A Quiet Break in the Hiring Season

Today is the last day before my university closes for a week for the winter break. Nearly everyone is gone, and the halls are quiet. It’s snowy outside here in rural northwest Iowa, and it looks like we will get more snow in the next few days.

I have had nice e-mail conversations with candidates who have accepted some of our positions, and one who has an offer outstanding. In early January, we will see several more candidates on campus for a search that has proved particularly challenging. After 12 consecutive years (and 15 out of 17) of attending the MLA convention, this will be the fourth year in a row that I will instead spend the week after Christmas with my family. While I miss the hustle and big-city fun of the convention, and especially seeing my friends from graduate school (not to mention the book display!), I am glad to have the chance to take a real break.

I am thinking a lot about job candidates this year both because I have been writing this blog and because of the larger challenges we are facing in the economy. As we have our meetings about the budget situation at my institution, I am reminded of how hard it is to be a candidate in any year, and how much more difficult it is this year. Higher education surely has its problems, but many people in the field are honorable, work hard, and deal fairly with people. To those of you on the job market, I hope that you encounter only such people as you engage in the search process. I wish all of you job seekers the best and hope you find a great place where you can thrive personally and professionally.

Editor’s note: We’re taking our annual year-end break. We’ll be back on January 5. Happy holidays!