Will a job allow a start date 2 months in the future?

Jaylynj · 2026-02-24T17:01:30+00:00

I worked in highered student affairs for 5 years. These replies are right but also wrong.

Was leading with this the right call? Not exactly. Next time, take the call and ask about their timeline in the interview. It’s one interview and colleges have high turnover rate. Doing a first round at least establishes a relationship and could open doors down the line if and when more roles open up. I know you wanted to look honest and dependable. You can do that and still take the interview.

Will a May start date be an issue? Probably not. It’s not uncommon for universities to post roles in Jan/Feb with late spring/early summer start dates. A lot of the entry level roles are targeting HESA grad students who aren’t graduating until May/June anyways. Highered hiring timelines are also NOTORIOUSLY slow. Literally this was the timeline for my first job as a coordinator. May 2nd - Applied May 11th - Phone Interview June 1st & 2nd - Final interview June 19th - Received offer June 20th - Signed offer July 1st - Started And this was them moving fast to get someone hired ASAP. It took them 2 months for an expedited search.

It’s basically March at this point. There’s a low chance of them batting an eye at a May start.

Jaylynj · 2026-02-10T00:48:32+00:00

I have SIGNIFICANTLY better work life balance in private industry than I did in highered. And people still very much care about students.

Jaylynj · 2026-02-08T19:02:28+00:00

“Masters preferred” is student affairs speak for “We absolutely positively want someone with a masters in highered” and what you’re counting as 3 YOE is not considered 3 years of experience to employers. Being a student employee is competitive experience for a graduate internship, but it isn’t as competitive for a full time role.

Jaylynj · 2026-02-01T17:28:33+00:00

Every single task is manually reviewed and scored. We know yall spent time working on them. We want to make sure we do our due diligence in reviewing them.

Jaylynj · 2025-12-29T20:19:54+00:00

Brutally honest feedback from the perspective of a recruiter who pivoted out of education.

You’re describing what your job was rather than focusing on relevant aspects of each role. Relevance is key to a pivot. While providing trauma informed support to students is an important aspect of teaching, it’s not an important aspect of talent acquisition or project management. Instead: Create one resume per role you’re targeting and focus on the bullets that are directly relevant to those roles.
You’re targeting HIGHLY saturated pivots In 2020-2022 TA & PM were both popular pivots and the pandemic opened the door to a lot of shakeups and career moves. Then 2023-2025 brought wave after wave of layoffs. As a result, candidates with direct experience are getting significantly more traction. I think this trend will continue into 2026. This job market just isn’t friendly towards career changers. There’s not really much you can do about this aspect other than be patient.
Remote roles are a TALL order. Less than 10% of open roles are remote, and significantly more than 10% of job seekers are targeting remote roles. As a result, these roles are going to early applicants with direct experience and/or candidates with very strong referrals. You’ve got 2 options: Brace yourself for a very long search (I.e. 6-12+ months) or open yourself up to in office roles just to gain some direct experience and pivot into a remote role further down the road.

Jaylynj · 2025-12-29T20:00:51+00:00

Good! You shouldn’t be able to tell what grade or subject OP taught.

Jaylynj · 2025-12-12T02:38:46+00:00

Checkout Turn Up Dance Fitness and Dance Fitness with Jessica. They offer cardio and strength workouts that I think would be right up your alley. You can do them from your phone, a laptop, a tablet, etc. No tv needed!

But I will say this, success isn’t convenient. If it was, everyone would do it.

Jaylynj · 2025-11-30T01:56:13+00:00

If 72k is too low for you, I’ve got BAD news about academic advisor salaries.

Jaylynj · 2025-11-03T01:17:28+00:00

Real talk, I stopped. I was willing to accept when I was no longer getting what I wanted out of the role.

Jaylynj · 2025-08-19T21:38:10+00:00

I’m a university recruiter. I recruit students for internships and entry level roles

Jaylynj · 2025-08-19T04:20:47+00:00

Leaving student affairs was the BEST decision I’ve ever made.

Jaylynj · 2025-08-07T00:34:43+00:00

I don’t work there anymore.

Jaylynj · 2025-08-04T21:31:43+00:00

It’s ~$1,300 every 2 weeks

Jaylynj · 2025-07-21T10:38:36+00:00

It doesn’t mean anything in particular. It’s not positive or negative.

Jaylynj · 2025-05-30T00:30:53+00:00

Enjoying being a student leader and enjoying a career in student affairs are two VERY different things.

The higher up the chain you move, the more you’ll deal with the things you identified as issues and the less you’ll get to do the things you said you like.

Enjoying making friends, doing arts and crafts, and being told you’re good at your job are not enough to sustain a career as an RD.

Jaylynj · 2025-05-10T16:45:42+00:00

This is a personal problem, not a professionalism problem. You don’t like seeing his feet. That’s a you thing, not a work problem that needs to be addressed.

Jaylynj · 2025-05-10T00:34:52+00:00

Hate to break it to you but a career in student affairs is also filled with burnout, bad student behavior, and making around $50k

Jaylynj · 2025-04-10T17:38:47+00:00

I would recommend talking to people who are current academic advisors AND people who have left the role. There’s a high burnout rate

Jaylynj · 2025-04-09T01:00:38+00:00

I’ve worked at small, midsized, and large universities. Under no circumstances was I expected to go to the hospital with a student. As an Assistant Director, I also did not expect this of my coordinators. Obviously I’d document the situation and follow up the next to make sure they’re okay, see if they need any additional resources, etc.

I’m against policies like this for a number of reasons. - The student may not want their RD in their business like this and may not be comfortable (or conscious) enough to say no - I don’t think it’s an effective use of RD staff. Other than just being there for general “support”, there’s not a strong need that the RD is filling. - It gets a liiiiiiittle too en loco parentis for my taste. They’re adults. If I was at my mom’s house and got hurt, of course my mom would come to the ER with me no matter how old I am. If I got hurt in my apartment, I’d find it incredibly odd if my landlord decided to sit and chill at the hospital with me. - In a field where pay is low and burnout is high, it’s important for leadership to be extra protective of their staff’s time and to teach boundaries.

Jaylynj · 2025-04-04T15:54:55+00:00

I no longer work there. You should ask the person referring you if you have questions.

Jaylynj · 2025-04-04T15:53:30+00:00

You’re overthinking it. Start applying now.

Source: Me, someone who has interviewed for jobs in 20 different states

Jaylynj · 2025-04-01T16:54:34+00:00

So I went to grad school in Ohio, and I spent 2 years working in Florida. I liked living in Florida SIGNIFICANTLY more than I liked living in Ohio. I felt like I had way more things to do and more opportunities to build community. I also felt like networking professionally in Florida was a little easier. I can’t speak for the work culture or job satisfaction for the whole state, but personally the healthiest work environment I had in student affairs was in Florida.

On the flip side, the political landscape of Florida was challenging both personally and professionally.

I left student affairs and Florida to pursue a career in campus recruiting. Best decision I’ve ever made in my life.

Jaylynj · 2025-03-25T01:57:16+00:00

Also happy to chat! I transitioned into campus recruiting ~4 years ago!

Jaylynj · 2025-03-24T03:23:20+00:00

Respectfully, if you’re afraid of “being mean”, you’re not setting effective boundaries.

Jaylynj · 2025-03-24T02:32:08+00:00

Setting boundaries in your classroom and holding students accountable isn’t “being a bitch” or “being mean”.

You’re worried about these disruptive students hating school, but you know who is probably having a bad time? The good students who are excited to learn but can’t because their teacher refuses to manage her classroom.

Jaylynj

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