Community Conversations

Congratulations! You have just reached that most desired step in the job search progress: an offer! Take some time to celebrate and pat yourself on the back - you deserve it! But after all the confetti falls, you may be wondering: What do I do next?

Just like every other stage in the process, successfully evaluating and negotiating a job offer requires preparation, planning, and patience! To get the inside scoop, join Christine Routzahn, Director of the UMBC Career Center for the upcoming virtual Keys to Success: Evaluating Job Offers workshop on Monday, October 10th from 12:00-1:00pm. For more information, click here.

In the meantime, below are some key considerations on how to read the signs when evaluating job offers to consider the whole package:

• Salary: This is often the first thing that we think about related to a job offer, but accepting the offer is more than just about money! That being said, your anticipated salary is a very important part of the process, so you will want to know what you need to make to cover life expenses, what you would like to make to support long-term goals, and what you can expect to make in a certain occupation. When all these things are in alignment, you can be sure the offer is a good fit.
• Location: Where you work is just as important as the type of work you will be doing. Consider what your typical commute to work would look like and how that impacts your lifestyle, i.e. will you have to wake up early or get home late as a result of a long commute?
• Benefits: Benefits include everything ranging from health care coverage to retirement contributions to tuition support for further education. Carefully consider the benefits - both monetary and non-monetary -  when considering a job offer. Monetary benefits, such as yearly bonuses or stock options, as well as non-monetary ones like telework flexibility, job title and advancement potential, and professional development opportunities can make a disappointing salary offer more appealing.
• Company reputation: Securing a position with a desirable institution in your field can provide a jumpstart to your career that may be worth trade-offs in other areas. Additionally, a company with a secure and stable employment outlook can provide priceless piece of mind - and the assurance that you may not have to repeat this process in the near future!
• Co-workers and work environment: Lastly, you will want to consider the future colleagues who you met during the interview process and all that you learned about the company culture. Who we work with is often as influential as what we do - so accepting an offer that will position you within a team or environment that will allow you to bring your whole self to work and provide opportunities for personal and professional growth can be hard to quantify!

Once you've considered these factors - and others that are important to you - you may want to start the negotiation process. Even if you plan to accept the offer, it is perfectly acceptable to ask for time to evaluate the whole package and make sure it fits your expectations. Be sure to communicate the timeframe that you require - i.e. 24 hours or until the end of the week, etc.. -  to determine if this also aligns with the employer's time frame to fill the position.

If you find that you do want to negotiate some aspect of the offer, you may want to:

• Show enthusiasm for the position
• Clearly communicate your strengths and value to the employer
• Lean on the facts and reflections gathered at an earlier stage to present an convincing argument
• Embrace flexibility and clearly define your minimum requirements for acceptance in addition to your ideal goals.
• Communicate openly with the employer during the process and view the negotiation as a partnership. After all, you wouldn't have gotten to this stage if both you and the employer didn't think it would be a good match!

It's time to get advised for the spring semester!   

How many times have you listened to a song you loved and thought, I wish others could hear this the way I do?

If that's you, come join our song-sharing community at Off-Campus Student Services! Take turns sharing your favorite songs and hear some new favorites along the way. 

Please fill out this form if you're interested!

*While this community is aimed towards commuter students, all students who are interested are welcome!

Are you ready to invest in your career in higher education? Whether you’re new and looking to forge your path, mid-career and looking to inject some energy, or staring down retirement and considering your legacy, there’s something for you at the USM Learning and Talent Development Committee's annual, virtual, week-long conference, USM Professional Development Week. Register for inspiring panels, engaging workshops, and networking with your colleagues across the system. Empower Your Journey and Unleash Your Potential. October 17 - 21, 2022. Visit https://www.usmd.edu/learning-and-talent/PDWeek2022 for more information. 

To register for the Monday Keynote Panel, visit https://umd.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkcOysrTwsH9LBSl8YNW1X5QlvjI_6WCLB 

Workshops will run Tuesday-Thursday, and you can register at https://hopin.com/events/usm-pd-2022/registration  

Full details: https://www.usmd.edu/learning-and-talent/PDWeek2022 

Greetings Residential Retrievers--

We can hardly believe that October is here!  As we enter a new month, we want to provide you with some important residential updates. 

