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[alleyoxenfree]

I am seeing a lot of schools hiring their own grads in staff positions.  I do wonder whether schools are feeling either an unconscious need to do that, or a simple affinity with their own grads, or whether there is any internal pressure on staff hiring so that their own placement statistics will look successful.

I would not be surprised if this were true. Also, folks know there grads are aware of the failings of the university/area and so if they want to come "home," they are more likely to stay.

That's an interesting point.  Another problem with HR literalists, I think, is that they privilege candidates who have worked on that campus' software - even though most people can learn that speedily in a workshop or an hour or two, which is how temps do it.  The harder things to find are candidates who can think, write, work across disciplines, etc.  That seems to be obvious to SCs outside HR, and not obvious to HR.  Short of lying and saying you can work Crappy A** State U's software bought from the president's brother-in-law's company, you're going to get dinged for that.

The economy seems to have us all in hunkering down mode and drawing our tribes around us.

[msparticularity]

I am seeing a lot of schools hiring their own grads in staff positions.  I do wonder whether schools are feeling either an unconscious need to do that, or a simple affinity with their own grads, or whether there is any internal pressure on staff hiring so that their own placement statistics will look successful.

I would not be surprised if this were true. Also, folks know there grads are aware of the failings of the university/area and so if they want to come "home," they are more likely to stay.

That's an interesting point.  Another problem with HR literalists, I think, is that they privilege candidates who have worked on that campus' software - even though most people can learn that speedily in a workshop or an hour or two, which is how temps do it.  The harder things to find are candidates who can think, write, work across disciplines, etc.  That seems to be obvious to SCs outside HR, and not obvious to HR.  Short of lying and saying you can work Crappy A** State U's software bought from the president's brother-in-law's company, you're going to get dinged for that.

The economy seems to have us all in hunkering down mode and drawing our tribes around us.

The other thing that can happen is completely independent of HR's judgment, and that is rating points for veteran status. Many public institutions have preferential hiring policies for vets. In a system where each app is rated with a certain number of points, veteran status often become the tiebreaker among a number of relatively evenly qualified applicants. (MrP found this out from our campus HR office, when he went in and did all their little tests so he could get into the pool of qualified applicants for classified/administrative positions. They were right--he just never makes it into the finalist pool, even though he often has a 100% score for a particular job. He's competing against folks with a rating of 105% or 110% due to vet status.)

[merope]

As this round of applications draws to close, and the rejection letters continue to arrive, I find myself in a pit of despair about my future prospects. Any suggestions to help me climb out of the pit, or at least re-decorate? Any stories about successfully combining academic and non-academic employment?

[david_perlmutter]

Merope: Your question's answer depends on:

Your field
Your subfield
Your experience
Your location

and so on. Many factors.

And by "combine" do you mean VAP plus non-academic job?

[merope]

I am in a humanities field with an extremely limited pool of positions, in which I apply as broadly as possible. I defended my dissertation this January, and I expect a good part of my anxiety arises from the fact that, beginning in May, I will be really and truly 100% unemployed for the first time in many years. I've had no responses to any of the applications I sent out, suggesting that I am significantly underqualified compared to other applicants -- and while I have many years of teaching experience, I have no publications. I know this is a weakness of my application, and I'd like to remedy it, but I'm not sure how that objective will balance out with the need to earn a living wage.

I'd gladly take a visiting position, but those are as competitive in my field as tenure-track, and much rarer. Instead if I am going to continue in academia for the next year, it's likely to be as a sessional, or adjunct, instructor. There are 8-9 universities within a four-hour drive of my current location, but most local schools have an unofficial policy of limiting the number of courses they give any one instructor, which means to put together a full-time load, I'll likely have to pick up courses from 2 or more different schools. In that situation, I expect to earn about $25K, which I don't think will be enough to pay my rent, transportation costs, and student loans, so I'll have to look elsewhere for additional money, or abandon adjunct work altogether for full-time non-academic employment.

