Things Former Help Desk GAs Said About Their Experience Turned into Motivational Posters

We’re hiring for Fall 2021! Curious but uncertain about supporting tech? Former iSchool Help Desk GAs wanted to share their experiences with you as you consider if the Help Desk is the assistantship for you! A little more information on this opportunity: this is a 50% appointment, and we are hiring for multiple positions. No tech support skill required–just a love to help others and an affinity for cute pets. A PDF containing the job description and a link to the application is attached below. Applications are now due on Monday, April 12th, 2021.  Application PDF

Former Help Desk graduate assistants share why YOU should apply to be on Team Awesome! 🙂

Two brightly colored markers on paper, keyboard, plant and coffee mug overlaid with quote from former Help Desker: "I was nervous about working at the Help Desk since I had absolutely no formal “tech support” experience. Thankfully, if you are pursuing your degree at the iSchool, you are probably already interested in solving problems and helping people. That’s basically the Help Desk in a nutshell!" glases on top of notebook next to laptop overlaid with text from former Help Desker: "Your searching skills will be unmatched and you’ll learn to be an effective communicator. Not to mention, the staff, faculty, and students you help are some of the kindest and coolest people around. Same goes for the supervisors and the coworkers. Go Team Awesome!" Opened books overlaid with quote from former Help Desker: "I mention my experiences at Team Awesome in every job interview I have and even have my first book contract thanks to this assistantship. I could go on and on, but it all sums up to BEST GRAD SCHOOL GIG EVER. THANK YOU TEAM AWESOME!" Laptop with someone typing overlaid with the quote from a former Help Desker: "Being on #teamawesome was one of my top 5 life choices! I made awesome friends (three of which came to my wedding years later), learned amazing troubleshooting skills that I use in every job I have and figured out what I liked best about librarianship (helping people and wearing funky hats)." Hands on laptop keyboard, a bouquet of flowers, a notebook, a cookie overlaid with quote from former Help Desker: "Being a part of Team Awesome made my experience as a grad student unforgettable! Hands-on experience, great teamwork, free food alert, making snowflakes and chanrios.. Team Awesome has them all! Apply and join our team!" Light Bokeh overlaid with quote from former Help Desker: "It is truly one of the best teams I have been a part of and one of the best environments I have worked in. Everyone is supportive, cares about your success, and is willing to help you when you need it, both for work things and anything going on in your own life. " Pink flowers with computer keyboard overlaid with quote from former Help Desker: "You will get to know the iSchool community and feel more connected to your school. I loved being able to help instructors across the school who I may not get to take classes with, as well as the staff of the iSchool who keep the school running. " Soft focus buildings at sunset with light bokeh overlaid with quote from former Help Desker: "Working at the Help Desk ended up being one the best parts of grad school for me, and I regret that I didn't apply sooner. Even though I started later, everyone immediately made me feel like I was part of the team and I quickly became friends with the other GAs. " Sunset over water with dock overlaid with quote from former Help Desker:"You will become close with other members of the team. Though I've graduated, I still regularly talk to my friends from the Help Desk. You will learn a lot of new things, but you will also have a lot of fun." Writing utensils, glasses, computer keyboard and coffee cup overlaid with quote from Former Help Desker: "I was worried about not having enough technical skills, but everything I needed to know I was able to learn on the job. I was worried about the skills I gained not transferring to libraries, but the reference, customer service, and troubleshooting skills you gain will help you in any library position. There is flexibility to pursue projects that are relevant to your own career goals." Pink flowers overlaid with quote from Former Help Desker: "Partly due to the pandemic and partly due to enjoying this assistantship, I decided to primarily apply to educational technology jobs. I'm currently working for ATLAS on campus doing Moodle support and I am certain that I would not have gotten this job without the skills I gained and the connections I made from this assistantship."

With any questions for current GAs feel free to reach out via Tech Chat and with questions for either the Help Desk Fulltimer staff or GAs you can reach us at our email: ischool-support@illinois.edu.

We look forward to meeting you!

Leave a Reply