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Should i apply for these jobs?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
At the moment im job hunting for roles in student services where i can work up to advisory work or something like that so ive been searching loads of uni sites. Tbh i not really sure if theyll say i dont have enough experience but i think i can do the ones ive applied for.
Ive found 2 more jobs but im not sure whether to apply for them. Theyre just basic receptionist, adminy jobs so not really related and seem a bit dull but they will help me get an idea of how higher education jobs work and get my foot in the door.
Im just not sure if its worth applying and i think ive just answered my own question. I think i might just be getting carried away and going for the because they're there now and in a place i would consider moving to
Ive found 2 more jobs but im not sure whether to apply for them. Theyre just basic receptionist, adminy jobs so not really related and seem a bit dull but they will help me get an idea of how higher education jobs work and get my foot in the door.
Im just not sure if its worth applying and i think ive just answered my own question. I think i might just be getting carried away and going for the because they're there now and in a place i would consider moving to
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Comments
Is there any track record of people moving from those kind of roles into the kind you're looking for?
It's great that you are being so proactive! I would say if you have the time to apply and you are happy with the salary and job description (even if it isn't exactly what you want to do) then give it a go. Practice with job applications and interviews is always a good thing - you can get feedback etc to help with when you do find that perfect job. Plus as you said you might get some great insight to how higher ed jobs work.
Remember if you are successful you don't have to take the job
Good luck and let us know how things are going!
"Student services" at my institution covers everything from taking tuition fee payments to counselling, from basic library admin right through to devising special teaching for disabled students. Course officers- the admin staff who run each course- are not "student services" or advisers but end up doing plenty of both. I'm the manager of a students' union advice centre. The work we do here is different to the work I did in my last job at a different students' union.
Whether it's the right job or the wrong job will depend on what it is you're actually wanting to do. A good admin role can give you plenty of insight into the sector, and it's certainly possible to work your way up to a half-decent level from a good admin role. A good receptionist can probably work up towards being an adviser, so long as they get the chance to display the necessary skills. But it really depends what you want to do.
Im just wondering the best route to get there and if i do need to do these receprionist jobs first to be able to get me the experience to get there or get my foot in the door. I do admin work and customer services work now but no experience in HE
In terms of career progression, it really does depend on what role you're in and what transferable skills you pick up. When I'm recruiting for advisers I look for the "soft skills" (listening, empathy, comprehension) far more than I look for knowledge. I can teach my advisers the rules they need to know, but it's a lot harder to teach someone how to listen properly to a client. There has to be a baseline knowledge and understanding of the sector- I'd be wary of recruiting someone who hasn't been a student- but beyond that it's about the soft skills for me.
There's a job at Manchester Students' Union which might give you an idea as to what is expected from advisers. It's not my institution but might give you an idea: http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/nusdigital/document/documents/8833/2c1be96e384594b20b8e6c5e496dfc9d/Student%20Advisor%20Job%20Description%20and%20Person%20Specification%20July%2014.docx
One of the essential job traits though is 'experience of giving advice in one or more areas as mentioned in job description' - things like welfare, housing, finance. My job at the moment is specifically non-advisory,
Do you think this is something most of these types of jobs will ask for, or is there a way of learning on the job? The only i can think of as an example of this is being on thesite boards!
There's no reason you can't include this as an indication of your interest - perhaps look over your past posts where you've been directly supporting others and think about what soft skills you've applied, and how. It might also help to look in on threads you might normally shy away from and think about how you might respond?
Also, I can't emphasise volunteering enough - perhaps look into local helpline roles or if you're interested in doing some training with us, drop me a PM
Most of these types of job will ask for that type of experience. It is something that's fairly important, a knowledge and experience of the adviser/client relationship is something very desirable. It's one less thing to train, for one thing.
Some advice positions will require specialist knowledge too, but that tends to be in more senior positions. For that example role not having it will definitely put you at a disadvantage, but it depends who else applies. As Whowehere says, it's always worth sticking the form in and seeing what happens.
Think slightly outside of the box in terms of advice, it needn't mean in a professional setting at work. Do you volunteer, did you organise a society or event when you were a student, did you do work with the scouts/guides, anything like that?
You wouldn't need to come to London - most of our volunteers are virtual and do all their activities online. I've met very few of our live chat moderators, for example
To be honest no one can tell you what YOU should be applying for. It is your decision in the end and you have to make choices for yourself.
If you don't think you can do the job then you shouldn't apply for them. It's as simple as that.