<p>I’m a current RA (We call them CSAs at my school).</p>
<p>You sound like you’ve done a lot of things right, especially Hall Council.</p>
<p>The whole point of an interview is to sell yourself and tell the people what they want to hear; your interviewers know this. If you’re worried about it, just say something along the lines of “I hope I don’t sound arrogant in saying this…”. I said that in an interview and the man interviewing me actually seemed fairly impressed.</p>
<p>Also, I would mention something about how you’re a student first. You’re not there to be an RA, you’re there to get an education, and they often look for people who understand that. Especially since ResLife almost always has a minimum GPA to have a position, so they need people who are serious about school.</p>
<p>Good luck! Being an RA is a lot of fun (and sometimes very challenging), and I hope you get a position! If you don’t, don’t give up…I was waitlisted at first and then given the position, then cut because of lack of funding, then hired AGAIN three weeks before training. You’d be surprised how things work out.</p>
<p>A couple more things…if they ask you a question and you’re not sure how to answer, don’t be afraid to say, “Give me a minute to think about that”, or even, “Can I have a moment to think before I respond?”</p>
<p>Better to have a little bit of awkward silence than to say something stupid because you were too busy trying to rush your answer.</p>
<p>Also, at the end of the interview (this is pretty standard, most places do this), they’ll say, “Do you have any questions for us?”</p>
<p>Do your research ahead of time and come up with some questions to ask. You can find lists online of what’s appropriate to ask and what isn’t, but this is what I usually go with:</p>
<p>-What is a typical day on the job? (This is VERY important for you to know.)
-If there is a current RA in the room (which there usually is): what are your most and least favorite parts of the job? (Again, VERY IMPORTANT. A lot of schools don’t talk about the negative parts.)
-What advice would you give me if I were offered the job?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry so much about the group interview…they know that’s a tough situation for a lot of people, and they need all kinds of leaders, not just the super extroverted ones. If possible, send an e-mail to the interviewer afterwards. Just tell them, “hey, thank you so much for taking time from your busy day to facilitate our interview! I just wanted to underline that I am not necessarily the most extroverted leader, so the group interview might not have been the best showcase for my skills.” But again, they really understand this. And they’ll train you to be more assertive in places where you really need it (ie on-call/breaking up parties/documenting people). Don’t be afraid to reach out to these people…it gets your name in their head and they’ll like that you care enough to reach out. Just don’t be excessive about it…try and keep it to one e-mail, and then go in in person (if at all possible) for any questions you have.</p>
<p>Lastly: if they ask you for any paperwork or anything like that, DO IT IN A TIMELY FASHION. I can’t impress this enough. It’ll make you look extremely professional and organized.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me with any questions you have…the RA job is vastly different for each school, but I could probably answer your general questions. Again, good luck!</p>