I suppose what I'd like to know is how other forumites have bolstered their spirits and their energy while on the long road that leads to the tenure-track. And what strategies they've used to maintain and develop academic interests from a position of under- or non-employment in the academy.

[octoprof]

I suppose what I'd like to know is how other forumites have bolstered their spirits and their energy while on the long road that leads to the tenure-track. And what strategies they've used to maintain and develop academic interests from a position of under- or non-employment in the academy.

I think these are quite reasonable questions. Why don't you start a thread on that. Surely, in this economy and in many fields that have been high supply for some time, folks will have a lot of suggestions and coping strategies they have used.

[merope]

Thanks, Octoprof. Interested parties may visit "The long road to the tenure track" here: http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,66363.0.html

[seniorscholar]

I'm not trying to deepen anyone's despair, but here's a new dose of reality. I heard yesterday from a long-time friend who is head of a Humanities Institute at a mid-range university. They offer one post-doc per year (decent pay, teach one course one semester, rest of the time for research); people in all humanities fields are eligible to apply. This year more than 600 people applied for that post-doc. Making the first cut before forcing the whole committee to read all those applications, the director had simply tossed all the applications from recent PhD or soon-to-defend ABD applicants who did not have one published or in-press article in a respectable journal.

[thechronicle]

Hi all,
Like many of you, I am anxiously waiting to hear back from schools where I interviewed. However, I have a question in regards to the phone interview process. I've gotten a call from my dream school almost a week ago and it was an unexpected phone interview. It was not set up or anything and she just casually chatted with me in regards to my work and etc. and showed interests. I was on cloud 9, and of course I almost had a heart attack because this really is my dream school. She said I am on their short list and she will have a meeting with the committee and they will decide who to bring for an on campus interview. But they never asked for recommendation letters, and they also never said they will contact my references either. I wonder, is it possible that the school can skip the process of checking references prior to asking for an on campus interview? Does this mean, she no longer is interested? or what could this mean? Perhaps they have an internal candidate? As I am entertaining so many possible scenarios I am driving myself crazy, could anyone shed some light on this. I know no one can really KNOW for sure but what do you guys think?

Thanks

[octoprof]

Hi all,
Like many of you, I am anxiously waiting to hear back from schools where I interviewed. However, I have a question in regards to the phone interview process. I've gotten a call from my dream school almost a week ago and it was an unexpected phone interview. It was not set up or anything and she just casually chatted with me in regards to my work and etc. and showed interests. I was on cloud 9, and of course I almost had a heart attack because this really is my dream school. She said I am on their short list and she will have a meeting with the committee and they will decide who to bring for an on campus interview. But they never asked for recommendation letters, and they also never said they will contact my references either. I wonder, is it possible that the school can skip the process of checking references prior to asking for an on campus interview? Does this mean, she no longer is interested? or what could this mean? Perhaps they have an internal candidate? As I am entertaining so many possible scenarios I am driving myself crazy, could anyone shed some light on this. I know no one can really KNOW for sure but what do you guys think?

Thanks

If you had references listed on your vita, you can be assured they will contact them soon if they haven't already. Do not read more into a phone interview than that they are interested in you, which is a good thing. Don't panic.

[thechronicle]

thanks for your response. I guess I will just have to wait and see....

[femaestro]

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Ok, now that I have screamed, I do feel a little better. 

[mouseman]

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Ok, now that I have screamed, I do feel a little better. 

Have a drink.  I'm paying.  What will you have?

[alleyoxenfree]

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRHGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Ok, now that I have screamed, I do feel a little better. 

Have a drink.  I'm paying.  What will you have?

I was sleeping all the stress away, helped out by the Mother of All Colds, until my landlord decided that this week, THIS WEEK, he needed to take down the perfectly good back fence and then pound postholes for a new one.

I love the guy.  But really.......

[fuzzer]

Have a drink.  I'm paying.  What will you have?

can you buy me one too?

applied: 30ish
phone interview: 2
campus interview: 2
didn't get #1, and should hear any friggin day about TT dream job #2.

Dear SC. Good news or bad, please hurry. I can't take another week of waiting.