Let’s talk about your social justice leadership:

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership serves as a bridge between Kalamazoo College and the community as a whole for educating about and engaging in social justice work. Arcus Associates identify opportunities for activism and community engagement to dismantle systems of oppression and center human dignity for all. Through policy creation, event planning to bring awareness, or grassroots action, Arcus Associates lead projects that bring about social change and create space for identifying root causes of oppression. They also cultivate and pursue radical thought and action, through resistance against institutions that operate based in oppressive structures. They seek to envision a new, just path that centers the most oppressed voices in their work. Ultimately, they resist oppressive structures via different forms of radical disruption and movement work.

Let’s talk about the transferable skills acquired:

1. Leadership: Arcus Associates understand that leadership looks different depending upon one’s identity, background, and the needs of the community at that time. Some leadership involves facilitating a group’s planning of an event that will serve many constituents and bring awareness to a particular cause. At other times, leadership may involve recognizing the need to step back and let others use their voice; leadership does not always mean being in the front of a movement.
2. Communication: Thoughtful event-planning requires written and oral communication with multiple constituents and may involve using varied
   technological platforms to engage the community. You exercise your voice in multiple forms to share information, to educate and to inspire others to engage in social justice work.
3. Visioning: As an Arcus Associate, you envision a more socially just world, one that centers human dignity and creates new systems that refrain from doing harm. The ability to see what could be and to work toward something that does not yet exist is a valuable skillset.
4. Collaboration: Through active cooperation with a diversity of community members, you work toward a common goal. You develop mutually beneficial relationships and partnerships that incorporate humility and collective thought. This collaboration centers justice through actions focused on disruption and coalition-building.
5. Persistence: As a social justice leader, you encounter unavoidable setbacks. Through adversity, however, you remain patient and resilient, knowing that transformational change takes time to manifest. You continue your work toward radical change through creative means and by practicing gratitude, knowing that you are fortunate to be in community with others who share this passion for justice.
6. Administration: Through your work as an Arcus Associate, you demonstrate the ability to smoothly facilitate the operations necessary for coordinating daily office tasks such as time management, resource identification, planning and facilitating effective meetings, and general organization skills.

Let’s talk about sample resume action statements:

CCPD Tips:

Behavioral Interview Prompts:
Employers often ask questions about how you responded to specific situations.
For example:
• Tell me about a time when you experienced a conflict while working on a team.
• Describe a time when you had to work well under pressure.
• Give me an example of a time when you showed initiative and took the lead.
• Tell me about a time when you made a mistake, and how you handled it.

S.T.A.R. Method

You can use STAR as a framework to structure your response to behavioral
interview questions.
• Describe the context and background for a Situation that’s relevant to the question.
• Explain the Task that needed to be completed. What was the goal?
• Outline specific Actions you took. How did you exhibit transferable skills?
• Share the Results of your actions. What was the outcome? What did you learn?