Welcome to late autumn! It’s hard to believe that only a few months ago, we were preparing to welcome students onto campus for another academic year. Now, we are beginning to prepare for winter and spring programming! Time is moving very quickly, and soon enough it will be time for graduation and another round of preparation. Along the way, it’s fair to guess that you’ll have connections with some students who are exploring options for life after college. We can also imagine that some of those students are considering or even exploring openings in campus rec departments. Resumes, cover letters, weighing graduate school programs, searching for housing, all things that weigh heavily on the mind during this time of year. Professionals need to consider their options for filling open or soon-to-open roles in their departments, and how to get the word out to the individuals that will be great additions to their teams. Luckily, NIRSA has a great solution for the collegiate recreation job search: Bluefishjobs!
The professional take
It can be tough to fill open positions with the right individuals. At many institutions, your Human Resources department posts your job openings on sites that open the position to a wide array of individuals with differing experiences. While you may find that welcome needle in the haystack, it can be frustrating to have a pool of candidates who do not have the requisite skills. Unlike general or university-wide job boards, Bluefishjobs.com postings zero-in on the niche of collegiate recreation, wellness, aquatics, outdoor programs, facility management, and related roles. The job board serves campus recreation professionals looking for established and emerging individuals with specialized skills. This targeted approach means:
- Job seekers can find opportunities that truly match their interest and training in collegiate recreation
- Employers can target candidates familiar with collegiate recreation culture
- The site’s design and resources are aligned with this niche, rather than being an after-thought
One of the biggest advantages for professionals seeking opportunities related to recreation, fitness, and wellbeing on college campuses and beyond is that this platform is free for candidates to use. Posting a resume, browsing jobs, and submitting applications incur no charge for the job seeker. That removes a financial barrier and opens the door to a deeper pool of qualified candidates, including students or early-career professionals who might not have the resources to pay for premium job placement services. From the employer's side, Bluefishjobs.com offers options designed to enhance visibility and attract strong candidates. It allows for featured job postings, customizable employer branding, job-posting videos, and social-recruiting integrations. You can create a posting that really explains what the position entails and speaks to the individual searching for a position like yours. Job seekers can post resumes, set up job alerts, search across categories and locations, and take advantage of career resources by viewing articles and tips. These kinds of two-sided features make the platform more robust than other communities’ job listing boards. All these benefits are available to employers for a very reasonable fee, so searching for your next campus rec all-star is harder when you DON’T take advantage of the opportunity to post on bluefishjobs.com!
The student take
I know you may be tempted to think it’s too early to begin thinking about your summer and fall plans for nextyear but, believe it or not, many of those opportunities are already soliciting applications! Many campus recreation programs across North America are currently searching for a new cohort of graduate assistants who are critical to their department’s operations. Commonly referred to as “GAs,” graduate assistantships offer professional experience to students working in a campus recreation program while pursuing master's or doctorate degrees. Usually, students who receive GA positions will also be pursuing degrees in some form of sport administration or a specialty related to higher education and student affairs programs. These broad-based degrees provide extreme flexibility into whatever career endeavors may be next in your journey. As a general rule, graduate assistantships provide tuition assistance, although the form it takes can vary from institution to institution; but many ‘traditional’ graduate assistantships provide full tuition waivers. So, TLDR: A GA gives you two years of professional experience with a free master’s degree. If you’re seriously considering going into campus recreation or higher education, this opportunity is kind of a no-brainer, right? Okay, Riley, that’s super cool, but where do I find these magical opportunities? I am soglad you asked. Meet our friend, Bluefishjobs:
On bluefishjobs.com, you can find a plethora of campus recreation jobs, including graduate assistantships. When searching for jobs on this industry-leading site, you can refine your results as much or as little as you’d like. I sometimes just like to hit “search” without typing anything in; it’s fun to see all the jobs available and helps me better understand what to expect out of certain roles. Other times, however, I’ll refine the results to my qualifications (e.g., entry level) or to specific locations that are appealing to me (e.g., Wisconsin or Ohio). On bluefish, students can also find and apply for additional opportunities, like a professional internship. Professional internships (PIs) share the goal of giving professional experience with a graduate assistantship, but without the master’s degree part of it. There will be some fantastic PI opportunities opening in the winter and spring, so if you’re not quite sure if you want to make the commitment of jumping straight back into the rigors of academia, consider a summer or academic year internship! There are always new positions being added to bluefishjobs.com, so I recommend checking it often when searching for a GA, PI, or post-grad employment. Now, I could go on an entire spiel about why I recommend doing a graduate assistantship or professional internship within campus recreation—but I’ll save that for another time. In a short list, here’s why I’d recommend pursuing one or both kinds of opportunities:
- Gain invaluable, real-world professional experience to add to your resume
- Experience a new city/state/campus
- Make new, lifelong friends
- Get to know yourself and get a jump on developing your leadership philosophy
- Grow as a young professional
- Learn about a new campus recreation program in detail
If you find yourself wondering about what it means to be a graduate assistant or professional intern, I’m happy to share my own experiences with you. If you’re teetering on the edge of whether to apply, I hope you’ll consider the benefits you’ll find from pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. Maybe you will find something you’ve never even considered on bluefishjobs.com that is different from what you envisioned but that suits your goals even better. Either way, I’m here to support you and cheer you on!
