It’s that time of year again! Another summer has come and gone, and if you’re reading this, you’ve decided to return for another year as an RA. Whether your previous experience as an RA was a breeze or more of a maelstrom, Roompact’s bloggers are here to help! What’s my piece of advice, you ask? In my professional opinion, one of the best things you can do for yourself as a returning RA is to be more career-oriented.
What exactly does it mean to be “career-oriented?” I’ll admit, that advice is a bit vague, but that’s only because I do actually have some very specific points to make that need to be tied together with one central theme. So without further ado, here are my top tips for being more career-oriented:
Update Your Resume Regularly
It’s no secret that you’re not going to be an RA forever. The closest you could come to that is probably becoming a resident director (RD), and even being an RD is a far cry from RA life. So, now that we’ve both acknowledged and accepted that you won’t be an RA forever, it’s time to start thinking about how your experiences in this job can make you more marketable in your future career pursuits.
But what actually is the RA job? It looks different at every school, and you might find yourself doing things that you wouldn’t expect judging by the RA job description. If you’ve ever heard your supervisor utter the phrase “other duties as assigned,” you know exactly what I’m talking about. So whether it’s your actual resume, a sticky note on your desk, a random word document, or any other notetaking method of choice, start writing down what you actually do on a regular basis. It’s easy to look back on a school year and forget all the amazing and challenging things you did, so writing down what you actually do while it’s fresh in your mind will help you better document your role and discuss it during job interviews.
How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything
While I wasn’t able to find a quotable source for this phrase, the message about habits and character is clear. While it is harder for some than others to draw comparisons between the RA job and their future career, remember that how you do anything is how you do everything. Are you consistently late to your weekly staff meeting? Have you gotten feedback from your supervisor that you need to be more detail-oriented in your program planning and duty reports? If you struggle with time management, attention to detail, teamwork, or any other general, transferable skills in your RA job, those struggles won’t magically disappear when you enter the “real world.” By the time you graduate, you’ll have at least two years of negative workplace habits working against you, so make that transition to professional life a little bit easier on yourself by tackling your areas of improvement head-on.
Seek Out Professional Opportunities
As a returning RA, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking you know the job like the back of your hand, and for some, it could actually be smooth sailing. While it’s not my intent to preach to you about how wonderful the corporate grind is, if you find that returning to the RA job presents no new challenges, it might be time to seek some out.
If you have the capacity, stepping up to be a leader amongst leaders can be extremely beneficial for your future career. It can lead to building new connections and deepening existing ones with professional staff, which could then lead to letters of recommendation or references for your dream job. It can also expose you to more diverse experiences, which might give you the extra edge you need in an interview. Perhaps your supervisor needs help managing the hall budget or organizing large-scale programs. There might even be an opportunity for you to join a residential-based advocacy group like RHA, which could open doors for schoolwide, statewide, or even nationwide recognition of your skills and accomplishments. Not sure where to start? Talk to your supervisor about what kind of experiences and opportunities might be available to you.
Concluding Thoughts
If you’re here for a tl;dr (too long, didn’t read, in case you weren’t aware), I’d summarize my post by saying this: don’t squander the professional opportunity that being an RA truly provides. Campus employment, especially the RA job, supplies a wonderful environment for you to try, fail, and succeed with relatively lower stakes than the real world. By now, you’ve probably realized that these 4 years (or more, we don’t judge here!) won’t last forever, so approach this year as an RA with intention, and don’t forget to have fun!
