Job One:
Exploring Work
Experiences of
New Professionals
Through the Lens
of Supervisors
ACPA 2014
#ACPA14
Presenters

Jill Carnaghi, Associate Vice Chancellor,
Washington University in St. Louis

Kathleen Gardner, Associate Director for
Residence Life, Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville

Peter Magolda, Professor, Miami University

Carrie Miller, Doctoral Student, University of
California, Los Angeles

Katie Shoemaker, First Year Adviser, Miami
University
#ACPA14
Agenda

Introductions

Impetus for this Session

What?



New professionals theoretical primer

Stories from new professionals

Responses from supervisors/supporters of new professionals
So What?

Small group discussions

Large group synthesis
Now What?

Implications for practice

Closing
#ACPA14
#ACPA14
Introductions
 Name
 Institution
 Experience
supervising new professionals
 What brings you here today?
What?
The "what" is the
experience…What do we
know as a result of examining
the situation?
#ACPA14
#ACPA14
Shamika
 Sometimes
it’s hard to stay true to myself
because I’m pressured by those around
me to change or fit in, but by standing my
ground in the midst of the pressure has
benefitted me greatly. When I am free to
truly be who I am in a work environment, I
know I have found a fit
#ACPA14
Molly P.

It quickly became evident that department
staff members were overworked, and the
director had many responsibilities on her plate
beyond our department initiatives. We
worked additional hours because we cared
about supporting one another and most
importantly supporting students…..Although I
had freedom, I was lacking an effective
supervisor who was able to give guidance
and feedback on the work I was doing. I
valued our friendship and relationship but
knew I would need more to be a better
professional in the future.
#ACPA14
Kim
 The
support of my coworkers and my
willingness to accept their support was
key in making this transition. Not many are
fortunate enough to have such caring
colleagues on their side when starting a
new life.
#ACPA14
Sarah

As a Student Affairs professional who works with
people involved in career decision-making
processes, I have come to understand we all hold
various ideas or myths around career that we
inherit from our family members, friends, mentors,
and colleagues; our professional fields and
industries; our cultural identities and groups; and
our society. I intentionally use the word “myth” for
the messages we hold around careers because,
they can be so strong that they blind us to see
other possibilities, or they force us to exclude other
possibilities.
#ACPA14
Carrie

“I did not know how to approach my supervisor to
continue to develop as a professional and hone
my skills. Reflecting on my interactions with my
supervisor, I realized that I, too often, repeated the
same experiment and hoped for different results. I
would ask a series of questions, read about an
idea, write and submit a proposal, each time
being careful to include all of the components of
program and proposal development I had
learned in graduate school. Rarely did this strategy
yield a successful outcome...I did not want to
abandon opportunities to integrate theory and
research with my everyday work responsibilities,
but I knew had to change my approach.”
#ACPA14
Supervisors of NPs in the Room:
Tell Us YOUR Story as a NP…

What memories from your first job search help
you better understand the issues new
professionals face?

What expectations did you have as you entered
your first job? Which of these expectations were
non-negotiable and which were negotiable?
How did you communicate these expectations
during your job search?

How did someone help you as a new professional
learn from both positive and negative
experiences?

How did you reveal or avoid revealing aspects of
your identity during the search process?
#JobOne14
Questions for
Supervisors/Supporters of NPs

What has been your experience as a
supervisor/supporter of NPs?

What are the characteristics and responsibilities of an
ideal mentor?

How do you assess if a new professional is a good fit
for the institutional culture and climate?

In what ways can you help new professionals
implement change in a positive and effective way?

What messages do you send new professionals
about professional involvement?

How can you help new professionals negotiate the
need for community in a new place?
#ACPA14
Salient Issue #1
 The

Importance of Relationships
“My relationship with my partner Josh made
me feel centered and comfortable with
myself. The relationships that I forged during
graduate school and during my on-campus
interview process gave me the support
needed to succeed in a not so ideal work
environment” -Molly
#ACPA14
Salient Issue #2

The Importance of Fit

I admit there is risk in every decision we make,
but I was unwilling to risk my authenticity and
integrity. …I was being called to a little,
Buddhist-inspired institution that was doing great
and wonderful things. I had discovered my
mission fit. I could no longer deny that my
professional and spiritual curiosity as well as my
intuition and passions were the true compasses I
must follow, so I stepped into the unknown,
accepted my new role as the Career Services
Coordinator at Naropa University, and headed
west. -Sarah
#ACPA14
Salient Issue #3

The Importance of Competence and Confidence

I espoused the idea of tending to the needs of the
whole student, yet I continued to treat aspects of
my life as discrete and mutually exclusive entities.
How do I de-compartmentalize my life? How can I
understand students if I can’t understand
myself?… This [job one] experience, combined
with my college and graduate school
experiences, have made me a more holistic
person, one who feels comfortable with the
various dimensions of his identity, sharing those
areas, and encouraging that development in
others. –David
#ACPA14
Salient Issue #4

Generational Differences

A key part of my success in my first professional Student
Affairs job was having a great supervisor and supporting
team of co-workers. My supervisor …recognized I was
new to the field but valued my past experiences and
perspectives. He regularly treated me as if I knew what I
was doing; he allowed me the time and space to learn
the position, the job responsibilities, and the culture of
the institution. …We processed my strengths and
strategized on ways I could improve my areas of
opportunity. …The foundation of our relationship was on
honesty. It was always important to receive growthfocused feedback, even if it was a message I did not
want to hear. -DeJaun
#ACPA14
Salient Issue #5

Accepting and Learning from Imperfections

Despite the frustration of being so focused on
administration and office management, there
were many things I came to love about my
work—mostly relationships with colleagues and
supervisees. I was quickly getting to know other
academic advisors on campus and developing
a sense of collaboration. I was amongst a group
of dedicated professionals who cared deeply
about students. I valued being in a professional
community that shared in my commitment to
student growth and learning. -Molly
#ACPA14
Questions for
Supporters/Supervisors of NPs
 What
are distinctive characteristics of this
generation of new professionals that
distinguishes them from past generations?
 What
methods do you employ to help
new professionals share their story, ideas,
and lessons learned?
 How
do you communicate the culture
and climate of your university to
prospective candidates?
So What?
The "so what" is the
reflection…What do we think
or feel as a result of
examining the situation?
#ACPA14
Small Group Conversation

Break into 4 groups based on interest





1: Transition issues facing new professionals
2: Issues of “fit” facing new professionals
3: Identity issues facing new professionals
4: Supervision issues facing new professionals
Explore




Assumptions/expectations/norms
Strategies for new professionals
Strategies for preparation programs
Strategies for supervisors
#ACPA14
Report out
Now What?
The "now what" leads us back to
action…This is where we commit
to some kind of action, however
small or large.
#JobOne14
Closing
Please write down
 Three take-aways from our time together
today
 Two questions you have after this
presentation
 One thing you are committed to doing as
a result of what you learned/experienced
here today
We are looking for
volunteers to take a
stand and publicly share
one thing you are
committed to doing as
a result of what you
learned/experienced
here today.
#ACPA14
Thank you!
Jill Carnaghi
jill.carnaghi@wustl.edu
Kathleen Gardner
kagardn@siue.edu
Peter Magolda
magoldpm@miamioh.edu
Carrie Miller
Carrie.elizabeth.miller@gmail.com
Katie Shoemaker
shoemak@miamioh.edu