A lot of people have asked me, “how do you become a resident assistant.” So much so that I decided to make a list of advice that I have along with my RA colleagues on what to do if you want to get the RA job.
DO YOU WANT TO BE AN RA OR ARE YOU TRYING TO SAVE MONEY?
A resident assistant is a leader that lives in the residential hall who is responsible for the well being of their peers while also building and maintaining a community. A lot of the time people who try to become and RA do it for the wrong reasons. I’ll admit not having to pay for my room and food is great there is a lot of responsibility when it comes to the job. You have to put on programs, provide a safe environment, and sometimes play the bad guy in situations that are uncomfortable. If you want to be an RA your main concern shouldn’t be about having your own room.
“Show them that you’re going to take your job seriously because you will become a student staff of the university and that’s a really important role.” – RA Ariadne Cortez, St. Jerome
HAVE SOMEONE LOOK AT YOUR RESUME AND COVER LETTER
What I have noticed is that many college students have a poor resume or no resume at all. Your resume and cover letter plays an important role in the application process. Your resume and cover letter should be updated every couple of months. The career center at La Salle has appointments for students to go in and get feedback on how to improve their resume.
“I went to the career center to have my resume and cover letter checked over and I also scheduled a mock interview at the career center specified with RA questions”. – RA Liz Hallinan, St. Kat’s
“Write a good cover letter and have a resume adapted for the position. Ask different people and faculty members to review it.” – Estafani Dieli Tretto Ayres. St. Neumann
GET INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations such as Resident Student Association and Student Government Association are great ways to get involved and get experience in leadership. Many of the RAs on campus were at some point involved in those organizations and it gives an advantage to those not involved in leadership organizations.
“By joining RSA and getting to know RC Alexis I learned and gained experience by working with different people to plan programs.” -Liz Hallinan, St. Kat’s
BE FAMILIAR WITH YOUR RA
If you live on campus and want to become an RA , the best advice to get is from the source itself. During my freshman year I was very close to my RA and she gave me great advice on how to prepare for group process and my individual interview. At some point you need a reference on your application so you really want to have sort of relationship with your RA.
BE YOURSELF
In February, there is an interview stage called group process. It’s where all the potential RA applicants get together and are separated into smaller groups. It’s a very interactive group interview. As an RA, I see a lot of different personalities. What hurts a lot of people chances is when they aren’t themselves. If you are an introverted person that’s great! If you are extroverted that’s great as well. The point is you have to be yourself or else you look fake. A lot of the RAs on campus have different personalities so there isn’t one particular personality that the higher ups are looking for.
Being an RA is a lot of work. However, I love my job and I love my residents. Putting on programs, talking to my residents, and being really hands on is something that I enjoy. If that’s something you are interested in then you should sign up for the RA position.