How Should You React When Asked, “Why Do You Want To Be An RA?” Using examples
College or university students that serve as RAs, or resident assistants, typically look over a dorm or other type of student housing. For the purpose of determining whether you’re a good fit for the position, school personnel will normally conduct a formal interview with you before hiring you as a RA. The question “Why do you want to be a RA?” is routinely asked during these types of interviews. Your chances of getting the job and the dorm of your choice may increase if you know how to react to this question.
This article outlines why companies inquire as to why you want to work as a RA and offers examples of appropriate responses.
Why do you want to be a RA is a common question posed by employers.
During an interview, a potential employer can ask you why you want to work as a resident assistant. This question is commonly asked to find out if you want to work as a RA for social reasons, including meeting new friends, for experience that will help you in your future job, or for other similar personal or professional reasons. This question can also be used to determine your leadership talents, what you’d accomplish in a RA post, and what skills you’d need to be successful there.
Your solution to this interview query provides details about your professional and personal histories to the recruiting manager. Hiring managers may ask variants of this question during interviews even if they hope to hear the same kind of answer. These variations could include:
- What made you decide to become a RA?
- When did you decide to enroll in RA training?
- What exactly is a RA?
- What aspect of being a RA appeals to you?
- When asked “Why do you want to be a RA,” what should you say?
Follow these procedures to properly react to this interview question:
1. Take into account your motivation for applying.
Before replying to this typical interview question, you might want to consider which facets of the position most interest you. For instance, if the social side of the job interests you, you may describe why it draws you to it and why you’re excited about the potential of meeting new people and forming relationships with other students. These facts can help interviewers identify your main reason for applying for the RA position.
2. Describe the skills and qualities you’d bring.
Once you have decided why exactly you want to be a RA, you may pinpoint the special abilities, skills, and qualities you would bring to the resident hall. In order to succeed in their employment, RAs often have a wide range of hard and soft talents, including interpersonal, management, leadership, and sensitive abilities. By asking you to describe your personality and skill set, interviewers can decide if you possess the qualities and background required to succeed as a RA.
3. Use the STAR method.
When formulating a response, use the STAR method to describe your experience or area of expertise. The acronym STAR is used to represent situation, task, action, and result. Using this method, you can give a response that illustrates how you applied your qualifications to handle a problem or accomplish a goal. You can use this to impress an interviewer by giving specific instances.
What made you decide to become a RA? examples of answers
Examining previously written examples of answers will help you while you are writing your own responses to interview questions. Below are four examples of answers to this interview question:
Table 1
“In order to hone my hospitality skills, I’d like to work as a RA at Smith and Brown House. Although I’m only a freshman here, I plan to declare a degree in hospitality shortly, and I think that working as a RA would provide me the opportunity to obtain useful experience in occupations linked to housing and hospitality that would enable me to stick with my major. I’ve learned a lot about the business while enrolled in hospitality courses at the sophomore level, and if given the chance, I believe I’d be an excellent first-time resident assistant.”
Table 2
“I’m interested in working at Wildwood Hall because I want to give back to this university in the same way that my wonderful RA did. During my first year of college, I was homesick, but every time I chatted with Rodrick, my former resident advisor, I felt motivated. He had such a positive impact on me during a trying time in my college career that he actually inspired me to make an impact like he did. This academic year, I want to be a RA and play that part.”
Table 3
“I want to work as a RA in this dorm for a number of reasons, but the social aspect is the key one. I like forming new friendships and interacting with other students. As a hospitality major, I get to combine my passion for hospitality with my drive to engage with others. I think that working as a RA this year would allow me to utilize my skills and interests in a professional setting. I believe that my love of interacting with people and feeling a part of the community will help me become the best RA I can be.”
Table 4
“I want to be a RA because I believe that in this role, I will be able to best represent the university I adore. I’ve proven my capacity for relationship-building, management, and leadership by managing the school library. I’ve lived in Rachel Hall for my entire three years of college, and I want to use these skills for the good of this university and the residence hall I’ve spent so much time in.”
How should you react when asked “Why do you want to be a RA?”
Here are some additional suggestions for answering this interview question:
- Be truthful: When answering this interview question, be as honest as possible. This will allow the interviewers to understand more about you and determine whether or not you’d make a suitable resident assistant at the dorm of your choice.
- To help hiring managers swiftly and easily decide whether you are qualified for the position, think about answering this interview question as briefly as you can.
- Give examples By offering interviewers instances of when you’ve used the traits you claim to possess, you can prove your ability.
