Resi dent Assis tant Ap plic ati on Pac k et 2014-201 5

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Resident Assistant (RA). RAs are student leaders and if you are chosen to become a member of the Residence Life team you will have the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with your peers, your residents, and your supervisors. The RA job is extremely rewarding and a lot of fun, and requires you to have a high level of commitment and dedication.

This application pack has been designed to help you understand the recruitment process. Within this pack you will find:

The Selection Process Timeline Steps to Successfully Completing the RA Application Process An explanation of what we are looking for in a candidate

o Considerations for candidateso Qualifications

Compensation The Post Description Interview Tips

The application itself is made up of the essay questions and personal creative piece which can be found on page six of the pack, an application form, and two references (one for current/former employer and one for personal tutor/faculty member). All parts must be submitted by 17:00 on Thursday, 13 February 2014 in order for your application to be considered complete. Only applicants who have all parts submitted on time will be eligible to proceed in the process.

Please Note: Staff Induction activities will take place 29 August 2014 – 5 September2014. The induction sessions are compulsory along with completing an online e-induction prior to the 29th of August. Therefore, applicants must be available to attend training sessions all of these dates. Training days are usually 9am-5pm with some event tasks and meetings with line managers. Preparatory work on site and Coming Up Weekend on 6th

and 7th September 2014 and are also compulsory.

Please read the pack in its entirety. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask yourAccommodation Manager, Warden, or a Residence Life Coordinator directly.

Thank you and good luck. We look forward to seeing you during the process!

Sincerely,

Katie ThorneRLC K ati e .t h o r n e@ e d . a c . u k

The S e l ec tion Pr o ce s s Ti me l ine 6 January 2014 Applications available

Information Sessions (ATTENDANCE AT ONE IS COMPULSORY)St. Leonard’s Hall, Pollock Halls of ResidenceTuesday, 4 February @ 6:00pm Thursday, 6 February @ 6:00pmMonday, 10 February @ 6:00pm Wednesday, 12 February @ 6:00pm

Post Graduate Applicants are welcome to attend any of the info sessions listed above or: Monday, 21 April @ 6:00pm, St. Leonard’s Hall, Pollock Halls of Residence

**Candidates currently studying abroad or out with Edinburgh and therefore unable to attend the information session in person must note this on their application and contact a cc o m .resl i f e @ ed . a c. u k to request an online version of the information session. Those candidates selected for interview who are abroad will conduct interview via Skype**

Undergraduate (UG) Applicants13 February Completed Applications due back to Residence Life

24 February - 7 March Individual Interviews for Undergraduate candidates

14 March Offer Letters Sent to Undergraduate candidates

Postgraduate (PG) Applicants24 April Completed Applications due back to Residence Life

5-16 May Individual Interviews for Postgraduate Sites

21 May Offer Letters Sent

22 May Hired Candidates attend first team meeting

Che ck L ist to Su cce ssfu lly Comp let e th e Unde rgradua te RA App licatio n P roce ss

□ Distribute the Reference Forms. These be completed and returned to Residence Life no later than Thursday, 13th February 2014, by 17:00. For PG Applicants this date is Thursday, 24th April 2014, by 17:00.

One reference must come from a member of the teaching staff who can speak to your ability to balance this commitment with your academics. The secondreference should be from a former employer who has observed your skills and work ethic.

□ Carefully read the general information page and the Position Description.

□ Sign and date the application form.

□ Type or print neatly in pen the answers to the essay questions on a separate piece of paper and hand them in with your application.

□ Attend one of the compulsory information meetings. Failure to attend one of the information sessions will prevent you from proceeding through the application process.

□ Return the completed application via email to a c c om . r e sl i f e @ ed . a c. u k or by post to Residence Life, The University of Edinburgh, St Leonard’s Hall, 18 Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh EH16 5AY no later than the specified deadline as listed above.

The Unive rs ity of E dinburgh Res ide nt As sis tant

This past year, Residence Life at the University of Edinburgh has employed 150 students as Resident Assistants, working in 9 houses at Pollock Halls of Residence as well as 40 flat sites throughout the city of Edinburgh. The Resident Assistant’s primary mission is to be available in the halls and flats to assist and support other students. The main areas of responsibility are community building, event planning, emergency response, and administration. Please refer to the enclosed post description for detailed information.

Pe rs on Spec ifica tion

Competencies are general descriptions of the abilities needed to perform a role in an organisation to a high standard.

Three Competency Areas have been identified as important to AccommodationServices:

Delivering Excellence Working Positively Supporting Others

Within these areas are specific skill sets and behaviours that we expect our Resident Assistant staff to demonstrate. These are listed in the chart below. Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate these skills and understand how these skills can be utilised in the RA post.

