What makes a satisfying conclusion? Do you go for heartfelt with warm and fuzzy feelings? Or perhaps you like something more bittersweet. You might even like a surprise twist ending. I’m a sucker for a good ending to a movie (the original Halloween and The Shawshank Redemption are among my favorites, not that you asked), a TV show (The Office really pulled it together in their series finale after some lackluster seasons), or even songs / albums (Nirvana wrapping up In Utero with “All Apologies,” are you kidding me). This should come as no surprise to those of you who have been following along with my writings this year (I can’t believe it’s already been a year), you almost certainly have picked up on my pop culture sensibilities. This idea of finality has been especially prescient for me as I transitioned careers out of Residence Life just a few months ago. This past October, after 6 years of professionally working in Residence Life, I turned off the duty phone for good (at least for now) and experienced my own series finale as I moved into the world of Student Activities for a new role.
As one can imagine, it has been a whirlwind experience that has triggered a wide swath of emotions. There have been many successes, challenges, and growing pains thus far, but the move has been so impactful and has fostered so much growth. I loved my time in Residence Life, but I knew I was ready for a new endeavour and a new change of pace. It was a decision that wasn’t made lightly, and was a work in progress for a while, starting before I even knew I was looking to jump out of Residence Life.
Through this process, I learned a lot about navigating a career change for the first time, and have received a lot of great advice during my transitionary phase. For anyone who is charting their own trajectory out of Res Life, or if you want some reflections on this process, here are some things I have picked up on along the way.
Listen to yourself to judge when the time is right for you.
As I saw peers and friends leave Residence Life before me, they all said that they just knew when the time was right for them to go. That idea always felt a little abstract for me, something I didn’t fully comprehend. But then it started to hit me. Inevitably, something will pull on you, and make you start to expand your horizon. For me, I was pulled in the direction of programming. I harbor a strong passion for large-scale programming that has continually grown during my professional career. In Residence Life, I got to do a bit of this work, but I hit my ceiling and realized I wanted to go further. For others, it might be the desire to not be on call. Or, being done with living on-campus. It’s different for everyone, but you will know when you get that itch.
Branch out often and see what you like.
When I was in Res Life, I was a big fan of seeking out professional development opportunities. I taught classes, presented at conferences, got involved in writing projects, sat on different committees, and more. Beyond just having a lot of varied interests, I wanted to make sure I was giving myself opportunities to try, and hone in on, different skillsets. It was through that process of seeking out opportunities that I got to be plugged into more large-scale programming efforts, a big passion of mine. Branching out also gives you opportunities to network with other professionals and see the work they are engaged with. You might find something new that could be of interest to you.
When you start a new role, be prepared for a different tempo.
Different functional areas in Student Affairs have different tempos. Some move fast and upbeat. Some move slower with periodic creshendos and decreshendos. Res Life carries the tempo of an excited kid playing a drum kit for the first time (that’s to say there’s no patterned beat to follow). I’ve had to shift my approach to my work in many ways, but what really struck me is the different pacing of the work and how I’m shifting to a different beat.
You’re not going to know the answers again, and that’s totally okay.
When I started off as an RD, I of course did not have many of the answers. Besides being at a new institution, it was also my first professional career – there was a lot to learn. Naturally, as time goes on, you pick up the pieces and get a lay of the land. There will always be questions that stump you, but they start becoming fewer and far in-between. When you move to a new functional area, you start back in a similar, yet different, place. You don’t have many of the answers, but there’s an added sense of urgency when you don’t have the answers, at least that’s how I felt. Being a seasoned professional, you want to think you know what you’re doing, and feel at the top of your game, but that doesn’t happen when you start something new – and that’s okay! You need to remind yourself of that when you start a new position.
Res Life Pros really are generalists.
I used to always hear that Res Life Pros, especially RDs, are like generalists in a way. We truly do a little bit of everything. You always hear that RDs are able to career jump a bit more easily because of the generalist nature of the work – and that’s true, at least in my case! To my above point, there are a lot of questions I don’t have the answers to, but my RD experience has prepared me to still handle a lot of things. I may not know the full scope of a new program I’m working on, but I know how to handle a crisis if it arises. The work my team is doing is new to me, but I have experience leading teams. My work in Res Life got me connected to many different functional areas, giving me a bit of grounding for many areas. And the list goes on from there. While I am learning the new language of my new department, my previous Res Life experience is helping expedite that process because of the varied work I did in that world.
Your Res Life colleagues have your back.
We all know how challenging the Res Life work can be, but that work can lead to some incredible bonds. Your Res Life colleagues will always have your back, and I’ve felt immense support from them as I navigate this change.
My move is still fresh, and I do still miss a lot of my work in Res Life (except for maybe the duty phone), yet like I mentioned above, I knew the time was right. I could probably write five other articles around tips and tricks for navigating a change; the above points have felt most pressing for me. I hope it helps.
If you are in the midst of looking to make the leap, best of luck to you. If you’re still in the Res Life world with no plans to change at this juncture, at least stay curious and continue to listen to yourself for when that time comes.
Or who knows, maybe you’re Res Life 4 Life.
Cheers!
