How Will I Know?

Every now and then, commentators on this blog will ask a really good question. Like this one: How are folks new to the academic job market supposed to learn every little nuance that seems to be expected in the search process?

I think that’s a significant question: Should we settle for trial-and-error learning as the best way to navigate the market’s subtleties? Web sites are helpful, indeed, but when an entry-level applicant doesn’t know the difference between an assistant-level appointment and an associate one, then something is wrong with the system itself.

What is the best way to help graduate students prepare themselves, not only for the search but for the profession itself? My sense is that graduate schools do very little of this anymore, and mentorship is not, perhaps, what it once was. In my case, I learned a great deal during a postdoctoral stint, but that was by accident, more or less.

What should be done to prepare folks for the profession itself and for the academic search? Whose responsibility is this?

Do you know of any graduate programs that are doing a good job of this?