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[smurlein]

I gotta be honest. I am a little disappointed about this, but I am also okay with it. It was a great interview, but they wanted someone to do things that I do not specialize in. I didn't realize this until the interview.

It does make me very worried that the competition was pretty stiff out there this year.

Oh well, 1 down 12 left. I hope I get at least one on campus!

[lucilla]

Smurlein, you had TWELVE INTERVIEWS? Wow. That is great--your work must be very, very solid and impressive.   This means that you have one fewer variable to juggle when you try to decide which job to take.  Simpler is better. 

How did you get the news?  It's actually very nice to know where you stand this early, even if it isn't what you'd hoped for. As others have posted, it can be a full year before we get closure on these searches (and sometimes we never get the word from the school directly).

[smurlein]

I had 13 interviews altogether. Honestly, I was surprised. But I am in my fourth year of a tt job, so I have been working really hard.

I was very happy to hear this early. They e-mailed me with the news.

[cattoys]

I got my first post-MLA rejection today too! And, like Smurlein, I'm in a TT job, looking to move on, though I didn't get nearly as many interviews. My rejection was for a job that wasn't really top of my wish-list academically, but was a good compromise geographically and for Mr Cattoys' career. Oh well, perhaps you're right, Lucilla, and these rejections will just make our final choices easier.

Still stings a bit though...

[pep_sal]

I got the first rejection yesterday (an awkward phone conversation), but it was balanced by another campus visit invitation today (after a sleepless night during which I had convinced myself I was horrible, worthless, etc.). 

I do have to say that as much as it hurts, it's nice to know and move on.  This is the first year that I've heard promptly from a place that rejected me after an MLA interview.

Good luck to all! 

[creationrebel]

Smurlein, you had TWELVE INTERVIEWS? Wow. That is great--your work must be very, very solid and impressive.   This means that you have one fewer variable to juggle when you try to decide which job to take.  Simpler is better. 

Not to take anything away from smurlein's work (especially because I know absolutely nothing about it or its author), but the number of interviews one gets seldom says anything about the work's stupendous qualities.  Case in point: someone from my PhD program whose work everyone agreed was total rubbish -- unresearched, theoretically obtuse and poorly articulated, and generally an embarrassment -- got 14 MLA interviews a few years back, basically because hu was smart enough to crank out a diss in record time on a "hot" topic.  This year, someone I know whose diss (in the same field as the other person, mind you, where there were plenty of jobs this year too) is strikingly original, extremely well-written and sharply researched, got 2 interviews.  Then again, I know someone who this year got 19 interviews, and in hu's case the number of interviews did, indeed, reflect the strength of hu's work.  I truly wish there were some sort of logic to all this.

Sorry to hear about your rejection, smurlein.  I'm waiting for one myself from my top job, but they haven't yet gotten around to sending it.  I wish they would already, just to remove the suspence.  I'm finding it really irritating that of the three jobs I'm most interested in, only one of them gave me a timeline for their decision-making. 

[smurlein]

No offense taken, rebel. I know exactly what you mean about this processing seeming to be a crap shoot. It is really frustrating.

Why do you think they will reject you?

[creationrebel]

Why do you think they will reject you?

Well, I was surprised to get an interview with them in the first place, since the approaches to my field which that dept embraces (almost as a matter of policy, it seems) in both the courses they offer and in terms of the faculty they hire don't much -- if at all -- align with the approaches I take.  The interview went amazingly well, however, and I got the sense that the SCC was really behind my candidacy.  But I'm now operating from the perspective that seems, paradoxically, the most common-sense one (especially around this forum): the interviews where you hit a grand slam seldom result in call-backs, while the ones you think/know you bombed often do.  I'd be much much more relaxed if I had been given at least a provisional timeline, as for all I know they might've made their call-backs on Tuesday and are just leaving the rest of us to sweat it out in vain.

The funny thing is, I didn't really care about that interview going in, but after enjoying an hour's worth of the most stimulating discussion of my field I've had in longer than I can remember, that job suddenly became the total object of my desire.

How did you manage to stay sharp with all those interviews?  I had six, and after one day of three I was pretty much wiped.  I honestly can't see how I'd make it through more than four in a day.

[smurlein]

The funny thing is, I didn't really care about that interview going in, but after enjoying an hour's worth of the most stimulating discussion of my field I've had in longer than I can remember, that job suddenly became the total object of my desire.

How did you manage to stay sharp with all those interviews?  I had six, and after one day of three I was pretty much wiped.  I honestly can't see how I'd make it through more than four in a day.

I had that happen, too! I went on an interview with these people without much thought about, but then I really loved them. They were so passionate about their school and my work. They zoomed to the top of my list. On the other hand, my top school going in turned out to be a nightmare at the interview, so they have sunk to the bottom.

The way I stayed sharp was with all that walking! Also, it helped that I timed my interviews very carefully. Plus, the schools were all very different, so I didn't feel like I was being asked the same questions all over again. This year, I really went out there with a broad brush, seeking jobs that worked with different sides of my research and teaching interests. Admittedly, by Saturday I was absolutely exhausted. While waiting for my flight home, I had to read the same Times article five times to understand it!

[smurfette]

Smurlein, I just wanted to say CONGRATS on getting 13 interviews! :)

[manicpanic]

Smurlien...im getting deja vu that I've asked you this before...but what's your field, roughly? And, Rebel, what's the field of uber-19 interviews? The reason I ask is because I observed that folks in Spanish or Composition fields seemed to have a lot more interviews. Trying to see if you guys are in those fields or some other fields are that coal hot too.

[creationrebel]

And, Rebel, what's the field of uber-19 interviews? 

That was early modern English lit.  Hu must still be recovering from that gauntlet.  I'd say that was a classic case of too much of a good thing.

[smurlein]

I can't really say, but it is a hot sub-field of English. Sorry to be so evasive, but you never know who is reading.

[lucilla]

Rebel, you are completely right.  My point was to applaud Smurlein's work, but as we all know, solid work often does not translate into MLA interviews.  We can't even say that it is necessary-but-not-sufficient!  As my post reveals, however, that underlying misconception dies very hard!

I think one thing to grab onto here is that dealing with rejection is a HUGE challenge for a lot of us.  I still can't handle it very well, years into the process and with a secure if not ideal job to fall back on.  You have to learn by doing it, though--you can't just imagine yourself handling rejection well (even if this is a good start).  It's sort of like imagining exercising. You need to develop those muscles by doing.  This is a great start at such development.

[creationrebel]

Just got that rejection I was waiting for.  It's actually ok, though, as at least that potential job is now off the table.