Greetings!

I’m writing to you now from deep inside the trenches on the front lines of the job search. I’m a new, emerging professional, finishing my graduate studies, ready to get out into the world and make an impact. I hope to continue these pseudo journal entries as the hunt goes on, chronicling the highs and lows of officially fully entering the field of student affairs.

So, some further background; I’m finishing my masters’ program at Rutgers University in New Jersey, graduated from University of Delaware in 2012, am searching for residence life, orientation, and leadership program positions in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. I’m currently signed up for The Placement Exchange (TPE) and the Mid-Atlantic Placement Conference (MAPC). The latter of these two events is next week, which kicks off the interview season for me.

I’ve applied to about 17 jobs so far, mostly postings from the TPE board for Baltimore. I’ve just started to pre-schedule some interviews for this conference and am filling out copious Human Resources forms to officially put my name into the mix for different institutions. This part of the process is exciting since I am actively putting my future into my own hands. I’m choosing to apply wherever I want to, communicating with employers, and getting my name out into the world which furthers (hopefully) my recognition and personal brand.

I’m intriguingly looking forward to where I’ll be in a month. After a month’s time, MAPC will be history, TPE will be in full effect, and I’ll also be looking forward to heading to Indianapolis for the national ACPA conference. I’ll also have had the pleasure of interviewing and engaging with prospective students for my graduate program, seeing the next generation of future professionals get their start.

I appreciate any support and advice from the community. This is a tough time for a lot of people, where emerging professionals have to make a lot of difficult choices about their lives. I am currently six months in with a wonderful partner who is looking to get into her own student affairs graduate program, either here at Rutgers or up at the University of Maine. These two possibilities are drastically different in terms of our future together. We plan to make it work regardless of where either of us end up but being around here for two more years, right next to the pulse of New York City versus being up in Maine, slowing down and being closer to my family, both provide costs and benefits.

Thanks for reading and for your continued support!