Housing is a unique place to hold a career due to all of the elements this functional area is responsible for. There are a lot of great experiences that can translate to future opportunities in which you can continue to build on a career within Student Affairs or pivot to a new field entirely. I found that, specifically with my Housing roles, my schedule would be inundated with tasks and responsibilities that I did not really consider what the next steps would look like in my career. Take some time to focus on what is next for you, whether it’s in Housing or beyond, so that you can be prepared and properly leverage your time in this field. As someone who has transitioned out of Housing, here is some advice to consider.
Know your strengths and what you want for the future.
When you are ready to move on from Housing, consider what your strengths were in your current role. If conduct was a part of the job that you dreaded, applying to a job in the Dean of Students office probably isn’t going to be a good fit. If you thrive in some of the administrative responsibilities and emphasizing your hall engagement plan, consider a job in the realm of project management. One of the areas I loved most about the Resident Director role was learning what I could do to help make the position better for my student staff and finding ways to provide team development to prepare them for their next role. When the Employee Relations Coordinator position opened up at UNI’s Human Resources office, I felt like its responsibilities resonated most with what I loved from being a Resident Director. Consider what you love most about your current role and try to find ways to emphasize that in your future positions.
Keep developing skills needed for your next role.
One of the best things that you can start doing now to prepare yourself for the next position is to start looking at job descriptions and institutions that you would like to work with in the future. Identify gaps that are in your experience and find ways to continue working on them while in your current role. If you want to pursue Academic Advising, find ways to integrate that into your current workload. You can do this by asking if you can take on a caseload of a few students each semester or if you can assist with the process during Orientation. It also doesn’t need to mean that you’re taking on more work: it may mean emphasizing different responsibilities you already have. If you want to work in the Dean of Students Office, ask to see higher level conduct cases that will help you ease into that future role. Even if this is your first year in the role or you are happy with where you’re at, this process is going to set you up for success at identifying the gaps you have in your experience and how you can continue working on them in your current role. If you’re not thinking ahead and preparing yourself for that next jump, you’re going to miss the mark.
This one is also applicable to friends who want to stay in Housing too. Just because you want to stay in this area does not give you the pass to just float along and conduct business as usual. To move to mid-level and upper-level management means facing a high level of competition amongst some of the best and brightest in the field. And that’s just to be selected to take the job: once you actually have that role, there are more responsibilities that you will have to juggle, some of them you may be unfamiliar with. The best thing that you can do is consider how you can continue growing in your role. How can you innovate to help engage students? What can you develop to benefit the department? Where are the opportunities to network and pursue professional development? This is not a field where you can just show up and expect a promotion.
Identify your transferable skills and market appropriately.
I have always thought of the field of Housing as the appetizer sampler of jobs due to the varied responsibilities that come with these roles. Whether its staff development, the coordination of training for student staff or full-time staff, community-building through hall engagement, serving as a conduct officer, providing referrals to campus resources, or completing the other administrative responsibilities, there is a lot that comes with these positions. When you make the move to a specific functional area of Student Affairs, like Academic Advising or Career Services, or pivot out of Student Affairs entirely, you are making the choice to focus on one responsibility. Say goodbye to the boneless wings and chicken quesadilla: you’re sticking with the mozzarella sticks!
In the previous points you have spent some time thinking about your strengths and how they connect to future opportunities. You have also considered areas of improvement and how to continue emphasizing different responsibilities so that you can become a well-rounded applicant for your next job. Now it is time to focus on how you can translate the responsibilities of your current role with the next position. Start by looking at job descriptions: have them side by side so that you can highlight what areas you can focus on within your resume, application materials, and in the interview. If the position you’re applying for focuses on conflict resolution, you should spend more effort focusing on your experience with conduct and roommate mediation than your experience in hall engagement and connecting with students. Ultimately this task is contingent on the position that you are considering. The good news is that, since Housing is the appetizer sampler of experiences, you have many responsibilities that you can draw from and focus on to help set yourself up for success. It all lies in preparation with your application materials and reflection on examples that you can share during your interview.
Network strategically and cultivate relationships.
This is an area that we do really well within the field of Housing. Attending an ACUHO-I or regional conference can feel like Homecoming, where you get to reconnect with some of your best friends that you have met during your time in this field. But that only happens if you put yourself out there by making connections with others outside of your own department. Join organizations that allow you to meet other people from institutions around the region (and beyond!), attend an institute to cultivate some strong relationships over the course of a few days, and get involved when it comes to conferences. This is the greatest way to continue building relationships with others and, more importantly, name recognition with leadership at other departments. You want to be the person that everyone wants on their team and networking is a way to open up the door for future opportunities.
Conceptually this extends to other offices and organizations that you would like to work with in the future. People find the best success when they know others in the organizations they are applying to work with. It is great to have that previous work experience or even an informal moment of acquaintance so that people can put a face to the name that they are reading on the application. And I recognize what I am about to share conflicts with interview ethics (and that could be an entirely separate article on its own) but people generally rate higher during interviews if they have previous experience with that individual. While it’s something we need to check at the door when we are interviewing people, it is something we can leverage to our advantage as the interviewees.
Avoid Imposter Syndrome and fear.
It’s important to preface that this is easier said than done. I really had to keep myself in check as I was applying for this position in Human Resources. The voice in my head kept saying, “Your background is in education, not business. You don’t even have a shot.” I went into the process knowing that it was a long shot and saw it as more of a way to practice than a legitimate option. It was a position that I felt I could do well with but, because my background was a bit outside of what I perceived to be the scope, I really felt like I wasn’t qualified. Then I got the job offer and everything changed in the course of a few weeks. Don’t count yourself out just because you may not have the skillset YOU think they’re looking for. You won’t know what opportunities are on the horizon unless you put yourself out there.
A wise supervisor once told me that you do not need to make a decision until a job offer is made. It is better to throw your name in the running for a role, interview, and get the offer than to have never tried at all because you decided that your experience was not what the hiring committee was looking for. The other critical piece to the interview process is that you are also checking to see if that department or organization is going to be a good fit for you. It is not hard to judge if an office is going to be a good fit based on how they ask interview questions, the ways they interact with one another, and how they convey care to you as the applicant. To get your dream job you need to be willing to fail: you may get turned down a few times along the way but you never know what will happen unless you apply. You are worthy for a position that leverages your skills and interests. Go out and find it.
You can’t be a Resident Director forever and you shouldn’t want to be. You need to consider how you are going to move up or when you are going to move out and prepare yourself for that transition. I wouldn’t trade my time as a Resident Director for anything. I met so many amazing students who made an impact in the community and on campus as they grew as leaders. I worked with some phenomenal professionals who are changing the world. And I was mentored by outstanding individuals who are making an impact on the field of Housing, Student Affairs, and beyond. But you need to know when it’s time to make the jump out of the position to a promotion, a different functional area, or out of the field entirely. Preparing for that process now is going to help you make a seamless transition and will give you more enjoyment during your time in this role.
Jesse Heath (he/him) has worked as a housing professional for almost five years and currently serves as the Employee Relations Coordinator at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, IA. Jesse’s professional interests focus on talent development, performance development, and employee relations within higher education. Outside of work, Jesse loves spending time with family and playing board games over a good cup of coffee.
