SEAHO Report - Winter 2020 - 35

SEAHO Feature Articles
I decided to dig. My professional digging consisted of mentally replaying aloud the day of the interview and
phone interview to determine if there was anything I could have elaborated more on, that I elaborated too
much on, or just would have done differently in general. Nope, nothing there. Again, I felt everything had gone
smoothly and I had done exactly as I should have. I formalized a "now what" action plan to move forward. That
NWAP consisted of the following:
* Reach out to the institution and/or search committee to request interview feedback
* Review the position description again to determine if there are any tangible experiences or skillsets that I may
not have had but can work to build into my professional repertoire
* Accept the reality that the selected candidate did not equate to mean that I was not good enough or that they
were not better. Gift grace to self and give space to the professional that was the selected candidate. They and
their moment deserve to be celebrated.
* Revisit the realities offered during application time period
* Accept the reality that before you applied there was one position. Regardless of how many professionals
applied to the position, how many professionals were phone interviewed, or how many professionals were
invited for a campus interview, there was always a reality that one professional would be selected.
Reaching out to the institution will take courage; particularly in being okay with them not having any tangible
feedback to share regarding why you were not the final candidate selected. In fact, they may not have any
information or feedback to share in regards to "things to work on". It could have been a matter of multiple
candidates, all of whom could have been equally skilled and experienced across the board. For some reason,
reflecting on that reality helped with me asking "What more could I do?" The answer was nothing. They simply
selected another person. In fact, I have developed a plan to reach out to the professional they selected with
potential partnership opportunities in the future regarding some of the shared work we are both connected to.
If the institution does not or cannot share feedback, it can be tough to digest. When there was not feedback
given, I had to sit and be okay with the fact that it just was not my time. I actually found joy in that because I
realized I didn't have to do more, there was not anything I needed to add to my resume. In fact, adding
additional experience was not adequate deductive reasoning as it would not mean that it would have increased
my chances to have been the selected candidate. It was also a joy-giving reality to understand the extent of my
advancement in the search process. Yes, it stings in the period from applying for the position, to waiting, to
phone interviews, to waiting, to undergoing the campus interview experience. However, there was something I
found, something that I had lost sight of. In my negative questioning and BMB process, I neglected to celebrate
the fact that I had advanced to campus interview finalist status, which is a tough feat in most professions. One of
the tangible action steps I am taking is looking at the position description again (since it was my ideal next step)
and making it a part of my one-on-one conversation with my supervisor. I will utilize it to advocate for myself
and shape out a collaborative plan for my supervisor to assist in identifying differences in that position and my
current position. In doing this, it is my vision that we both can contribute to identifying experiences and
responsibilities that I have yet to achieve or those that I can improve on. Initially, the no was a hit under the rib
cage that caused me to stumble a few steps back and consider the limitations of my potential and abilities;
however, with the self-work and some of the aforementioned steps, the no was actually a hit in the mouth that
reaffirmed that I was ready for that type of position, but just not at that institution at this time.

SEAHO Report Winter 2020

SEAHO Report - Winter 2020

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