About 20 years ago, and stay with me here to see if you can imagine this, people had phones WITHOUT caller ID. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe but it’s true. It used to be that every time we picked up the phone we had absolutely no idea who was going to be on the other end. This meant that every once in a while you got stuck on a call that you really didn’t want to take and it also meant that there was no such thing as screening your calls. Today, with one glance at the screen of our smart phone, we know whether or not we want to take a call.
So what does this little history lesson mean? Well, pretty soon you just may be getting a call from me to say that I am your new Academic Advisor and you need to come to campus to meet with me and register for your first semester of college (registration for incoming freshmen begins March 1st by the way). Again, what does this have to do with caller ID? Well, I know that when I call you for the first time and my number, 630-829-1122, a number that you have never seen before, pops up there is no way I’m getting an answer out of you. In my experience there are 5 ways you can handle an incoming call from your new advisor and as my first piece of advice to you here they are:
1. Send me straight to voicemail: As much as I hate to admit it, this one is pretty effective. Most likely, I’ll leave you a messae and hopefully you’ll get back to me pretty quickly. Make sure you let some time pass between when I leave the message and when you call me back though okay? If you do it too soon I’ll know you hung up on purpose.
2. Pick up and pretend it’s not you: Okay, I get it, you may think the strange voice on the other end of the line is a telemarketer and when I ask if you are available your first instinct is to say no and offer to take a message. Here’s the problem though. When your realize it’s your academic advisor and call back in 5 minutes I’m going to recognize your voice. My advice: just save yourself the embarassment and confess while I have you on the phone the first time.
3. Make your mom answer: I have absolutely no problem talking to your mom or dad and a lot of the time it’s very nice to meet your parents. For me, this choice is no problem. For you, though, it’s a whole other story. Think about it: do you really want your mom to be on a first name basis with your advisor and feel free to call him up any time to check up on you? Again, probably not a path you want to take yourself down.
4. Don’t answer over and over: This one sounds appealing I’m sure. You’re probably thinking that you can put this whole registration thing off until the summer and eventually I’ll stop calling right? Wrong. I’ll never stop calling….ever. Okay, eventually I’ll stop but not for a really, really long time. And honestly, who wants to go through that right? Just pick up the phone for both of our sakes.
5. Actually pick up: This, of course, is my favorite option. When you do this we get to meet over the phone, you answer a couple of easy questions, maybe we have some laughs, and most importantly we get you in here nice and early to get registered. This way you get your pick of classes. Sounds pretty nice huh? I think so too. And that’s why my final piece of advice is when you see my number, 630-829-1122, just go ahead and pick up the phone. I promise it will work best for everyone that way.