Important Dates

• October 1, 2022 | Spring Student Success Scholarship Opens on Scholarship Retriever
• October 6, 2022 | True Grits Festi-Fall Celebration
• Week of October 2, 2022 | Health & Safety Inspections (see below)
• October 7-16, 2022 | Homecoming & Family Weekend
• October 12, 2022 | Sign Up for the Pesto Teaching Kitchen
• October 23, 2022 | Spring Student Success Scholarship Deadline

Health & Safety Inspections

Residential Life values the co-creation of a safe environment in every residential community. It is the responsibility of every resident to ensure that they are contributing to a safe and healthy environment in their residence by:

• committing to community standards set at the beginning of each year with their floor
• reviewing and adhering to the Residential Life Rights and Responsibilities Guide, 
• submitting requests for facility maintenance 

It is the responsibility of Residential Life staff to educate residents through positive, personal contact,  maintain the residential facilities and conduct health and safety checks in residential rooms intermittently throughout the semester to identify health and safety issues in a timely way. These issues could include facility issues, fire safety, and the presence of prohibited items. 

This semester, Residential Life staff will be conducting these health and safety inspections on the week of October 2, 2022. Residents are not expected to be present during the inspection, but if you would like to be please contact your RA to schedule a time.

If concerns or issues are found in your room, you will receive notification via email. Please review the email and follow the instructions for correcting the issues in advance of a reinspection. Failure to correct the issues by the reinspection date, outlined in the email, may result in Student Conduct Action. 

If you have questions about these inspections, please contact your Resident Assistant or Community Director. 

Mail & Package Reminders 

Residential students are encouraged to have mail and standard packages delivered directly to their residential community during. All residents are assigned a mailbox and combination that they will share with their roommate(s). If you have misplaced your combination you can ask the Community Desk for assistance. 

Students commonly report that they have received notice from the shipper that their package has been delivered, but it is not immediately available for in-community pick up. This is most often due to misdelivery of packages by third-party carriers. For this reason, we highly encourage students to include the name of their residential community desk in the shipping address (ex. Apartment Community Center or Harbor Community Desk) to ensure packages are directed to their communities rather than Central Receiving or another UMBC building. Mail should be addressed like the example below to avoid delays or loss:

Your Name
Community Desk Name
Room/Apartment # Number
UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, Maryland 21250

Mail and packages that are not addressed for a current residential student and/or a residential facility may be refused by staff at Campus Card & Mail Services, Central Receiving, or Residential Life community desks.

When items are misdelivered by carriers, we ask for student's patience as Campus Card & Mail Services, Central Receiving, and Residential Life staff work to redirect, deliver, and log packages appropriately. This can take up to 3 business days.

For more information about mail and package procedures please visit https://reslife.umbc.edu/rlexperience/procedures/

Residential Hall Community Kitchen Updates 

We are excited to share that we will begin reintroducing communal cookware into our residence hall ground floor community kitchens in Chesapeake, Susquehanna, Patapsco and Potomac Halls.  During the pandemic items were removed from these kitchens to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 and had to be checked out at Community Desks.

With the reintroduction of items like pots, pans, and other cookware we wanted to remind students of expectations for using these items:

• Clean and sanitize items after use. Dish soap will be provided to ensure you are able to clean the items.
• Return dried items to the location in which you found them. 
• Ensure that any spills or any other mess is cleaned.
• Lost, stolen, or damaged items will not be replaced during the academic year.

Again, please keep in mind that this addition to the communal kitchens is a privilege.  Reports of misuse of the items and/or the space may result in the revocation of these items.

Student Success Scholarship

The purpose of the Student Success Scholarship is to assist current residential life students who demonstrate significant financial need to remain on-campus residents, who may otherwise be unable to afford housing during the academic year. The scholarship is supported by Residential Life. Award funds are for the following semester. If you are applying in fall, the funds would be applied for the spring semester housing balance. Several scholarships may be awarded each semester. Funds will vary based on eligibility and will range from full semester housing costs to partial semester housing costs, not to exceed the cost of a double room.

The application is open on Scholarship Retriever from October 1-23 for Spring Awards.

For questions or concerns please contact your Resident Assistant or Community Director. We hope you have a wonderful day!

Residential Life Staff

Pop-Up: Beverage Bar