Third Time's the Charm? Interviewed Again

Tuesday night marked my third round of the carousel interview process of becoming a residence advisor. It is not part of the process that occurs once you KNOW you are an advisor, but rather part of the process leading up to one of the following three points of contact:

1. The phone call: You've got it! You will hear from the Residence Life Manager of the residence area that you have been assigned to, and will be informed that you've been offered a position to be an advisor the following academic year.
2. The "who knows what might happen" e-mail: You have been placed on the alternate list; it is not a "no", but it is not a "yes". Based on others accepting their offers, and the retraction of some of those offers throughout the next several months, you may be hired later on. This will be dependent upon how your conveyed personality and attributes (during the interview process), along with perhaps your schedule, will complement a tentative team of advisors that has lost one of its members through one of the aforementioned processes.
3. The e-mail: You have not been offered a position as a residence advisor. There were many applicants and many strong contenders, but unfortunately what was collected through the decision-making process did not leave you competitive above those who were hired.

This year's interview felt different than the two before it, as I went into it without expectations about what was going to happen after. I was not trying hard to impress anyone with my bouncy personality and peppy, cheery tone; I was simply being me, and presenting my honest assets and what I felt were the contributions I could bring to a team. Additionally, I had gone in without 100% commitment to the idea of being an advisor - a large part of me wants to, because I think it is a path that would fulfill me and lead me towards something I could really enjoy doing for the first part of my life (whatever it is); another part of me is resistant to the moderate control over my schedule (required to be "in" 4 nights every week). That is the biggest concern, I think, which goes hand-in-hand with being placed where they think I am suited which will most definitely be far from that guy I'm fond of.

I have several other opportunities: Peer Wellness Coach, Wellness Peer, UBC REC, Residence Hall Association (take 3), amongst other things that may arise; more feedback and interviews still lie ahead.

The usual order of events goes like this:

- Apply for residence lottery

- Apply for advising

- Get placed around 2,500 on the residence waitlist

- Hear that I have been "alternate listed" for advising

- Go for council instead

- Get council position

In less than two weeks I will hear about residency, and advising by the end of February. In the beginning of February I will hear about interviews and more applications to fill out.

The next couple of months will be full of craziness and elections and tests and fun times and frustrating times, I am sure. I look forward to finding out what may happen.

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As a celebration for my third interview being completed, we decided to go out for dinner - I wasn't wanting super filling food, but I was hungry and had not eaten very much, so I thought of a place I had been wanting to share with my fella: Nūba!

Halloumi Cheese, pita, Garden Falafel

Not pictured: Najib's Special (crispy cauliflower tossed with lemon and sea salt)

Dessert: Various baklava - vegan varieties!

Careers Workshops

After attending half of the Careers in Student Affairs Workshop and half of the Arts Careers Xploration, I do not know what I want to do with my life.

I attended only half of the first workshop because it overlapped (most unfortunately) with the second. It was disappointing for me to leave early, as I was engaged in the panelists' stories and their enthusiasm about their work at UBC made me feel excited as well.

I attended only half of the second careers exploration because it didn't pull me in - I suppose I was not mentally invested in it in the first place. So much discussion of careers and post-graduation plans works its way into my daily life that listening to some established individuals discuss how they recently transitioned from students to professionals was almost frustrating for me. There were descriptions of luck and chance and killing time after they received their degrees before landing the jobs they are currently in; however, something about it just didn't engage me. Perhaps it was that particular session about careers in marketing and communications that didn't 'speak to me', but I left before the second session so now we won't know!

Potential takeaways:

• People working at UBC in student affairs love their jobs and it made me excited.
• Working as a barista can be a good time-killer before being hired by a world-class marketing firm.

Personally, I think that those are adequate takeaways. With no goal in mind right now, I think the best I can do is continue on with what I'm doing and reach out to opportunities that pull me towards them. It is those that I believe will ultimately contribute (directly or indirectly) in some way to what I decide to make my next big step. I keep reminding myself that my first career or path does not have to be the only one I commit to, though I do want it to be a meaningful one that I can enjoy for some time and gain new skills and knowledge from.

My time as a member of the RHA has been something I've really enjoyed, perhaps it will take me somewhere I cannot see yet.

We shall see.

And so we begin.

I'm not quite sure how this blog will shape itself yet, but even with that it already is a reflection of my thoughts as of late.

My mind has been busy in a way that feels quite like trying to rearrange a room that has few possible alternative arrangements: I keep attending to the same items, playing with them, putting them aside, attending to others, then putting them aside, then trying to bring them together in some way that makes sense, eventually retiring to the original design and contemplating what to do next.

This thinking does not reflect a pattern applicable to all areas of my life (i.e., family, friends, health...), but it is reflective of thoughts of the next five years, the next ten years, of my life. There exist many possibilities I could pursue, and there exist many interests I already possess, but what I feel must exist and is also currently beyond my mind's visual field is a goal that can drive me forward into the next chapter of my life. Perhaps I do not need to decide upon my life-long career - as I may have anywhere from one to five to ten! - but I do feel I lack a vision towards which I can propel myself in the short-term that could mark the beginning of the journey.

Today I attended my third UBC Student Leadership Conference; my second attendance as a delegate (versus a volunteer who was unable to attend workshops or presentations). In my third year of studies, I have become more skilled in the art of choosing what sorts of activities will benefit my extracurricular involvements (such as council), and even my transition into a professional - but for this, only in a very general sense. "Network! Learn financial management. Gain experience, articulate it well. Learn project management..." These tips and the specifics that were presented with them are all very useful, but I do not know what direction to head in that I could begin to apply them.

My biggest takeaway today would be that my journey into leadership and the next phase of life will be ultimately easier to focus on if I understand my priorities, my goals, and do not fear my own greatness (or failure to achieve it). I cannot tell if I truly lack a goal or if I am blinded by fear of being inadequate in the pursuit of something I am passionate about. Recently, I've sought out the opinions of friends and family as to what they could see me doing that would result in my own success and, more importantly, happiness.
Nursing. Small business owner. Photojournalist.
These all make sense to me, but something is either lacking in or impeding the goal-making process for me. Do I not think these would bring me contentment? Are they unappealing in terms of salary? Do they somehow seem too "small" for me? Am I putting a glass ceiling on myself and in fact too afraid to pursue any of these? Does the idea of going through another Bachelor's degree simply dismiss them as options?

Perhaps all of those. I do not know what I want my career to me, but I believe I know these things about myself:

• I feel a passion for people in a way that can best be articulated as a sense of being fired-up in interpersonal relations with others, in mediating problem-solving between people, in listening and observing and trying to understand individuals.
• I believe I possess significant emotional intelligence.
• I think that I want to have an impact on not just a few, but many people; in a positive way. (Part of me struggles with a potential loss of quality of impact in doing so, however.)

It has felt cleansing to put these thoughts into words I can examine for myself, rather than trying to reorganize them in my mind endlessly. I have repeatedly expressed a desire to have my "ah-ha! moment", and to feel a "click" in my mind when I consider something that just makes sense to pursue.

Hopefully I can reach some peace on this matter soon, in whatever capacity that may be.