Things I Wish I Knew When Hiring a New Professional

Things I Wish I Knew When Hiring a New Professional

Introduction

RP: Hiring a new person is both exciting and overwhelming. It is exciting to finally fill the position that you, as the supervisor, just spent weeks and months trying to manage while doing your own job. It can be overwhelming trying to pick the right person for the job. However, after the decision is made, the real work begins. Recently, my office had several staffing changes in a row. I should pause here to state that the team I currently work with is amazing. We have a great relationship and are very open and honest regarding these challenges, which has made us stronger as a team! While I was overwhelmed with training each of them, it certainly presented our department with an opportunity for growth. Along the way, I learned a few things.

BM: Skype Interview: ✓, In-person Interview: ✓, Anxiously staring at my phone waiting for the call: ✓ These are the steps I went through when applying to a job at a small commonwealth campus located in my hometown; the only college within 30 minutes of where I grew up and where both my family and my fiance’s family lives. It was a no-brainer that back home is where we wanted to be. When I finally got the call, everything seemed like it fell into place perfectly. My new position would include areas such as student activities, leadership programming, diversity programming, etc.; areas I had been working directly with for almost 5 years. When I arrived on campus, I expected smooth sailing with the transition process and to be able to dive in headfirst. Little did I know, the learning curve would be a bit more difficult. Luckily, my supervisor (and co-author on this!) Rebecca and I get along splendidly and have been able to be transparent and learn through the process together.

Previous Experience

RP: One of the first things I learned is that the new person, while they may have great experience behind them, understanding the language of the new institution will take time. Our new Student Engagement Coordinator, who happens to be my partner in writing this article, came to us with 5 years of experience, but we both quickly realized that our language doesn’t always match. A new hire that comes from a private institution and goes to a new bigger public institution, or vice versa, may have challenges understanding risk management practices or lightening up from those if going from public to private. One of the things that Brittany and I learned was that coming from a private institution, she had much more flexibility on programming and really wasn’t versed in the art of risk management. She quickly learned that an institution like ours has a rule or policy for everything. Every. Thing. This became a large part of our discussions and we have resolved this issue, but it could have posed an issue had we not realized this quickly.

BM: One of the biggest parts of my learning curve has been transitioning to speaking a “new language”; and I’ll tell you, sometimes it feels like learning Arabic in comparison to what I’m used to. Since 2014, I have mostly worked in small private institutions, institutions that only have one campus, and develop guidelines completely internally. Moving to an institution in the state-related category, with 24 campuses has brought on challenges that I didn’t anticipate. For instance, I was often able to use my best judgement or work through different scenarios with my supervisors before, but here, there is a guideline or policy for absolutely everything. While this makes situations easier 98% of the time, it’s difficult to get my brain to begin thinking in that way. For the first couple months, every time I’d ask Rebecca a question, she’d refer me to a binder with all of our policies in it. It really is the manual to my job, and I’ve found that I can find almost any answer in it. This has now become more second-nature with few slip ups here and there, but it was not an area of difficulty that I expected initially. 

Working Together & Strengths

RP: A common question during an interview centers around being detail oriented or organized. However, we each have our own interpretation of what those words actually mean. One of the things that Brittany and I learned about each other is that we are both organized, we just define it differently. Brittany is organized on a big picture level. She has great insight, can see how the project will impact others, is creative in the delivery of the program and is extremely good at understanding the entire perspective. I, on the other hand, am very organized on a small detailed level. I notice if the table isn’t centered or if there is something out of place. I’m sure I can drive a person nuts with the details. I am also good at making lists and planning an event so we aren’t rushed to complete tasks. However, sometimes I get a little ahead of myself. So for example, when I told Brittany I was overwhelmed with an upcoming event so I wanted to start planning early (like 2 months) and by the end of the day I had most of it done…Brittany laughed so hard. Together we are awesome, by ourselves….not so much! She is teaching me to take a step back and see a broader perspective. I am teaching her to make lists and make a plan. Which brings me to my next topic, strengths.

