So.. I saw the new applications for CA's for 2011/2012 and I'm considering it, but I don't really know too much about the process, interviews, what they look for, responsibilities etc. I saw the list that they have on the housing site, but it would be nice to get some first-hand feedback, pros/cons, etc from people too.

Thanks!

The good looks

I know Tailsnake was(or still is?) a CA. He was my CA last year for Hedden Hall. You could probably send him a p.m. asking him what the interview process was like, etc.

Apparently there is one day where you and a group of applicants are given a scenario and you will be judged on how well you work as a team, etc.

Sara, come find me after the Ecology Exam and I'll explain the process

Do you mind explaining it here for the rest of us who are interested in becoming a CA?
Thanks.

Originally Posted by ~*Sara*~

So.. I saw the new applications for CA's for 2011/2012 and I'm considering it, but I don't really know too much about the process, interviews, what they look for, responsibilities etc. I saw the list that they have on the housing site, but it would be nice to get some first-hand feedback, pros/cons, etc from people too.

Thanks!

If its the same as when I was a CA:

Process:

Online Application, a "group interview" (basically a day full of group activities to demonstrate how you react to certain situations, how you work as a team etc.), and a regular interview (usually with 2 residence managers)

What they look for:

Think of the things you liked about your CAs and what you felt was necessary for your floor. It varies from building to building. There's a misconception that only very bubbly, outgoing people make good CAs but in my experience, you need all sorts of people to make a strong team. I'm fairly introverted, and hardly the loudest person in a given situation, and I like spending a fair bit of time alone... and I didn't feel any pressure to change as a CA.

Responsibilities:

Coverage ~2x a week (sometimes less, sometimes more). You work a fixed number of weekday and weekend shifts/month and there's usually a certain number of people on covergae on a certain day. You walk around the building, make sure people are okay, hang out with your students, do desk duty (signing people in if its a weekend), and write up a coverage report at the end of it to submit to your res manager.
There's also a certain amount of floor programming you have to run per month (they changed the requirements, so I'm not too up to date on this), and it's really up to you and your staff team how you want to handle this.
Staff meetings/socials etc: usually weekly, to make sure everyone is up to date on how things are going, any issues that need to be addressed.
Paperwork: the most annoying part for me, coverage reports, incident reports, programming plans etc.

All in all, I loved being a CA. It was a lot of work but I wouldn't change the experience. I'm still good friends with most of my staff team and some of the students from my floor. I learned a lot about time management, and teamwork and it was a LOT of fun.

I hope you apply! I'm sure you'll have as good an experience.

After you submit your application, you will be asked to come in for an assessment center. It lasts about 4 hours long and you go around with a group of applicants to different areas. Here you are given various situations to do. Some of them are around programming ideas, discipline, teamwork. The different areas change each year. I think the main thing to do during these assessment centers is to be yourself.

Following the assessment centers, the next step is the interview. This interview is done with a residence manager and staff member from the previous year. The style of the interview is a behavioural interview which means that they ask you to give examples for different scenarios. The reasoning behind this is that the way you dealt with things in the past shows how you will deal with things in the future. There really is not much you can do to prepare for this interview, although you could try to think of different examples to use (ie how you have dealt with conflict, leading a group etc).

Being a CA is tons of fun! I did it for two years and it was definately a great experience. You get to meet some many new people and you end up becoming close friends with your staff team and the staff members in other buildings.

It is a position that you need to learn how to balance different things in your life otherwise you will not get everything done. The nice thing about being a CA is that the job is flexible. You do have your set meetings and coverage nights, but apart from that, you can choose when to run your programs, work on bulletin boards, and interact with students.

Coverage is about 2 times away (or about 8-9 over the month) of a mix of weekday and weekend shifts. On the weekdays you are on active duty till 1am and then on call for the rest of the night, and on the weekend it is till 3pm. Even though you are technically on call, I rarely had to stay up past 1am or 3am. You do get those hectic nights where you are up late, but for the most part those times apply.

Let us know if you have any more questions

From Rafiki's information sheet:

"Each community has to run 2 programs a month, and the HPA has to run 2 programs as well."

Thanks for the input Sneha and Nicole! I'm definitely considering applying. I'm definitely not the extreme extrovert type, that's another factor I was taking into account :/. I was wondering for the interview, how informal/formal is it? And how does the whole preference for buildings work?

Thanks again

did the workload of being a CA affect your school work?

Originally Posted by macbaby07

did the workload of being a CA affect your school work?

Yes and no. There were definitely nights when I did NOT want to be on coverage because I had assignments to finish, and nights before midterms when I'd get irritated at people coming in "just to talk." However, it really forced me to get my act together in terms of time management. In general I've found throughout university that being involved in other activities besides school doesn't cut into your studying time as much as it cuts into your procrastination time (like I`m doing now... sigh).

For me personally, my grades were better when I was a CA (my 2nd year) than they were in 1st year when all I did was study. However, its definitely been nice to not have any full-time commitments for the past two years.

Ultimately, the job is what you put into it... there are days/weeks when you can get by doing minimal work, and days when you have to commit to it 110%.

Oh and in reply to Sara: The group interview isn't very formal at all. I'd suggest wearing comfy clothes because you'll be walking around a lot, sitting on floors for some activities, etc. The regular interview (2nd stage) was a typical interview; i.e. dress shirt/nice pants kind of thing.
I don't know how much they take into account your personal residence preference, they'd most likely place you where you'd be the strongest as a CA. I was in Les Prince and although I initially indicated that I wuld have preferred a traditional since that was where I lived in first year, it was a perfect fit for me at least. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else

Being a CA did teach me how to better manage my time. There were definately the nights where I did not want to be on coverage thought becasue of homework. On the weekdays you can sometimes get homework done between sweeps of the building (although I would advise not to leave last minute assignments to do while on coverage in case somethng does happen). You do get to request certain days not to be on coverage or you can switch if you have a big assignment or exam the next day.

In terms of what to wear to the assessment center, I would say from what I've seen that it varies. Some people do wear business casual while others come in jeans. When I did mine, I wore jeans and a nice shirt to it. For the interview, I wore business causal as the interview was one-on-one with the residence manager.

Awesome! Thanks a lot guys, all the information was extremely helpful

can anyone tell me where exactly the online application is?
i cant find it in the housing website