May 23, 2012, 2:29 pm
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
Last weekend none of us had access to our e-mail. Our university was migrating its e-mail program, so we were given several weeks’ notice that we would be cut off from the world from 5 p.m. on Friday to some time on Monday. The response to this pending communication vacuum prompted reactions ranging from panic to euphoria. After an initial bout of anxiety, I moved to a Zen-like state of acceptance as I pondered what it might be like to have a whole weekend without interruptions.
My time spent not reading e-mail was put to very good use: a long hike, dinner with friends, cleaning out my garage and, importantly, thinking about why I hate e-mail. After a couple of days of reflection, it occurred to me I don’t really hate e-mail, I just hate the way certain people use it. After careful consideration, I narrowed down my top five e-mail pet peeves:
1) Writing too much. I recently…
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May 16, 2012, 1:41 pm
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
During a recent dinner party, several of us engaged in a spirited conversation about end of the semester grade appeals. Because I teach only in the fall, my May is gloriously free of e-mails, calls, and visits from students bent on educating me on the grades they truly deserve, but most of my party colleagues were bracing themselves for the usual onslaught of complaints. I was particularly happy to be in a non-grading mode because I am still suffering from PTGD (Post Traumatic Grading Disorder).
I do not have a history of PTGD, so its sudden onset last December took me by surprise. The first signs of the condition emerged toward the latter part of a five-hour layover at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport when I was finally able to click the “submit grades” button a full hour before it was time to move to the gate area. The semester was finally over. I was done. I was relieved.
That sense of …
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May 9, 2012, 2:11 pm
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
Last week, I attended an event during which I was seated at a table with an undergraduate student who loves her classes and is enthusiastically pursuing three majors. I expressed genuine admiration for her sense of drive and ambition and asked what she planned to do with degrees from our colleges of science, humanities, and business. “Well,” she explained, “I’ve always wanted to be an anesthesiologist and a wedding planner, but in the last few years, I’ve grown more interested in real estate.”
“So which of those are you going to pursue?” I asked.
“Which?” she asked looking confused. “All of them,” she responded. She then described in great detail her plans to build a master community (the real-estate part of her life) that has a variety of essential services, among them, a hospital (where she will be the anesthesiologist) and an event-planning firm (where she will be a co-owner).
…
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May 2, 2012, 12:01 pm
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
While having lunch with one of our university’s rising stars recently, my dining companion recalled how hard it was for her to leave home to start her doctoral program. Because her father was determined to keep her close by, he offered to buy her a decked-out pickup truck if she would agree to attend a very mediocre graduate program in their hometown. “I was close to my family and I really wanted that truck, so it was hard,” she explained. Despite the attractive offer, she eventually declined her father’s retention package.
While I’m sure the now assistant professor’s father loves her very much, one might argue that his offer was selfish. Had the deal been accepted, he would have kept his daughter close by, but she would have been denied an opportunity to be a superstar. Good for him. Bad for her.
In some weird cosmic convergence, the truck story was shared during the same week in …
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April 25, 2012, 1:02 pm
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
“First he ordered a pre-meal vodka tonic. Then an appetizer. Then a salad. Then the $36 osso bucco. Then crème brûlée. Then, I kid you not, a glass of port.” So went the download of a dinner with a senior finalist who killed his chances at dinner. The problem? He thought he was on vacation instead of on display.
Navigating the eating part of any interview process can be more complex than the job talk. What if I splash tomato sauce on my shirt? Wine or no wine? How can I chew and answer questions at the same time? These are just some of the issues that can challenge even the most experienced employment candidates.
A few guidelines can be helpful.
Take control of your food practices, but don’t be annoying or superior about them. Are you a vegan? Kindly let your host know before she takes you to the city’s best barbeque place. Believe that eating veal is morally wrong? Good for …
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April 17, 2012, 12:47 pm
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
Tim Foley for The Chronicle
The other day I got a frantic call. “I need your help. It’s been too long. I know they aren’t going to give me the job; they must have someone else in mind. I’m going to pull out first, but don’t know whether it’s better to call or to send an e-mail. What’s proper etiquette? You know these things; what should I do?”
There are no good answers to bad questions, and this was a bad question, indeed. “Phone versus e-mail?” was not the right question. The real question was, “What do you hope to accomplish by withdrawing from a search for a job you really want?” So, I asked it.
My caller rambled on about the composition of the search committee, their obvious lack of vision, their series of misguided questions, and the impact on his self-esteem and reputation if the…
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April 10, 2012, 11:27 am
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
You were delighted when you got the call inviting you to meet with the search committee, and today is the day. In just a few minutes you will have 30 minutes (“The schedule for initial interviews is tight,” it was explained) to tell your story. You review key talking points, brush your teeth, and make your way to the meeting room.
As you enter, the search-committee members greet you with tremendous enthusiasm. “It is so great to see you.” “Thank you so much for joining us today.” “We’ve been looking forward to this conversation.” You are happy, too, and hope the question-and-answer period will go as smoothly. And, remarkably, it does. The smiling continues; there are no hard questions; everyone laughs at your jokes. You are golden. “This is almost too good to be true,” you say to yourself. And you are right. That is because you, my friend, were granted a courtesy interview.
There a…
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April 2, 2012, 11:43 am
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
Imagine sifting through a stack of mail only to find an official memo informing you that you are now the subject of investigation for an offense you did not commit. Or, perhaps, the notification comes via a visit or phone call. Regardless of how the news is delivered, learning that you are a person of concern can feel like a sock in the gut. Being inaccurately or unfairly accused of something awful or even just slightly irregular can be terrifying and hurtful. It’s completely normal to worry about your reputation and be nervous about whether you will be treated fairly.
There are some things you can do to get through the process without unnecessary drama. The first is to remain calm and relatively quiet. Loud claims of innocence and noisy pronouncements about your plans to sue for defamation of character are rarely helpful. You may be tempted to proclaim, “How dare this institution…
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March 21, 2012, 1:43 pm
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
My last post, “When You’re About To Be Fired,” prompted a few readers to inquire if there are truly signs that one’s job is in jeopardy. There are; and, unfortunately, many of us have to be on the hunt for them. In an ideal world, leaders would have the courage and good manners to be honest with people who aren’t working out. If only we lived in an ideal world.
So, if you aren’t getting direct feedback about your performance, what are the signs that it might be time for you to move along? Here are a few indicators.
- You have lots of ideas, but no one likes them. Despite your best efforts to pitch concepts and approaches, none of them ever go anywhere.
- You have lots of free time. You used to be chronically overcommitted, but your calendar now has plenty of white space. You are not asked to serve on committees or work on key projects and new work tends to be stuff that no one else …
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March 14, 2012, 1:08 pm
By Allison M. Vaillancourt
I always enjoy keeping up with former students, so when I received an e-mail from a familiar name with the subject line, “Career 911!!!”, I assumed this rising star was asking for advice on his next potential job opportunity. I was wrong.
“The last time we talked, I was conflicted about my department, but excited about the new promotion. Unfortunately, the new job turned out to be a big mistake. My current boss is a micromanager and constantly hovers and nitpicks. I am miserable. He wants to meet with me tomorrow morning before regular office hours, and I have a sinking feeling I’m going to be fired. I am terrified and have no idea how to handle this. Advice???”
My best advice about getting fired is to take preemptive steps to ensure that you move before the hammer falls. Unfortunately, I suspect my former student was too inexperienced to see what a more seasoned person would…
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