A while ago I learned about an inventory called Strengths Finder. After taking the inventory I started having each of my staff members do the same. It was a game changer. We identified each of our top 5 strengths for everyone in our department. It was amazing to see the light bulbs go off when we realized how we each work and the WHY behind we do what we do. For example, once I learned that one of my staff members had the strength of connectedness, it made sense to me as to why they pushed group gatherings and learning things about one another. As an introvert who is very task oriented, this was hard to see. But, once I did, it made our team stronger. A former employee had the strength of ideation. She liked to think, and she always felt she could improve whatever she was working on. I, on the other hand, am an activator. I like to start and get things done. Together, we worked well. She slowed me down and encouraged me to think about things more often. I was able to encourage her to make a decision and finalize some projects once she’d had some time to think. The key to this is capitalizing on each other’s strengths and as the supervisor, not feel threatened by someone’s abilities. 

BM: In graduate school, we completed the MBTI, True Colors, and Strengths Finder and I absolutely loved learning about myself and understanding more why I do what I do. Once I was working in the field, it quickly became evident why we include those in our retreats and team building, and how much they really do matter. In my previous position, I supervised a graduate student and we were polar opposites in each one of these. I’m ENFP, she’s ISTF, it was hilarious, and you know what, it worked perfectly. I saw the big picture, she focused more on small details, and we were able to bounce everything off of one another to make sure we weren’t missing anything. It was the perfect situation. That being said, that isn’t always the case, and sometimes you need to be able to fill in gaps that aren’t as prominent in your team. Other times, it may take a bit to really understand the thought process behind how one of your team-members function. When working with supervisors, supervisees and student workers, I find it extremely valuable to learn this early on. Whether it’s including one of these inventories as part of a retreat or meeting, or just asking them to list values and overall how they work (inventories make this easier, for sure) to help you understand. This not only helps you see why they do what they do, but it also improves your relationship and limits frustration when this is on your mind when working with them. I’m certainly thankful that my supervisor also cares about this, as we’ve been able to work through challenges and capitalize on opportunities when the other has a strength that would be useful to a project we’re working on.

Supervision

RP: It can be helpful to investigate how supervising staff or not will fit into their new role. I have two examples of both ends of the spectrum. A person who is learning to supervise student workers or part time staff has a lot to learn and it is very different than supervising full time staff. Not only are the HR rules sometimes different but the individuals in those positions may not always be as invested in their positions. I quickly learned that teaching someone to be a supervisor is a big task and takes much time. Sometimes, I’ve struggled with communicating the “how to’s”. I know I can do a better job training Brittany on this. In addition, if you hire someone who has had MUCH experience supervising others in previous roles but is coming to you without this responsibility, it can be a challenge. One of my staff members is in a role where supervising staff is not part of her responsibilities; however, it used to be. And she was good at it. And she has a lot to share. So, I’ve tapped into her knowledge and use her to run ideas past, get advice on situations, etc. This helps her to feel valued and gives me another way of looking at things. This is tricky because I don’t want to share anyone else's business, but we’ve been very successful in navigating this while maintaining privacy. 

BM: At a recent ACPA, I attended a session on the topic of supervision and the fact that it is rarely taught. While Rebecca may think she can do better at helping training me on this, I feel as if she’s doing a fabulous job. I have learned so much from her in my short 11 months here and I find myself lucky to be able to get that support, as I learned in that session that it’s rare to have guidance on this. Support from my supervisor coupled with sessions such as this one at ACPA, I think I’ve found a lot of resources and also others in similar situations that I can talk through situations with. I’ve supervised student employees and graduate students, but had not supervised part-time professionals until this position. I’ll be honest, and I know my supervisee agrees, those first couple of months were ROUGH. She had worked here for two years and had two supervisors before me, all who had different personalities and expectations, and was now back at square one. It took a lot of mistakes, frustrations, and eventually extremely honest conversations and feedback from both of us on what was just not working before we started to get over the hump. I find myself extremely lucky to work with an open and honest team that I can talk to about the challenges that are happening and work with to get through them together.

