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[minrc]

I have a MA in School Psychology with 3+ years of experience, plus experience working for the disability support services department during graduate school.  I am trying to switch careers and start a job working either as an academic advisor or in disability support.  Most job postings in my areas require a Master's degree in higher education or counseling and some experience working with students in an advisory role.  I feel that I meet these minimum qualifications but have been frustrated with the responses to my resumes.  I have sent out several applications (some over 2 months ago) and the jobs are still listed on the universities' web sites.  However I have not heard back from any of the places that I have applied and when I call the Human Resources department they are unable to provide me with any information to where they are in the hiring process. 

Sorry for the extensive background but I was wondering if this is the normal wait time or should I start exploring other job opportunities?  I am having difficulty judging (because I have received little feedback) whether or not I am even being considered for the positions that I desire.  Thanks for any advice/comments on my situation.
 

[michigander]

My entire career has been in student affairs and student services.  I've been on the job market a number of times over the decades.  Two months are within the normal range for wait time.  You could eventually be offered an interview.  You could never hear anything from them.  That is also, unfortunately, normal.  So don't neglect other opportunities because you never know.

[artone]

I agree with michigander.  I started a new job in July and just received in the mail a rejection letter from a job I applied for in April so the process for many schools is extremely slow.

[cccpres2b]

Waiting two months is definately not unusual. In fact, when I graduated with my MA in Higher Education with two year's experience in student services, I applied to over 150 positions, which resulted in only two interviews. You need to have patience and flexibility. The interview process is a mystery. Do not compare it to the corporate world, or you will be very disappointed. Good luck!

[sibyl]

In addition to what others have said, if you sent in materials "over two months ago", then you sent them in before the start of the academic year, and search committees never accomplish anything at that time.  The positions in which you say you're interested generally get referred to committees.

Which is just one more way of saying, two months is just the beginning, and six months wouldn't be out of the question.

[notaprof]

Many large universities hire from within and only post the job because they are required to do so.  They typically take forever to send out rejection letters.  I got one rejection letter nine months after the job was filled.  On one job I was asked to send out the rejection letters for my job about six months after I had been working there! It is just not a priority in many places. 

Every place is different, so you never know but I think it is best for your sanity to  send out your application letters and forget about them and keep on applying in the mean time.  Then be pleasantly surprised  when you hear something either way.

Good luck and best wishes and here's hoping I am completely wrong and you get a timely response from your next letter.

[artsearch]

I have been applying for staff positions for a while, all to the same large urban university, and I am amazed at the utter lack of consistency in response style and timing I have gotten from the various departments and areas across campus. The only consistency I can find is that these types of positions are filled much faster than the faculty searches I am used to; if the nomination period for the job closes, and I don't hear anything for, say, a month, I figure they are probably not going to beat my door down. Also, I gave up on contacting Human Resources in order to tie up loose ends from old searches; they did not respond.

I second the notion that many schools do a lot of hiring from within. The place I am applying is decent enough to indicate internal postings right on the website--though of course there may still be unofficially internal postings that look open to the general public.

I have to date had several interviews, and I can say that the experience is helping me for future endeavors of this sort; there are not many questions that surprise me at this point.

Good luck to us both!

[phdiva628]

I'll agree with the other posters and add that I have found public institutions to take a heckuva lot longer than private ones to acknowledge you. Also, the length of time is also tied to the urgency of the need for an additional staffer. In my last position, for example, the entire hiring process to about 3 weeks (yes, I ignored several red flags). I accepted the position only to later find out exactly why the entire department was "a brand new team!" Good luck on your search!