Competency SkillsDelivering Excellence Communication

Planning & Administrative Problem Solving

Working Positively Teamwork Desire to Constantly Learn

Supporting Others Community Development & RelationshipBuilding

Profe ss io n a l D e ve lo p m e nt Resident Assistants are provided with specific training throughout the year to make them more effective in the post as well as to promote opportunities for professional development. The Resident Assistant’s participation in September 2014 and January2015 training, as well as bi-monthly in-service programs during the year, site wide event planning groups, and other learning opportunities are compulsory and are crucial to the smooth functioning of our residential sites. Other opportunities for development as a team member will be provided and participation in such opportunities is expected.

Qu a l i fi c a tions Resident Assistants must:

Be a fully matriculated full time student at The University of Edinburgh Have good disciplinary standing within Accommodation Services. Inform your line manager of all significant time commitments (over 10 hours per

week, jobs, societies, etc.). Have lived in shared university accommodation at the university level, preferably at

the University of Edinburgh.

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

ACCOMMODATION SERVICES

Application for Resident Assistant

Pe rsona l Deta ils:

Prefix: Mr Surname: Dumitru First Name: Robert Petrut

Matric Number: s1343336 Contact Telephone No: +447587866599

University of Edinburgh Student Email Address: s1343336@sms.ed.ac.uk

If not a Uni of Edinburgh student yet, a current email address:

Current Semester Address (Edinburgh): ENP block 5, flat 8 , room 4 , Edinburgh

Address for summer: Bld. A.I.Cuza bl D8 sc A ap 9 , Slatina Olt Romania

Polo shirt size (to be used in the event of your application being successful):

Medium

For th e Up co ming Acade mic Yea r:

Undergraduate

College: Science & Engineering

Course: Electronics and Computer Science Year of Study (i.e. 2nd year UG; 3rd year Law) : 2nd year UG

Expected date of Graduation: May-2017

Will you be required to be away from your RA post during the academic year for longer than 4 weeks? (Ex: Placement, field trip, academic research, etc.) No If yes please list details:

Site s fo r which you w ish to b e con side red (Plea se se lect a ll th at ap ply):

Catered: Pollock Halls

Self-Catered: Houses and Flats

Allo ca tio n De ta ils:

Do you wish your application to be considered for a post at a particular site? If so, which site? Please note this does not guarantee placement in that site.

If there are no vacancies at this site, do you wish to be considered for a post elsewhere?

Expe rien ce :

You mu s t have experience in living in shared accommodation. It is preferred that this shared accommodation is at university level. Please list the details of your accommodation at the University of Edinburgh:

S e ssion Acc o m m oda ti o n 2013/2014 East Newington Place , block 5, flat 8, room 4 2012/2013 2011/2012 Other years

If you have lived in university accommodation at another university/college please provide those details:

Unive rsity/ Colleg e Dat e of Acco mmoda tio n Add ress o f Acco mmoda tio n

Have you received residential disciplinary sanctions? No If yes, please detail:

Have you previously been employed by the University of Edinburgh? If so, please give details, dates, and reasons for leaving.

If you have had other positions of responsibility or experiences which you feel are relevant to this post, please give a brief outline of what this involved (you may also attach your CV to this application).

Where did you hear about this post? UoE Facebook Page SAGE Accommodation Services Website International Office

Po st Relate d Q ue stio ns:

Please review the post description. Considering all that is expected of a person in this post answer question 1 and 2 from Section A, 1 question from Section B, and the required creative representation in Section C. Please complete on a separate piece of paper and submit with your application. Please type or neatly print in pen your answers. Responses should be a minimum of 150 words for each question.

S ec tion A – E v e r y one must a ns w e r bo t h Q ue s tions 1 a nd 2 Question 1:

Please indicate what attracted you to this post.

I am attracted to this post, as its duties are similar to my interests. I am keen on volunteering, I need to get involved in everything that happens around me, I need to do or at least read about interesting things every day. By doing this, I can develop my own skills and knowledge about people and world and I have to admit that if I do not do this, I start to feel bad about myself. Meeting, talking and getting to know other people inspires me and broadens my horizons. Being a Resident Assistant would give me the opportunity to do all of these, not to mention the cultural and social impact that this will have on me.

Spending my last two years of high school doing plenty of volunteering activities, I have learned that interacting with a different range of people has a positive impact on one’s personality. I strongly encourage the informal ways of learning and I find this position, not only a way of making new friends, but also a way of evolving.

I want to give something back to people; As a result, I am coordinating a mentorship programme inside the Edinburgh University Romanian Society, having my own mentee. Life was good to me. I was born in the rural area near a small city in Romania, I won an impressive number of Mathematics and Physics competitions and travelled a lot due to this, I finished high school as valedictorian and now I am here. Consequently, I also want to help students adapt and organise activities and thus, improve their social life. I think this is a very good way to thank the world for being I am where I am today.

Question 2:Please outline any experience you have with the organisation of social events/activities along with two personal qualities that you feel will help you succeed in the RA position.

