CEC2HigherEd

​Hiring Tips

 

Below are some tips for candidates going through the higher education hiring process:

 

1.  Tailor your resume for each higher education institution you apply to.   Emphasize your facilities management and public works experience.   Write a cover letter specific to the institution to which you are applying.   

 

2.  Place your college education pedigree on the first page of your resume.  This is recommended for two reasons:   (1) College and Universities value academic credentials.  (2) The fact that most CEC officers have Masters degrees will help you stand out against the competition--most who will not have advanced degrees. 

 

3.  Be sure your resume includes a considerable amount of quantifcation.   In other words, help explain your experience and the breadth and depth of your responsibility by adding the following quantitative details to your resume:

 

• Number of people you have led, supervised in various jobs

• Size of budgets you have managed

• Number and dollar volume of projects managed

• Number and dollar volume of construction projects completed

• Number and dollar volume of contracts managed

• Cost savings from improvements you have made

 

4.  Conduct extensive research on any institution you will interview with.   Be sure to have read the following: 

 

• University Strategic Plan

• University Campus Master Plan

• Facilities Management web site

• University organizational chart

 

Develop questions about the university based on these documents. 

 

5.  If you get invited to campus for an interview and meet with the senior adminstrative vice presidents, the Deans of the colleges or schools, or the Facilities Management workforce, be  prepared to do the following: 

 

• Explain your leadership philosophy/approach.

• State what your core values are and how you will apply them, if hired.

• State what your areas of emphasis will be if hired.

• If you have determined that some areas need improvement, based on your research or initial interviews, state how you might tackle some of those issues.  You do not need to have fully developed plans or solutions, but give them some idea of how you dealt with similar issues in the past, or how you might approach developing a plan to correct the problem if hired.

• State your approach in dealing with the workforce.

• Explain your approach to dealing with clients.

• Explain how you will continually communicate and collaborate with key stakeholders on campus if hired.

 

It may be helpful to capture some or all of this in writing, and to provide the highlights to the search committee and others you may interview with, prior to your interview or visit.  

 

6.  While you may be principally focused on the questions that are asked of you during the many interviews you will participate in during a campus visit, do not forget to ask a lot of questions yourself.  Ask questions so you can determine whether this school and the Facilities Management situation is a good fit for you.   See the "Questions to Ask" page under the "Resources" menu item.  

 

7.  Some university personnel are not familiar with military personnel.   Hence they may have some concerns that you may be "too military" to fit into an academic environment.   The stereotype of military personnel is often that we are too rigid, regimented, non-collaborative, order-barking, and inexperienced in dealing with civilians to succeed in a University environment.   You need to be aware of this bias when you interview, and if you sense this is an underlying issue, work to dispel such concerns.  Suggestions to do so include: 

 

• Explaining your personal approach to leadership, collaboration, teamwork, and communication.

• Explaining how your experience in working for NAVFAC, an organization of over 20,000 personnel with less than 10% military personnel, prepared you for leading and directing a civilian work force.

• Explaining that even in the military, giving harsh orders to get someone to do something is a tactic of last resort.  Good officers convince and motivate subordinates to act, rather than pull rank and order them.

 

8.  Don't go overboard with trying to dress in the University colors or garb for the interviews.  A tie may be nice, but you don't want to look like you are trying too hard.