Know what it takes to advance to senior‐level leadership positions

As student affairs faculty, we equip our students with the knowledge and skills to be successful in their first job, but we also provide them with the tools to start thinking about their last job. For many, that last job is an executive position, such as director, dean, vice president, or president. One of the exercises we commonly conduct early in our programs and then revisit in the final semester is helping the students create a professional development plan. As part of this exercise, students must assess their skillset and put them in the context of entry-level and senior-level jobs. This reflection includes reviewing employment postings in The Chronicle of Higher Education and HigherEdJobs.com to see the qualifications for their “dream job.”