Monster.com...leave this blog...i wont be upset..lol..and open up an account there. I did not even call this company and now they are calling me. Social Media..networking..it really is amazing! Thats about all for now..talk to you folks soon!

Busy Day

Hello everyone! Well a lot happened today with the job search..did talk to a few schools..we will see what happens. I also did post a Facebook Ad as well! I will post another blog in the next day or so and go into more detail..no interviews..but a good day today all in all!!

Placing Ads

So another day...the search continues. If nothing else, I have gained so much experience from this...experience...lol!!! But I am still very hopeful something will happen! Anyways...I was reading about a gentleman named Alec Brownstein. Are you wondering who he is? Well..if you are in the boat that I am in, that is a name you should definitely know because I think in many circles, he is a bit of a celebrity and certainly without a doubt, an innovator. Alec Brownstein is the guy who got the job of his dreams essentially by having the companies that he was interested in google themselves and that led to his website...I think I have that process right...lol! I have thought about doing what he did but I am not sure how well it will work for two reasons. One..because it worked so well for Alec, I think more people are going to try that idea and something that was a really unique and interesting idea might seem not so new because so many people are going to want to try it. Two..i think in a field like public relations..its a lot easier to figure out the top five firms where one would want to work or the top five people in the field that one would want to work for. I think in student affairs it is a lot more arbitrary..the top five schools in the nation doesn't necessarily mean those are the top five student affairs departments. Now I am not criticizing Alec at all..come on...he is currently at his dream job..while I am just blogging about it..for now! No..Alec definitely knows what he is doing and he came up with an awesome idea. I just think if I am going to do it...i need to tweak the idea a bit. I'm thinking about maybe doing something on Facebook.It seems like a lot of student affairs and higher education personnel are on Facebook quite a bit. Any thoughts? No entry tomorrow..but stay tuned for another one probably on Sunday! Take care!

Welcome!

Well..im very excited today! No...no job offer...at least not yet! What I do have is apparently an audience for my blog! So...welcome aboard!!! I hope that people enjoy this blog and I definitely enjoy working on it! Today's word of wisdom...I really think anyone who is on a job search should be using LinkedIn...its great to be networking with people and it actually makes one feel that they are not at a moat of a giant castle trying to get past the gatekeeper! Hehehe..i like that analogy...i have to remember that! Anyways..welcome..im going to try to make the Fishbowl a daily blog or at least as often as I can, so stay tuned and thank you!

Job Search

Wow! This is some competitive job market! I found out today that one of the schools that I applied to..there are over 100 candidates for one position..100 candidates! That is insane! However..that still has me just as determined as ever. I have been doing a lot of networking tonight..posting on discussion boards and updating the Fishbowl! I also found out..through networking, might I add..about a website called Excelon Associates (www.excelonassociates.com) which is a recruiting agency for higher education. I posted my resume on there and we will see what happens!

Job Search Advice

Hello everyone! So, another piece of advice that I have learned in my job search is.....always, always try to have someone proofread your work. Don't just rely on spellcheck...definetly have another set of eyes helping you out! In my case..when it is my wife..I take her out to lunch!!!!

Cover Letter

I just finished tweaking my new cover letter. I do think its really good and I am definitely hoping it gets some positive results! If nothing else..it gets one's attention! We will see what happens later on this week! Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Fridays and the Fishbowl

Hello everyone! Two posts in one day...its a record for me! Actually the reason I am posting right now is to let followers(when I get some!LOL) know that I won't be doing any updating on my blog on Fridays. The reason is simple..two jobs. Not enough time to post..unless its very late at night(which I am a night owl but even I have my limits) or something very significant..interview...job offer...Cubs winning the World Series! So Fridays will more than likely be an off day for blogging but I will attempt to get right back to it on Saturday! See you folks this weekend!

How to Stay Sane In A Job Search

Hello everyone! I think I am doing pretty good so far staying up on this blog, this is three days in a row which I think is a record for me. It is a good thing because it is making me dedicated to keeping current on this which..lol..is usually the point of a blog. I am going to always attempt to keep this blog more professional based than personal..I don't think people are going to be terribly interested in what my cats ate today or how the Red Sox did last night(although i will always readily talk about that!) This is more regarding my job search, how it is going, any progress I made and hopefully reaching the point where I am talking about starting a new job in the student affairs profession. I am planning on not stopping the blog there either..I want to talk about what it is like to be back involved in the field, how it is going for my wife and I being in a new situation, maybe having relocated very far from home. I'm excited to share these experiences with anyone who reads this blog. So with that, I am going to share some advice with people about what I have come across in my job search and keeping sane (which I have been told I am doing pretty well at!)