Wrap-Up

RP: Finally, and most importantly, if you hire someone excellent, like I did, then they won’t want to let you down. At some point they will realize that there are things that you expect (not their fault) them to know and they don’t. They may develop what we’ve now fondly named “fake confidence”! This term is actually what led us to co-authoring this article. We are so fortunate to have such an open and honest relationship. We actually have a lot of fun with this term. But, in reality, because Brittany wanted to make sure I had trust in her, she would be overly confident that she knew what I needed or wanted her to do when in reality, she had no idea but knew she would figure it out. However, this backfired on both of us. I became very confident in her and therefore, basically stopped training her because I had faith that she knew what I meant or that she could figure it out so I didn’t want to talk down to her in any way. This came to a hilarious halt one day when Brittany looked at me, busted out laughing and said…”ok, I have no idea what you are talking about!”.

I’m super blessed to have an excellent team. I learn so much from them. My number one rule is that when I hire someone, I must have the confidence in them to trust that they will be the expert in their area. This has gotten me far and I’ve developed wonderful relationships with my team members. Good luck with your next hire and remember, “fake confidence” is not a bad thing!

BM: Throughout my career thus far, this transition has seemed to have been the most difficult, transformational, and educational for me of all of them. I have learned so much about myself and my colleagues, and have had to be extremely creative in some ways to make everything run more smoothly. While it’s certainly been stressful at times, all-in-all, it is absolutely worth it and the way we moved through the process has only ensured me that I’m exactly where I need to be. I wish all who are searching or transitioning the best of luck, and encourage you to reach out if I can help you in any way.

About the Authors

Rebecca Pennington, Director of Student Affairs, Penn State University, DuBois Campus

What identities do you hold? How do those identities influence your writing on the topic?

My identities include higher education professional, wife, mother, friend, co-worker and nurturer.  All of these identities have influenced my life in a positive way and specifically as someone who cares deeply about the welfare of others.

Based upon your identity(s), what privileges have you been afforded by society? How do these privileges affect the perspective you write from?

I am a white, able-bodied, heterosexual, cisgender married woman from a middle class family.  My life has not been a hard one; however, I try very hard to learn about those who have had a different experience and I work hard to advocate for others.

What life experiences have impacted you and your work?

I’ve had 22 years in Student Affairs Higher Education.  I began my career working in student activities and worked at different times in student aid, career services and athletics.  In addition, I spent most of my time in administration, student conduct, students in crises and advocacy. All of these experiences have shaped my work. In addition, being a parent has impacted my work with students in a positive way.

Due to your identities, experiences, and privileges, what bias do you bring to your submission?

This is a tough question.  I think our privilege makes us prone to certain bias.  I think that even with the best of intentions we can find ourselves with bias.  I think the affinity bias is a hard one to overcome because we all want to be around people we can relate to.  I work hard to be as aware as one is able of bias, of course, but it is hard for everyone since our experiences can shape our bias.

Brittany Martin, Student Engagement Coordinator, Penn State University, DuBois Campus

What identities do you hold? How do those identities influence your writing on the topic?

Based upon your identity(s), what privileges have you been afforded by society? How do these privileges affect the perspective you write from?

I am a Caucasian, cisgender, heterosexual, married female, that was raised in a middle-class family. I recognize that my writing comes from a place that many do not have the perspective of and allow space for honoring both the similarities and differences in experiences that others may have in comparison to mine. I strive to continue learning, and advocating for oppressed populations, though it is likely that I will never fully understand those experiences.

What life experiences have impacted you and your work?

I grew up in a small, rural, and not very diverse area. Most of my education on privilege and diversity was learned through college and graduate school and has been a continuous process for me. In the past seven years working in Student Affairs, I have worked hard to be open minded, and allow perspectives, opinions, and experiences other than my own to teach me and help shape who I am and will be as a professional.

Due to your identities, experiences, and privileges, what bias do you bring to your submission?

Unfortunately, my experiences have come with unconscious biases that I'm continuously acknowledging and working on. I have spent most of my adult life in areas that are primarily people with similar experiences to me. I try to remain aware of my privilege and how my actions are affected by them, though I am not perfect, and am always learning.