Job One: Experiences of New Professionals in Student Affairs

Huntley, Heather Johnson

Job One: Experiences of New Professionals in Student Affairs Peter M. Magolda and Jill Ellen Carnaghi (Eds.) Lanham, MD: University Press of America (co-published with American College Personnel Association, Washington, DC), 2004, 250 pages, $35 (softcover)

Job One: Experiences of New Professionals in Student Affairs offers a collection of narratives written by practitioners beginning their careers in student affairs. The book essentially is organized by grouping narratives based on specific themes. Basic topics include the experiences surrounding the job search process, the transition from student to professional, and the partnership between personal and professional identity. Each grouping is followed with a chapter written by senior student affairs professionals to synthesize and analyze the narratives on each theme.

The first theme focuses on the job search process. These first accounts draw upon experiences as the authors attempt to "bring theory to practice," utilizing the knowledge gained in graduate school in a more practical setting. A woman of color discusses the gender and racial issues she must address while completing her job search. Also a husband and wife illustrate the complexities faced in their individual job searches as part of a dual-career couple.

These accounts are interpreted theoretically using Kegan's (1994) bridge metaphor to illustrate the bridge of transition from graduate school to that first job. The authors also explain how self authorship (Baxter Magolda, 1999) plays a role in the job search process, as well as the transition to work.

Section two highlights issues of adjustment as new professionals begin their first jobs in the field. The narratives again cover challenges faced in transforming the theoretical base of graduate school into the practicalities of daily tasks. Authors provide stories about the importance of knowing one's self and abilities, and the struggles that can surround new supervisor-supervisee relationships. In each story, new professionals acknowledge the self doubts they had to address as they initially transitioned and adjusted to new careers.

Chapter 8 interprets the narratives of the second section by utilizing two concepts. First, the synergistic supervision model (Winston & Creamer, 1997) explains how important it is for a joint effort to exist between the accomplishment of organizational goals and the support of staff development, both personal and professional. second, Kegan's (1982, 1994) theory of meaning-making conceptualizes how these new professionals make meaning of their experiences based on their locations in the life-span continuum.

The next theme focuses on how personal identity can influence preferences related to the job search and work itself. One narrative confronts the challenges faced by a woman with a physical disability to establish her professional identity with her colleagues. A gay man working at an all women's institution relates his experiences in the second narrative of this section. Both authors also discuss their roles as advocates and the internal conflict they faced in taking on the advocacy role.

The analysis of section three also incorporates questions raised in chapter 1. Using a variety of theories, the authors analyze how personal identity can influence new professionals and, more specifically, how being a member of an under-represented group can influence the career decision-making and work experiences of new professionals.

The final narrative explores a new professional's decision to return to graduate school as a doctoral student in higher education. While the author talks about the difficulties in adjusting from the role of practitioner back to the role of student, she also relays the process she went through in making the decision to go back to school. She tells of the struggles faced in identifying her own values, and her realization that these values may match with a career in academia rather than a career as a student affairs practitioner.

In the final chapter, book editors Peter M. Magolda and Jill Ellen Carnaghi process and synthesize the central themes of these narratives and analyses. They provide some considerations for faculty and current students in student affairs preparation programs, as well as for recent graduates.

The editors identify four primary audiences for whom the book is written: (a) current graduate students preparing for the transition from school to work in student affairs; (b) new professionals in student affairs; (c) supervisors of new professionals; and (d) student affairs and higher education faculty. Obviously, current students will likely be able to relate most with the narratives m Job One. However, new professionals will be able to reflect upon their own experiences and learn from them. Supervisors and faculty can use this collection to empathize with issues that may be ongoing or expected.

The basic themes covered in Job One are issues that new and growing professionals in the field of student affairs may face: the job search process, career adjustments and the transition from student to professional, and the effect of personal identity on professional identity. All readers can use some of the conflict illustrated in the narratives to help strategize ways they can avoid similar struggles. This book could be incorporated easily into a capstone course, and highlights the challenges that students will confront as they enter the field.

REFERENCES

Baxter Magolda, M. B. (1999). The evolution of epistemology: Redefining contextual knowing at twenty something. Journal of College Student Development, 40, 333-344.

Kegan, R. (1982). The evolving self: Problem and process in human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kegan, R. (1994). In over our beads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Winston, R. B., & Creamer, D. G. (1997). Improving staffing practices in student affairs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Reviewed by Heather Johnson Huntley, University of Texas at Dallas

Copyright American College Personnel Association Jul/Aug 2005
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