1. Consider all your options- I had been doing a lot of sending out resumes, cover letters, etc...at least two a week, if not more. I felt accomplished but it had not done much in getting my foot back in the door. I had been against blogging...Twitter...mainly because I didn't know much about them. I educated myself a bit and found out how resourceful these options can be and how they have opened a door that I feel wasn't there before and am networking with professionals in the field that I was not meeting before by doing the cold calls. This option really has invigorated my job search and gave me a shot in the arm when I really needed it. Which brings me to my second point.

2. Social Media- I really believe that this is the wave of the future for job searches, if it isnt already here. LinkedIn...Twitter..blogging..I think to a lesser extent, Facebook are really good tools for networking and having you feel as if you are a little closer to where you want to be. When I do get hired by a college, I would love to do a presentation about the signifance of these sites in one's job search and how vital I think they are. The computer is such an important part of so many peoples' lives and it makes sense that the job search would reflect that. Use these sites..make those connections and I think you will feel like you are at least getting through the door. What you do after that is up to you!

3. Have a good attitude- Searching for a job can be very frustrating and can be very draining. I think if you start giving up and have a bad attitude, it can reflect...even subconsciously...in interviews, correspondence with potential employers. I sometimes think finding a job is almost like dating. If you deal with a lot of rejection, you may give off signs of desperation..even if you don't think you are. But you better believe other people will notice. And I don't think there is a single employer out there who wants to hire someone right off the bat with a bad, negative, deflated attitude. Karma is important...give off positive vibes and you will get positive vibes.

4. Don't be a prisoner to your email or phone- I have had to learn to do this one. You keep on waiting for the phone to ring..or that email to show up in your mailbox that you are looking at both items all the time...and I mean all the time! I was waiting for the phone to beep every three seconds. Put it away. Now. You will drive yourself crazy. These things take time and I have heard of many stories of an applicant calling every day inquiring about their status in a job process and have taken themselves out of the running because of it. I have learned to put the phone away...or at least not look at it every second. Find other things to do. And again..when you do return to the phone or the computer, you feel a sense of being revitalized and that you can do what you need to do to keep the search going.


5. This ties in a bit with no 4...distract yourself. I work right now so that can be a distraction right there from my job search..I know that for eight hours a day I need to be focusing on work and not on my phone ringing. I think its definetly kept me sane and focused and not wondering any minute if a school is going to call..or if they haven't called..why have they not called..etc. I also have found that hobbies are really good..my fantasy baseball team has been a real help and so has my music..those things relax me and they keep me focused in the moment and I enjoy them. If you dont have a hobby or a pasttime...get one!


6. Support System- This could be different people..depending on who you are. For me..its my wonderful wife, Cindy! She has been a rock during this process..which directly affects her too because wherever I go..obviously she is coming with me! So this process is nerve-racking for her too. However, she has supported me through it all..given me advice...reassurance..positive words..you name it. I want this just as much for her as I do for myself. I'm a lucky guy. For other people, it could be friends..peers..colleagues..significant others. Having positive people around you make you that much more positive and it is important to have that kind of energy around you. You dont need negativity bringing you down.

There it is...the steps that I have learned to keep myself sane during this search. I hope maybe other people in the same boat are keeping sane as well..maybe someone might read this if they are going a little crazy and can take a step back and breathe for a bit. Whatever might help! Good luck!

Discussion Groups

So I got some good news this morning..two of the discussion groups I asked to be invited to accepted me. Now there are two reasons I am excited about this. First, obviously...the networking possibilites..it feels good to be actually talking to people in the field, sharing ideas and discussing rather than sending a resume and taking my chances. I feel that I can actually start making some real connections which I am planning to lead to a job offer! The other reason is because I enjoy getting involved in these kind of discussions and it is very informative to know what the relevant and hot topics are in student affairs especially being out of the field for a while. Im feeling good about where the job search is going! So..im going to try to post tomorrow and make this a regular thing!

Starting My Blog

Hello everyone! I just started my blog which I am calling Jumping Back In the Fishbowl. I am calling it that completely out of affection for the field I am attempting to get back in. I have found myself missing the student affairs environment and have spent some time trying to get my foot back in the door! I also wanted to come up with a creative name for my blog and this I thought was a good name! I am going to try to stay up on my blog and post at least once a week and explain where I am at with the attempted return to the student affairs field. I have realized that social media seems to be a really great way to get one's name out there and I kind of wish I had thought of it before..but better late than never! I will try to post more as I can!