Job Search Update

Today is really the first day that I've spent a substantial amount of time looking and applying for jobs. While I would love to work in orientation, I'm keeping my options open for other functional areas (like Student Activities, First Year Programs, etc) The only areas that I've pretty much nixed completely are Judicial/Conduct (although I've definitely learned a lot working with LSU's Student Advocacy & Accountability), Greek Life and Residence Life (I don't know that I'm ready or comfortable with being that liable just yet). There are positions out there-- some schools just wait a bit longer to publicize them!

One question everyone seems to ask is where I'd like to work. The area that I'm considering for the time being is essentially east of the eastern side Texas (especially Dallas, Austin, Houston, & San Antonio) and south of Washington, DC. I have a lot of professional contacts in the region through SROW and NODA involvement. Honestly, the climate is a big factor as well since I'm not a fan of cold weather for extended periods of time. Additionally, I'm not opposed to certain urban areas that are farther north such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston and Baltimore. I've also looked at the Phoenix area because there are a number of large institutions in a fairly small area, but so far it's toward the bottom of my list. Ideally, I'm hoping to work somewhere for about 5-10 years then come back to work with orientation at LSU.

Much to my mother's dismay, I need to get out of Baton Rouge for a little while. I've lived in the area for almost 25 years and things are starting to become stale at times. There are also very few opportunities here for someone working in higher education. Granted, I haven't ruled out working at Southern or BRCC, but I need to branch out from LSU at the very least.

As of today, I've applied for one job and completed the application forms for another institution. I've been looking at major schools in the southeast and haven't found much interesting just yet. I'll probably look for an hour or so each day and constantly update my resume as needed to stay on top of things.

If all of the stars align, I'll have a job by Thanksgiving and will be looking for apartments in a new town!