Exemplary 2:

​Job Responsibilities

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I have developed exemplary competence in this area through the administrative and supervisory responsibilities in my internship as a graduate hall director the past four semesters.  Many of the tasks listed as intermediate skills in the description of this competency are specific job expectations I complete on a regular basis.  These skills include supervising, motivating, evaluating and training staff members, resolving team conflicts, managing a budget, managing crises, holding students and staff members accountable, managing facilities, communicating effectively, developing effective partnerships, and addressing marginal, unacceptable and exceptional staff behavior.  As I reflect on my development along this competency, it is important to note that many of the specific examples I cite are small components that collectively add up to proficient development.

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​​Supervision

It is my responsibility as a graduate hall director to directly supervisor ten RAs and one administrative resident advisor (ARA), who supervises the two 24-hour front desks in my residence hall.  I have indirect supervision over my entire RA staff of thirty-three, as well as over twenty desk clerks.  In this supervisory role, I have developed and cultivated my skills as a supervisor, leader, motivator, evaluator, disciplinarian, and advisor; the graduate hall director position was my first experience supervising employees.  I have developed a collaborative supervisory style over the course of my graduate student experience.  I believe that it is important to empower the students I supervise to have a voice in the supervisor-supervisee relationship and I want my staff members to feel comfortable and confident asking for advice, using me as a resource, and to providing me feedback and sharing concerns.  I have found great success in my collaborative supervisory style, and have received positive feedback from many supervisees regarding my supervision.  Even those RAs on my staff who I do not supervise directly have noticed my collaborative, energetic style and my desire to support the team.  In the fall 2011 semester, I was nominated by one of my RAs for Residence Life faculty/staff member of the month.  In the fall 2012 semester, I was also nominated by two of the RAs on my staff for the same award, and I was selected as the campus winner for the Residence Life faculty/staff of the month through the BGSU Falcon chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH).  You can find these nominations by clicking the following link:

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To demonstrate my development as a supervisor over time, below are links to evaluations from last academic year and this academic year completed by my direct supervisor and my RA supervisees.  These links are in sequential order to show my progress.

                                     Academic Year 2011-12                                 Academic Year 2012-13

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​As a supervisor, I have had to make tough decisions regarding employment action for poor performance, which has resulted in several of my staff members being placed on job action, as well as the termination of a few student staff members mid-semester.  For each employee I have terminated, I subsequently completed mid-year hiring and training cycles, which in one instance led to a major reorganization of responsibilities until my desk staff team was at capacity again.  I collaborated with my administrative RA, who supervises our desk clerks, to create a hiring check-list.  We utilize this checklist when we hire desk clerks mid-semester to fill open vacancies due to staffing changes.  The hiring checklist has been helpful so that I can ensure that we complete all hiring paperwork, provide all necessary training, and grant access to all needed tools and resources for the job in a timely manner without forgetting any steps. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Staff Professional Development​

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Additionally, I believe that continuous training and professional develop is important to ensure that staff members are continually developing throughout the year, that they are refreshed on policies and procedures they may not use frequently, and that they are provided additional training and communication on updates and new policies and procedures.  I have participated in professional development and training initiatives in a variety of ways.  Firstly, I utilize weekly staff meetings with my RA staff and monthly staff meetings with my desk clerk staff as an opportunity to communicate relevant updates and provide additional training and professional development.  I am typically the person who creates staff meeting agendas; I have come to learn that agendas are not a task to procrastinate on and throw together last minute.  Instead, it is important to be deliberative in the creation of staff meeting agendas so that we can maximize our time and incorporate training and development into each meeting.  An example of an RA staff meeting agenda I created this academic year is linked below.

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​Furthermore, I am an active contributor to RA and desk clerk trainings in the fall and spring that is coordinated by the Office of Residence Life for all staff members.  For the spring 2012 RA training, I co-presented two different presentations for RA Training.  The first was on starting easy and tough conversations and navigating confrontation.  The second was on creating an elevator speech for the job search/internship search season.  PDFs for the outline/powerpoint for these presentations are linked below.  For the desk clerk training in fall 2012, I presented on customer service techniques and expectations with another graduate student, Katie Hellmann; this is also linked below. 

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For the RA fall 2012 training, I developed a comprehensive in-hall training for my staff during the evenings and breaks between formal training sessions.  I also co-presented a training session for RAs regarding physical ability in the residence hall and a second training session regarding learning ability and learning styles.  Throughout this academic year, I have participated on a department action team to develop the spring 2013 and fall 2013 RA training sessions; as such, I had an active role in developing the spring 2013 training.  I was the member who actually developed the training theme (RA Training 2.0), which had a focus on innovation, re-energizing, refreshing, and thinking critically, creatively, and differently.  I co-presented two training sessions during the spring 2013 training, one on problem-solving and creative thinking and another on working with colleagues and students who have Asperger's Syndrome.

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​Ethical Hiring Practices

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I have also had several experiences to develop my skills for selection and hiring of staff members.  I have participated in the RA selection process the last two years, which involves complex selection process.  First, I participate in the promotion process of the RA position, by conducting an RA information session in my residence hall and promoting the position during hall council meetings.  Then I actively participate in the RA interview process.  There are four 8-hour evenings of interviews (two nights of first round and two nights of second round interviews).  During the first round interviews, we also conduct a group process component, which I facilitated for one night of selection this academic year.  I also helped to interview returning RA candidates on a separate day of returning staff interviews.  Lastly, I collaborate with my supervisor, the full-time hall director in my residence hall, to determine which candidates to select and hire for our staff.  Through the RA selection process, I have learned appropriate and ethical interview techniques and how to determine what qualities to look for in a strong candidate.  I have also learned how to select staff members for my RA team from a macro-lens; I have learned the importance of considering team dynamics, various leadership and communication styles and skills, and the various forms of diversity each RA can bring to the team.

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​Budget Management

In addition to the typical graduate hall director responsibilities and my work to provide training and professional development for staff members, I have also been given full oversight of the hall budget of $150,000.  Oversight of the budget is not a responsibility that is written into my job description, but is an opportunity I was provided this academic year.  As a result, I feel proficient in my ability to manage a residence hall budget.  I oversee all staff purchases of items for programs and office supplies, and also approve and manage all student employment expenses.  It is my responsibility to complete budget paperwork and submit this to the main office, ensure we are being fiscally-responsible with our funds, and reconcile the account at the end of each month.  I manage a comprehensive budget spreadsheet and address budget issues as they arise. 

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For example, in the month of November 2012 I was informed by my employees that there were many unexpected paycheck errors, resulting in missing funds to the employees.  Upon investigation, I realized there was a major issue with how the Payroll Office coded our student employees in the payroll system because our budget was separated from one account into three different budget lines at the beginning of the semester.  To resolve these concerns, I needed to tactfully document and explain the concerns to the payroll officers so the issues could be resolved on their end and communicate updates to my employees to ensure a legal situation did not result.