Online Community Aide Application
Written application |Selecting a Personal Reference| Interview Preparation
Application Preparation TipsThese suggestions are offered to help applicants prepare for the Community Aide Application Process. Contact Candra Gill with questions.
Preparing Your Written Application
Preparing the written application is critical for each applicant in order to present your skills and abilities in a clear manner. Since not all applicants will receive an interview, it is important that essential information be included in the application to better ensure that you will receive an invitation to interview. Your essays are your first introduction to the selection committee. Please take time to thoughtfully craft your responses. You may want to write your essays using a word processor before copying and pasting them into the application form. This allows you flexibility in reviewing and editing what you’ve written before you submit it. You can have a friend look over your work to check it for errors or to offer you suggestions.
- The University also has resources to help you with your writing, including, but not limited to:
- Review the University Housing department materials – University Housing mission, Goals of the Community Aide Program, Community Aide Program Description, Eligibility requirements for application and the important dates of the application process. All are located on the University Housing and Northwood Community Apartments website.
- If you prefer to submit a resume to compliment the application, a resume customized to the nature of the Community Aide position is recommended. While your academic and professional achievements are important, often a professional resume does not adequately highlight your community involvement and previous volunteer experience which are significant criteria for this position.
- Check all written materials The materials submitted by an applicant are viewed as an indication of the quality of work that will be forthcoming from you as a staff member. Be sure that proper grammar and punctuation and spelling are used. Remember to avoid run-on sentences and incomplete thoughts. Since not all applicants will be granted an interview, your written application is a critical tool in acquiring an interview, so it is worth investing time into this step of the process.
Selecting a person to serve as your personal reference is an important consideration. The best reference will be a person who knows you well on a personal level and who clearly understand the job expectations. Make sure the person that you ask to support your application knows abut your community involvement and feels comfortable giving you an honest and positive reference.
Remember, it is hard for this person to give a supportive review for you unless they have had some kind of on-going relationship with you. Consider persons who can speak about your skills, talents, personal traits, and characteristics that relate to the job requirements and the selection criteria. Get to know your references well and inform them about your goals. You may even want to share your essay answers with them and discuss in person why you are interested in this position. Who should you select for this important role? Consider who knows you well related to working with others. Consider asking your neighbor, an instructor, a person from your faith community, a volunteer partner, your Community Aide, or a classmate to serve as a reference. Give the person an idea of the qualities and roles involved in the Community Aide position. Refresh their memory about your involvement in group work, especially that which involved leadership, sensitivity, respectful communication, helpfulness, creativity and problem-solving. Discuss the nature of the teamwork involved, that you will be working with 12 peers on many community-based projects that require collaboration, compromise, and communication with a diversely multicultural community.
Finally, aside from thanking them for supporting you in this way, one of the best ways to express your gratitude is to let them know the outcome. Even in the event that you are not hired for the position, still thank them for their time. The UM Career Center has some helpful tips that you may want to consider - see their online resource. Remember that you'll need to identify 2 persons to serve as personal references to complete the Community Aide application.
Interview preparation
If you are selected to to interview for the Community Aide position, take time to prepare. Be sure you understand what the interview is all about; if you're not clear, ask questions. It is common for an interviewer to form an opinion of you based on the nuances of your interactions. Be yourself. You need to portray, sincerely and enthusiastically, that you are knowledgeable about the position and have something to offer. Remember that a Community Aide is responsible for specific tasks and all are important. You may ask a current Community Aide about details of their position. During the interview, feel free to ask for clarification before answering a question and take some time to formulate your answers before you speak.
Useful thoughts:
| 1. | Know why you want the position. |
| 2. | Be able to express, specifically, the skills and experiences you have to offer. |
| 3. | Identify standard interview questions and know your answers to them. |
| 4. | Be prepared to answer unexpected questions. |
| 5. | Prepare questions you wish to ask – it's best to only ask questions you can't find answers for yourself. |
Is a Community Aide position the right fit for me presently?
Everybody has strengths and weaknesses. Weaknesses are areas in which you will need to improve; they are not necessarily things that would disqualify you for employment as a Community Aide. It is important to think about some important aspects of your life in relation to the Community Aide position that will help you during the hiring process. Having insights into your own areas for growth shows you have thought about this position and are willing to learn new things that can help you be more effective. The Community Aide position is designed as an experience to further your personal development as well as allowing the staff to serve the community.
Referral and Resource Person…
| 1. | How well do you know the University of Michigan campus, North Campus, and Ann Arbor resources? |
| 2. | How good are you at recognizing the essence of a problem so that you can match it to a resource? |
| 3. | How assertive and diplomatic can you be in trying to influence someone to seek assistance? |
Coordinate activities and events to meet the needs and interests of students…
| 1. | How do you find out what neighbors want or need? |
| 2. | How good are your organizational skills – can you figure out what needs to be done, prioritize to complete it on time? |
| 3. | How creative do you see yourself being? |
| 4. | How effective are you at sharing leadership in groups? |
Work with residents and staff to build a healthy community…
| 1. | Do you know what makes a community work? |
| 2. | How effective are you at building rapport with people like yourself and with people you see as very different from you? |
| 3. | How comfortable are you being in a disciplinary role with people who might be your friends, or giving personal support to people you choose not to spend time with? |
Perform administrative duties as necessary…
| 1. | How effective are you at keeping detailed records? |
| 2. | Are you able to write using clear, concise and objective language? |
| 3. | How comfortable are you responding quickly to completely new tasks? |
Work night, weekend, and some break periods…
| 1. | How are you going to manage your personal/family and academic obligations and still have sufficient time to be a Community Aide? |
| 2. | How effective are you going to be when you have to wake up in the middle of the night to handle a problem? |
Respond to, and report, inappropriate behavior and crisis situations…
| 1. | How calm are you during crisis situations? |
| 2. | How comfortable are you taking charge in chaotic situations? |
| 3. | How assertive can you be if you need to confront angry or intimidating people? |
| 4. | How do you deal with your own feelings or temper when people challenge you? |
Willingness to develop strong communication and interpersonal skills…
| 1. | How willing are you to learn new ways to do things? |
| 2. | How comfortable are you meeting new people? |
| 3. | When you walk in to a group, how do you establish yourself? |
| 4. | What about you would make residents comfortable coming to you for help? |
Willingness and ability to work with diverse student groups…
| 1. | What kind of exposure have you had to people who have different racial, ethnic, religious, cultural or sexual orientations from your own? |
| 2. | How effective are you at building rapport with people of different genders or age from your own? |
| 3. | How do you see yourself facilitating communication among different interests? |
Prior Leadership or employment experience…
| 1. | What have you done previously that will prepare you to be a Community Aide? |
| 2. | How would you describe yourself as a leader? |
| 3. | What kind of responsibilities have you had that can illustrate your skills? |
| 4. | What makes you a strong leader? |
| 5. | How do you react when someone challenges your leadership or authority? |
Organizational and Time management skills…
| 1. | Can you work on several different tasks at the same time? |
| 2. | Can you stay focused even when you have had multiple short interruptions? |
| 3. | Can you stay focused even when you have had multiple short interruptions? |
| 4. | How effective are you working independently to get things started? |
| 5. | How are you going to be able to make time to do the Community Aide job while keeping up with your academic programs and personal obligations? |
