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[Tina]

I went to a conference of my field for some interviews last week. I am from a state university where my major field ranks about 60-70 nationally. After I interviewed with a small teaching school, I met this girl from Univ of Texas, who also applied to this position. She said to me that, "I have to explain to them why I applied to this position, because my school is too good for it." OMG. Later I talked with one of the interviewers of that small school again, and learned that she has zero journal publications, one conference paper where she is the third author. She basically told the interviewer that if she has publications, she won't apply for this position. What a joke.

[%sig%]

[anon]

Bevo burger poisoning, I'd say.

[sidey]

It just goes to show that some (many?) job-seekers are a little too willing to believe their own hype.

A few rejections will give her some sense of perspective.

[history anon]

Well, rest assured that she won't get the position.   Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.   Must be a Texas thing...

[I'm trying to understand this]

Tina wrote:

Later I talked with one of the
> interviewers of that small school again, and learned that she
> has zero journal publications, one conference paper where she
> is the third author. She basically told the interviewer that if
> she has publications, she won't apply for this position. What a
> joke.
>

Do you mean that one of the search committee members disclosed this information about one of the other job candidates?  Isn't all of this supposed to be confidential?

[science expat]

About 12 years ago, I talked to a science grad student at the job board of a major conference. I was a new post-doc and was talking about tailoring my cover letters to specific institutions and the problems with getting interviews.

Her response was basically "I'm not worried, I'm getting a Ph.D. from ****". Funny, I haven't encountered her since....

[Artsearch]

The worst review in this cast of characters goes to the interviewer who, in a profound lapse of professionalism, divulged details of a candidate's credentials to another candidate. I hope he/she was at least a friend of yours (still unprofessional, but at least somewhat explainable).

[anon]

actually the worst review goes to the two prior posters who somehow have come to believe that the practices that they are familiar with are the correct practices for all universities and colleges.  perhaps the small school in question has open access policies mandated by the state or their board, so that any and all information has to be provided.   yes, that does happen.  no, there is nothing wrong with it, and yes both of you investigate the differences between your opinion/experience and the breadth of possibility available.

[anon]

Nothing against UT, I don't know about your field but they're above average and rising in my field (music.)  Having lived in several areas of the country, I know that people forget that they're applying to a national market and others won't view their institution with the massive adoration that some in their region do.  Virginia and Texas residents, for example, see their state institutions with great pride, although they're just seen as a solid instituion elsewhere.  Just look at all the great schools in the UK that Americans see only as "not Oxford or Cambridge."  The funny thing is that the really great places aren't viewed as such a big deal to the locals.  Living in Boston, most people are just irritated by the 30,000 ego trips in school across the river, not to mention the local alums.

[Once again]

"Virginia and Texas residents, for example, see their state institutions with great pride, although they're just seen as a solid instituion elsewhere. Just look at all the great schools in the UK that Americans see only as 'not Oxford or Cambridge.'"

Once again, anon@anon.com shows his ignorance.  UVa is #23 in this year's USNews doctoral university rankings (UCB is the only public university ranked higher, at 20, and Michigan and UCLA are tied at #25), while UT-Austin, surprisingly, is at #52 (I would have guessed it would be around #30, but still, you have to figure there are about 50-75 truly first-rate research universities in the country, so UT-A is almost certainly one of them).  In business, UVa is #14, and UT-A is #18, while in law UVa is #8, and UT-A is #15.  UVa's medical school is ranked at #26.

Now, USNews rankings are questionable.  However, schools that are among the top 2 or 3 public universities in multiple major disciplines are not merely "solid institution."  The University of Georgia or Delaware or or Oregon is "a solid institution."  Virginia and Texas are distinguished institutions that have top-quality programs in numerous disciplines (I suggest you check out UVa's reputation in architecture, history, English, Spanish, and a few other disciplines, along with Texas's in art history, English, several science areas including chemistry, Southwestern studies, and many other disciplines--after all, it's HUGE).  

None of this means that (some) grads of these schools aren't jerks and don't take too much for granted, as is the case with grads of many schools (Ivies, top SLACs, certain specialty schools) who take their press too seriously.  But anon@anon.com, who has shown his/her general blindness and foolishness iin sooooo many ways here over the past while, once again does so here--since UT and UVa are at best "middling" in his/her discipline (music), they must just be "solid" across the board.  Apparently anon@anon.com inhabits the provinces even if s/he physically lives in the metropolis.

[Once again II]

Speaking of ignorance, I have no idea how I ended up with lines through those paragraphs.  There weren't any html tags or anything in my post.  Oh well.

[Anon2]

Univ. of Texas is a good school, but there are many better ones. Certainly it doesn't warrant her atittude. She is in for a rude awakening.

[Cicero]

When I got my job at a small, Christian liberal arts school I was thrilled:  A great school with a very good reputation.  I got a nice note from the bloody secretary in the department office at my R1 graduate institution assuring me that "this could be a good stepping off point for a real career and lead to a better job down the line."  AGGGG!

[anon3]

well, let's be clear: undergrad school name means absolutely nothing for one's potential in academia, while grad school name means almost nothing. It is all about publications, and nothing else. Actually, graduates of big name schools with no publications show even worse potential, because the did not publish although they were in a high quality research environment. I would rather choose a driven candidate from an unknown school with publications any day.

[TBD]

UT Austin is #13 in sociology.  Hook 'em.