The Placement Exchange: Day 1
Day 1 of the placement exchange is in the bag! I forgot just how much I really do enjoy this process. It is nerve-wracking as all hell, but it's incredibly exciting.
I came in here today expecting to have a bit of a rough start. They always tell you to schedule a couple interviews as "practice" or "warm-up" interviews to get rid of the nerves and to work out answers that you were still unsure of. Today I didn't have that luxury, though.
My travel plans changed as I was trying to save a little money by staying one less night in the conference hotel, so I woke up at 4:30 this morning and was on the road by 5:15 driving to Chicago. I arrived at about 10:30am and immediately ran into several people I know, and a couple I hadn't seen in a few years!
First interview: 1pm. It was a school I was very interested in. I feel as though I did very well, and managed to land a 2nd interview with them. Bonus!
Then there was the surprise interview that somehow didn't make it onto my schedule on my computer, but was on the website. I did some frantic quick research and managed to finish strong with that interview, though I don't know for sure if the school is the absolute best fit for me at this time.
Then there was some down time. I spent some time trying to track down some folks on Twitter for an impromptu tweetup, while simultaneously inhaling a Southern Style Chicken sandwich from McDonald's at the bargain price of $8. Despite our best efforts, @thestacyface and I couldn't make our schedules jive. We'll try again tomorrow. Any other Higher Ed/Student Affairs twitter folks out there who want to meet up at TPE, hit me up: @erikbates.
I wrapped up the evening with one last interview that went pretty well, and I started to mosey back to my room, after calling home and stopping off to chat with @dwibb, an old friend from graduate school.
On the whole, it was a very successful first day. The volunteers were very friendly (one was actually an old friend from undergrad) and helpful. Check-in went very smoothly, and the waiting rooms were quiet, but not dull. People were obviously nervous, but not annoyingly so. I'm looking forward to day 2. I have several more interviews tomorrow, so I'm going to be much more frantic.
“Compton Cookout” party seen as a bad idea by everyone except the organizers
Photo by Marc Balanky
It's times like this that this whole concept of "Challenge and Support" really has meaning.
UCSD has some major work ahead of them. A racially-themed party, followed by several racially-charged events in response to the (rightful) outrage of black students at UCSD has created a bit of a crisis, with many minority students declaring a "racial state of emergency."
I've been in the field for 5 years, but in the college setting for 12. This isn't the first time I've seen an offensively-themed party, and I'm positive it won't be the last. College students (people, in general) are notorious for making decisions without considering how they will impact anybody outside their immediate social circle.
What is really strange about this UCSD situation that is different than what I've seen in the past is that after the outrage of the first party, some students actually had the gall to stage a follow-up party with the same theme!
"We pretty much want people to just choose a culture and harmlessly poke fun at it," Mike Randazzo told NBC San Diego.
I could go off on a rant here about how the media makes this whole thing possible. Comedians like Dave Chapelle and Carlos Mencia poke fun at culture all the time, so it's ok for everyone else to do it, right? There's a fine line between social commentary and blatant ridicule of a culture.
“On Cinco de Mayo, we have parties making fun of Mexicans; on Veterans Day, we make fun of veterans (yes, the same veterans who uphold our rights to free speech); on St. Patrick's Day we make fun of the Irish. Everyone gets made fun of out of jest now, not hate,” the invitation read.
I love the "we make fun of everyone equally, so nobody should be offended" logic. Yes, you may be making fun of someone out of jest, but does that make what you say or do sting any less to someone who is proud of who they are? "We always do it" is not an excuse to continue to do it.
There won't be a quick fix to this event, nor should there be. Perhaps it takes a crisis such as this to finally make progress in educating our students. While the event in question may be taking place at UCSD, lessons from what led to the conflict and how it is being handled can be used at institutions everywhere. I'm sure this won't be the last we hear about UCSD, and, honestly, I hope it's not. I am looking forward to seeing how they respond, and how schools across the country respond, in turn.
Further reading:
UCSD Frat Denies Involvement In 'Ghetto-Themed' Party
'Compton Party Part Deux' Organizer Defends His Actions
Student Protest Video
New UCSD racial incident sparks rage, confrontation
Twitter search: UCSD (note: a lot of NSFW language here)
One week to Chicago
That's right -- just one more week until The Placement Exchange in Chicago! So far I'm sitting at 5 interviews, with a couple more that I need to finalize. Not a huge amount, but not exactly small-time, either. Granted, my first time at the Oshkosh Placement Exchange I naively scheduled over 20 interviews. Take my advice: don't do that. Ever.
My goal is to have 7 or 8 interviews scheduled before the conference, and to hopefully schedule 3 or 4 more once I arrive. A solid 12 interviews would be a full conference, I think.
Some questions that I've been mulling over as I prepare for the conference:
- Business cards: Do I need them? I don't currently work for a company that provides business cards. Will I need more than my resume and my winning smile as I walk around the job conference?
- Are there socials at TPE like there are at OPE, or is the social aspect reserved for the NASPA conference itself?
- Seriously, does anybody need a roommate? I'm going to wind up staying at a seedy hotel if I can't find someone to split the cost of a room with.
I'm finally starting to feel the nerves about the job search. Here's hoping I can wrap it up quickly!
Odds are, I won't be chiming in again until TPE. But I do plan on checking in "from the trenches".