Recommended for these types of people: A university staff member speaks honestly

In previous articles, I have discussed the merits and

demerits of changing jobs to become a university staff member.

　For those who have read this far, I imagine you have a general idea of what kind of work a university staff member does.

And the next thing you might be wondering is,

“In the end, am I suited for a university staff position?”

I believe that is the question.

　In this article, I will share from the perspective of an active staff member who has worked as a university employee for 7 to 8 years, the points where I feel, “This type of person is suited for university staff,” and conversely, “This type of person might struggle a bit.”

　Of course, this is just my personal opinion. There may be people who think, “That doesn’t apply to me, but I enjoy being a university staff member!” and vice versa. I would be happy if you could read this casually as one point of reference.

People suited for university staff

1. People with high communication skills

　The communication skills I am referring to here do not mean “people who are good at talking.” I do not think that people who are just chatty and like to talk have high communication skills.

University staff interact with

• students

• faculty members

• other departments

• vendors

• parents/guardians

• alumni

and people in truly various positions.

　Moreover, students have their own circumstances, and faculty members have their own ways of thinking. “Stepping in between to coordinate” is one of the major roles of a university staff member’s job.

Therefore,

• People who can listen carefully to others and communicate clearly

• People who can grasp the intentions of others and move things forward smoothly

• People who are better listeners than talkers

I think such people are well-suited for university staff positions.

Conversely, those who prefer spending their time working silently alone might feel a bit of a gap.

2. People who can value the past while also taking on new challenges

Universities are organizations with a long history.
That is precisely why,

"We've always done it this way."

There is a lot of that culture.
But on the other hand,

• DX

• AI

• electronic approval systems

• operational improvements

and other new things are increasingly being demanded in this era.

In other words,

"All old methods are bad."

is not the case,

"We won't change anything because there is a precedent."

is also not the case.

I currently work in payroll and labor relations, and

I think about "This is fine as it is," and

"This should be changed"

almost every single day.
I believe people who can respect precedents while also accepting necessary changes will enjoy this job.

③ People who can get back on track even when their schedule falls apart

I actually think this might be the most important one.

Even if you make a plan in the morning saying, "I'll finish this today!"

• inquiries from students

• consultations from faculty

• urgent approvals

• system troubles

and other things can change your plans in an instant (lol).
University staff work is not the kind of job where you can finish just by doing your own tasks.

Therefore, rather than feeling down and thinking, "Things didn't go as planned today..."

"Well, I'll do it in the afternoon."

"It's impossible today, so I'll do it tomorrow."

I think people who can switch gears like this are able to work without stress.

④ People who can notice small details

Meticulous people are well-suited for university staff positions (^.^)

...That said, I have a really careless personality, but since I'm somehow managing to work, it might not be an absolute requirement.

However, there is no doubt that the reason I am able to work as a university staff member is because there are meticulous people in the workplace.

• preparing materials for various meetings

• Drafting approval documents

• Creating documents to distribute to faculty

• Creating documents to distribute to students

And so on; in universities, many documents are still frequently created on paper.
Because they are created on paper, it is a bit of a hassle if you notice a mistake after printing.
In such cases, I am always grateful to the staff members who carefully check the documents I create, and I feel every day that they are indispensable.

People who might not be suited for university staff

1. People who do not want to interact with others

Because of the image that "university staff = office work," it is often assumed that you work at a computer all day. But in reality,

• phone calls

• counter service

• meetings and conferences

• coordination with other departments

and other tasks mean that you spend a surprisingly large amount of time talking to people.
Of course, there is administrative work, but

"I don't want to talk to anyone today!"

Days like that might be a bit tough (laughs).

2. People who want to carry out work strictly according to a schedule

At a university,

"I'm going to finish this work today."

even if you think that,

• urgent inquiries may come in

• or you may receive consultations from faculty members

• There are days when student interactions drag on

and things don't go as planned; that's normal.
(Actually, days that go as planned are rarer (tears))

If you are the type of person who gets frustrated every time that happens, you might find it a bit tiring.

③ People who dislike seniority-based organizations

　I touched on this a little in my previous article.
Compared to performance-based companies, universities still retain a culture of seniority.

Therefore,

• people who want to get promoted rapidly in their 20s

• people who want their salary raised exactly in proportion to their results

might find it a bit underwhelming.

　On the other hand, I think it is a very suitable environment for those who seek the peace of mind that comes with stable annual raises and long-term employment.

Summary

　Thank you for reading this far.

　Actually, despite writing all this, I don't think it's possible to clearly define who is "suited" for being a university staff member. This is because I myself didn't fit all these criteria from the start. Besides, there are truly all sorts of people in the workplace.

Therefore, you don't need to be a perfect 100-point match before you start the job.

　Please consider the content written in this article as just one example from my perspective, and I hope you won't feel pessimistic if you happen to fit the description of someone who is "not suited."

　What is important iswhether you can think, "This way of working might suit me."If you read this article and thought, "University staff seems like a good fit for me," then I truly hope you will pursue a career as a university staff member.

　I am truly glad that I encountered the job of a university staff member. Of course, there are difficult times. But finding a "job that suits me" was a major event in my life.

I hope this article serves as a reference for someone's career choice.
(I hope that more people aim to become university staff and that the industry itself continues to develop (^-^)♩)

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