As a member of the Edinburgh University Romanian Society’s committee, I was part of the team which organised the Romanian December Party in Teviot Underground. Although the party was at the beginning of December, I came with the idea to have Christmas decorations. As I promised the team, I provided a Christmas tree and other ornaments and I felt very happy to see that people enjoyed gathering around the tree. We also offered free traditional Romanian food, but in order to obtain it, we had to help the Romanian Consulate to organise its own party next day, giving the fact that it was the Romanian National Day. Even though I worked another day, I can say that my efforts were worthwhile, as I saw people pleased.

Probably the most challenging event that I organised was Intercampu’s Millions of Smiles Tournament because it took part during the same period as my final exams (Romanian Baccalaureate) and I had to significantly use my time management skills. The volunteering team and I decided that everybody should run an activity, so I had to design it, find the materials needed and also advertise it to the children in order to make them join the game. At the same time we had to ensure kids' safety by watching them playing safe and mediating any divergences between them. Nevertheless, we also worked as a team by dividing the other duties, such as providing water to the football players, making sandwiches for them or painting the football field.

I consider that one quality that will help me as Resident Assistant is that I know how to organise my time. The trick that I use is that I tackle any of my responsibilities, homework, or personal problems as soon as they appear and I also know how to prioritise them. One reason why I want to get involved in many interesting activities is that I feel that I am doing something important; I feel that I acquire new features of my knowledge and personality.

Another helpful quality is my enthusiasm and my optimism. I strongly believe that every problem has at least one solution and if I want something, I can achieve it. For example in INLW, my team and I are

going to take part in a bio-robot competition. Although I do not know anything about CAD programming (the software for a 3-D printer with which we are building the parts), I am confident that we will manage to create the robot and maybe even win.

Sec tion B – Answe r 1 of the foll owi ng:

Question 1:What is your vision of a residence hall/house/flat community and how would you, if hired for this post, take an active role in developing that community?

Question 2:What about this post do you think you will find challenging and what steps will you take to overcome this challenge?

After talking to some Resident Assistants, I realised that almost all of them have the same problem: the gradually decrease in the number of people who attend events. It is a pity that, in some cases, students attend only the events where they receive free food or drinks. I considered this challenge and what may cause it and I found solutions.

First of all, maybe students do not find the events or activities interesting enough. To solve this right from the beginning, conducting surveys may be a good way to find out what residents want and what types of things they are interested in. By doing this, resident assistants would also get an idea about the students that they have to help adapt. Moreover, because a survey has some limitations, a suggestion box would help determine residents' wishes.

Secondly, it is possible that students feel that they are not involved in the events or the activities have no meaning for them. Thus, they can be included in the university life by organising inter-cultural events. As they come from different countries, with different traditions and backgrounds, these inter-cultural nights would allow them to share their cultural experiences with other students and discover new things about other countries.

Something tells me that the most difficult part of this job is to make students understand that making noise during the night may create discomfort and even upset other people. A balanced approach consisting in a smart and to some extension, a geek way of parting may be a solution to overcome this problem. I agree that students need to relax and socialise, but there are plenty of ways of doing this without disrespecting others or their wishes. A student hall should be in the end a place where every student has to feel comfortable enough to achieve its maximum potential, both socially and academically. If I ever need to deal with a situation where a party is too loud and people disobey rules, I will not hesitate to explain people that they need to stop. A good way to solve this issue may be to give them a 15 minutes warning before making the stop.

Sec tion C - REQUIRED

Creative Piece:Please provide us with a creative representation of who you are and why you think you are a good fit for the RA post. Be creative!! Just ensure that you explain what your piece represents.

Past creative pieces have been represented through PowerPoint, YouTube links, baked items, prezi presentations, posters, poetry, previous academic projects (must clearly state connection to RA role) and on a variety of different size paper and mediums.

In te rview A va ilab ility:

If your application meets the criteria of the Selection Committee you will be allocated an interview date and time. UG Interviews will take place 24 February – 7 March. For PG Applicants interviews will take place 5-16 May. If a candidate is currently abroad, interviews will be hosted via Skype video chat, we still need candidates to inform us of their availability – keeping in mind current time differences between locations. If you are interested in any post we will try to provide you with an interview at any time that fits your availability.

Please note, due to the number of candidates we host for interviews we cannot guarantee that you will have a time you mark, but we will do our best to offer candidates times they list as available. Interviews are generally 30 minutes long.

Please mark below the times you are NOT available for interview

Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday09:15 Yes10:00 Yes10:45 Yes11:15 Yes12:00 Yes13:00 Yes Yes13:45 Yes Yes14:30 Yes Yes15:15 Yes Yes16:00 Yes Yes Yes Yes

17:30 Yes Yes Yes Yes18:15 Yes Yes Yes Yes19:00 Yes Yes Yes Yes19:45 Yes Yes Yes Yes

Re fe re n c es : All appointees are subject to reference checks. Can we approach your references prior to interview? Yes

I declare that, to the best of my knowledge, the information given in this application is true and correct. I also state that my account with Accommodation Services is up to date. I understand and hereby agree that if I am appointed to the post of Resident Assistant it will be on the basis of this information and that a false statement may result in termination of that appointment.Signature: Robert Dumitru Date: 13/ 02/2014