Becoming a university professional
 

Hey all:

I am in the process of applying to work at a local university. I am looking for administrative/managerial positions as I will be graduating from that school with my M.Ed and am eager to gain experience working in student affairs or athletics. From the get go I have promised myself that I would only apply for the positions that both matched my interests and abilities. I have found two great positions and have applied for one. As I consider applying for the second, two questions come to mind.

1. Should I seek input from my university contacts (student affairs professionals?) I would like to send a polite e-mail requesting a chance to discuss my decision to apply to the selected positions, but I don't know how this might be interpreted (politics...ugh).

2. Might the university question my decision to apply to more than one position within a relatively short amount of time? I am applying to more than one because I believe I could succeed in a number of student affairs settings, but I don't want to hurt my chances.

I guess this all comes down to politics. I want to do things the right way while applying to this huge public university, but I am not quite sure what the right way is.

Thanks :)

CaliSA

I work for a private university, and while the culture is probably pretty different, I know some things tend to hold true for higher education environments.

Definitely work your contacts... an email is good, but a quick phone call is better. (And depending on how close you are to the person you wish to talk to, you may just want to drop in for a few minutes and have an informal chat).

As far as applying for more than one position, that's a tough one. At my university, I know of a young lady who has applied for every position that has opened in my department... which not the best tactic. If the positions are similar, and you really like both of them, then go for it, but if not, you may want to stick to the one that is really the best fit.

I know you asked this question a while ago, but I just saw it. Hope I could help.

I recently left the politics of a public university and have this advice for you.

1. I agree with Sugar that you should work your contacts. I know you may not like the politics of it all but in academia its sometimes who you know. An email is not personal enough and can be misunderstood by whom ever you are sending it to. Do the phone call thing and you should be fine.

2. You should hold off on applying to too many positions at the same time because a conflict of interest could arise. At my university your resume must be sent to human resources and if you match the qualifications of the position that you applied for then your resume will be fowarded on to whom ever is hiring for that position for further consideration. If you apply and are considered for more than one job at the same time and one job may hinder you getting the other. Check with the university that you are applying with to see how their hiring process works and if they post the jobs that have already been filled. That way if you miss out on one job you can post for the other if it is still available.