Last winter I found myself giving advice to a friend who was going on the job market for the second time. He laughed and said, "Why should I listen to you? Because you're such a grizzled, old veteran?"
While I'm "young" in the academic world, having gotten my Ph.D. in 2001, I am, I'm afraid, a battle-scarred veteran of the job search. My quest for a desirable tenure-track position in the social sciences has entailed going on the job market during each of the past five years. Steeped in well-earned cynicism, I would like to share some of the things I've learned along the way.
The Phone Won't Bite
It seems to me that the part of the hiring process that people dread the most is the conference-call telephone interview. The fuzzy sound, the indistinguishable voices, the canned questions, the lack of positive feedback when you make a joke. . . . Not the most comfortable situation, to say the least.
The first one I had was a disaster. The interviewers read a list of questions and offered no follow-up to my responses. That felt very awkward and unnatural to begin with, and then I quickly got stumped by a question (one of those, "Give an example of a time when ...") and never recovered.
My first mistake was to take the call at home. I was probably still in my pajamas, which is not conducive to sounding professorial and professional. After that, I started taking calls only in my office and only while dressed in my "professor uniform." Minor details, perhaps, but the setting and the clothing got me more into the mind-set I needed, and as a result, I'm proud to say, all 15 or so phone interviews that I've had since have led to on-campus interviews.
Never Rely on the Kindness of Strangers
Here are two practical solutions to making it through the job search relatively unscathed: Bring a bottle of water with you on interviews. Stash a granola bar in your bag.
While I've interviewed with some incredibly considerate and hospitable people, I've also interviewed with people who didn't offer me a glass of water all day. It's hard to perform at your best when your stomach's gurgling or your mouth is dry.
And don't be afraid to ask for a bathroom break. No need to be dancing around during your job talk.
Never Rely on the Kindness of Strangers, Part 2
Whenever possible, make your own travel arrangements. Some departments have separate administrators who take care of that, so doing it yourself is not an option. However, chances are that you know better than a stranger at some remote college the practical concerns of traveling from your particular home base -- like which airport is most convenient for you or how early a flight you can catch without having to cancel a class.
I've been fairly lucky in that area, with only one travel nightmare. I was on spring break and was going to be near a major metropolitan airport, which I made clear to the staff member I thought was making arrangements for me. Somehow my preferences got miscommunicated and the person who actually made the arrangements booked my travel out of a tiny regional airport near my work (a three-hour drive from where I was actually going to be) that would have necessitated three different flights and cost about $1,200. To top it off, the tickets were sent to the wrong address.
Bottom line is that it's important to stay on top of such things to avoid any extra stress, and the best way to do that is, perhaps counterintuitively, to take care of as much of the travel details yourself as possible.
Don't Believe Everything You Hear
During my fourth annual job search (as I had begun to think of them), I had an on-campus interview for a tenure-track position at a small branch campus of a state university. The chairman seemed enthusiastic about my candidacy. During our meeting, when I offered copies of my teaching evaluations, he said, "That won't be necessary. The job is basically yours."
My confidence thus boosted, I performed fairly well (I thought) during the daylong interview. I headed home and expected "the call" any day.
I did get a call, but unfortunately it wasn't the call I was led to expect. Fortunately I had a backup plan -- yet another one-year position, guaranteeing that I would get to experience the unparalleled joy of yet another job-search season.
No News Is (Usually) Bad News
If a committee insists that it will be making its decision "early next week" and the week comes and goes and you hear nothing, chances are pretty good that you didn't get the job.
While there could certainly be administrative delays (perhaps the dean is trying to figure out just how much to pour into your start-up money without embarrassing you), it is likely the committee is waiting until its first choice signs his or her paperwork.
Since there is no actual rejection at that stage, I have found it comforting, as most self-delusion is, to believe that I was a very strong second-choice candidate, coming "this close" to getting the job. I also try to detach myself from hope that things will work out because then if they do, it's a pleasant and happy relief. (Psychologists call this "defensive pessimism," a wonderful coping mechanism in the job searcher's psychological toolbox.)
No News Is (Usually) Bad News, Part 2
Here's another scenario: You actually get an offer over the phone, discuss salary, even the specifics of the courses you will be teaching, but the promised official offer letter never arrives. You call, e-mail, pester the offer makers.
While it's quite likely that there is merely some -- you guessed it -- administrative delay (perhaps the letter has to go from chair to dean to provost before heading your way), there may be something more sinister going on.
During my fifth annual job search, I found myself in just that situation, with a promise that an offer letter was on its way. The initial delay I chalked up to the college's spring break. Six weeks later, after multiple reassurances from the chair that the letter would be arriving any day, I got a call telling me that the offer had been rescinded.
Being jobless was bad enough, but adding insult to injury was the fact that I had lost a critical six weeks during the end of my field's job-search season.
Bottom line, push (without being pushy) to get the administrative details taken care of so you can relax and get ready for the job.
Believe in the Deus ex Machina But Don't Count on it
I finished my Ph.D. in 2001 with no real job prospects. In retrospect, I realize that I didn't know the first thing about how to go about the search process and what types of jobs I could actually manage to get with my whopping total of zero publications.
Thanks to the head of my department, I managed to land a midsummer interview for a sabbatical-replacement position at a prestigious, small liberal-arts college, my academic "home" of choice. A few days after I got home from the interview, I got a very nice call from the college telling me, regretfully, that the job was being offered to another candidate who had more research experience.
A week later I got another call telling me that candidate No. 1 had bailed. The job was mine. I didn't have to fear having to move into my parents' basement, at least for the time being.
While I certainly can't suggest that you go through the process assuming that something will fall into your lap, it's reassuring, I hope, to know that it might.
Enjoy the Ride
Despite my psychological scars, I have to say that I've found the job-search process always interesting and sometimes even, dare I say it, fun. I've gotten to see parts of the country that I never would have seen. I've met some interesting and unusual people who have all gotten to a similar place via very different routes. I've been able to get reacquainted with why I went into this business to begin with, as I notice myself growing quite animated when I talk about my research or different teaching strategies.
I've come increasingly closer to figuring out what things will be important to me in a long-term academic home and what type of environment would be a good match, given my interests, skills, and goals. And, best of all, I've racked up a ton of frequent-flier miles.
