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[4th year]

I am an English Ph.D. in my fourth year at the first institution I was hired at, and seeking a new position. How many interviews is typical for a no-longer-new assistant professor?

At what point do you become "too old" or less desirable for a department, and lose out to new Ph.D.'s? While I am still young agewise, I am beginning to wonder about how to navigate this phase between being an established scholar and leader in the field, and still being granted an allowance as a rising "young" scholar.

I have two essays in edited collections, and three peer-reviewed journal articles; however some are collaborations with others. I am working on a book, but it is not finished, and not in stage to show to other departments. Is a book the next way to bridge this gap?

In short, how many interviews at MLA do other English Ph.D.'s out there have?    How are other mid-year assistant professors that are looking to move on handling these challenges?

[Senior Scholar]

In English, neither essays in edited collections nor collaborative articles carry much prestige; your publications to date are slim enough that in my department, if you were up for your three-year pre-tenure review, we'd seriously consider letting you go. Unless your specialty is in very high demand, I'd say you need to have the book under contract with a good press before you have much chance of moving.

[Visiting ass't. prof.]

I can only speak from what I've seen at my institution, and I'm sure you know that there are a huge number of variables here from what kind of institutions to which you are applying to the supply and demand in your particular field, etc.

I'm at a liberal arts college with a 3-2 load, and the English department has conducted 3 tenure-track searches since I was here.  The first was in a field in which there is high demand and few qualified applicants, the second and third were in fields for which there are many qualified applicants.  All of them were advertised as open rank searches

This is how the department panned out.  We hired an advanced assistant professor who had a book in press at the time of her hire for the first position (her book has since come out).  The second was filled by an associate professor from a RI institution.  The third was a failed hire, and the position is still open.

[4th year]

Thanks for the feeback senior scholar and visiting assistant prof. I realize I need to hustle. I do have an edited collection coming out this upcoming year; however, it is also collaborative with two other scholars. When I looked at my research, I see I really only have one peer-reviewed journal essay that was authored only by me, and this is a problem. I will cut the cord on collaborative efforts!

I am now wondering how to address this lack of publication at MLA. I am in a field that is in somewhat high demand in English, and as a result I have five interviews at MLA and three phone interviews. One interview is with a top 30 school, so I realize that is a very, very long shot, but the other seven are at schools just a little bit better than the one where I am now, and two of these seven are schools I would be very happy at.

I am doing a post-doc at a top 25 school while doing my current assistant professor post, and I am wondering if the prestige of this position will help explain why I have been slow with publications thus far. Is this an acceptable way to handle the lack of publication questions which are sure to arise? I will have some outstanding essays from the post-doc that can be submitted for publication this upcoming spring.

Any advice would be much appreciated, 4th year

[Senior Scholar]

Be prepared to talk in detail about your current research, your plans for publication, your next project, and the project after that. Be specific, be brief. Think of all the questions you could be asked about collaboration, pace, interests, place of publication and practice short, incisive, non-apologetic answers; get someone to practice with you if at all possible so you can be sure your tone of voice is under control. Don't apologize for collaboration but do say what you've gained from it, why it's been appropriate for the work you've been doing, and what peer-reviewed journals you believe may be interested in the work you're now doing.

And do remember that if your field is in demand, the people on the committee may not know much about it. Be prepared to tell them, non-condescendingly, what's important about the work you've done and are doing. Good luck to you!

[4th year]

Thanks for the advice Senior Scholar--I feel much more prepared to discuss the publication angle now, and I think your advice on how to address my work will really help solidfy my own explanations of my research. Keep your fingers crossed!