Taking the Leap: Career Paths After Residence Life
C. Kellom & J. Love
NASPA Annual Conference 2017 – San Antonio, Tx.
Voices of Experience: Here are some of the best responses from Student Affairs professionals to our prompt,“What advice would you give to someone who is looking to transition out of ResLife into another Student Affairs functional area?”
Respondents:33 people responded to our survey. About 58% reported working for four to seven years (4-7) in Residence Life; 24% for one to three years (1-3). 60% of all respondents had more than 10 years of professional experience in Student Affairs, including graduate work.
- Preparing for the Leap
- Set a goal of how long you want to be in ResLife.
- Be transparent with your supervisor; Make sure your supervisor knows your future goals. Ask them for support/suggestions for ways to expand your skills/experiences.
- Gain experiences/responsibilities outside of ResLife.
- Find people / mentors who will support your transition out of ResLife and into another functional area.
- Save your money.Your new salary will likely not completely account from the savings associated with living rent-free. Plan out a budget.
- Join professional organizations of areas that you are interested.
- Know when it’s time to move on to a new challenge-this will be different for everyone.
- Reflect on all the translatable skills you’ve gained in ResLife:Highlight how you’ve showcased the skills in previous positions and how they will translate to the new position.
- Seek out opportunities to shadow, learn from, engage with that area on your campus.
- Join a committee; collaborate with your colleagues outside your department, volunteer at other department events.
- Pick jobs you hope to one day have and chase those micro experiences while in ResLife.
- Understand the difference between Student Affairs and Academic Affairs when it comes to student driven programming/development.
- Get advice from the office on campus that you hope to transition into.
- Taking the Leap
- Be open to all areas that you could move into; don’t be afraid to try different focuses in order to find what really speaks to you; Sometimes it’s the things we least expect to love, that end up being the best fit for us.
- Believe in yourself and your ability, ResLife has provided a great foundation for you; use it.
- Seek out ways to learn more about the profession and skills and knowledge necessary to be successful.
- Practice behavioral interviewing questions.
- Don’t give up.Don’t sell yourself short. You can do it!
- Make sure to use the kinds of words on your resume/cover letter that would be expected in the different functional areas.
- After the Leap
- Enjoy that first day when you realize you don’t have to worry about a duty call.
- Consider how your connection to campus changes when you live off.
- Be willing to leave work at work; enjoy your home life.
- Be prepared to rethink how you wrap up your day as a non-ResLife pro (commuting makes trips back to the office difficult).
“The future depends on what you do today.” –Mahatma Gandhi
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