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[titania]

The wiki in my field hasn't been updated in over a week. :(

With the wiki telling me that I am out for 10 out of the 15 jobs I applied for, I can only wish it wasn't being updated. 

I clearly should have spent the last 3 months writing and publishing instead of sending off application materials.  sigh.

Oh well.  I have 2 conference interviews, and I am ABD.  Gotta try really hard to look on the bright side.

[secretweapon]

I clearly should have spent the last 3 months writing and publishing instead of sending off application materials.  sigh.

Let this be a lesson to us all! 

I've had no news at all yet - and nothing on the wiki, either.  Darn it, someone really needs to offer me a job, like, right now!

[carebearstare]

My stats:

29 applications sent, 1 to go
2 conference interviews
1 request for more materials
1 phone interview
3.5 invitations to campus (one not approved yet)
1 note from SC member saying I'm likely on the short list
1 offer

I am fairly floored by all of this right now. My field has been surfeited with jobs this year, so I think we're all lucky. I know some others on the market who've also had a good deal of response.

Good luck to everyone! Enjoy Thanksgiving!

[lucy06]

I'm in an MLA field and this is my second year on the market, though my first full and serious (or, maybe more aptly put, "desperate") search. 

I've sent out 23 applications so far.

I've received 4 requests for more information, and several of the jobs I applied to asked for everything up front.

The job about which I was most hopeful has apparently just contacted applicants for more info., though I was not among that group.  (I'm feeling rather down about this, though it is not entirely unexpected news.)

I've developed a horrible addiction to the Internet throughout this process.  I check the wiki obsessively somedays, and each time I open my email the delusional part of me expects to find fabulous job news (of course, no such news has arrived yet).  I'm thinking that the nature of the academic job search is especially unfortunate for the types of people who choose to become academics.  We all tend to be rather perfectionistic, self-demanding, and self-critical; the lengthy and seemingly fickle nature of the job search pushes all of these traits to their extremes.  I may need to enter some kind of job search detox program once this season is over...

At any rate, I'm still holding out hope that something comes through, but, I suppose that hope will start to wane in the next three weeks if I end up without any MLA interviews.  One way or another, however, I think I'll feel some relief when January finally rolls around and the stress of not knowing what lies ahead passes.

Good luck to all.

[ldr_rdl]

For the Bridget Jones-esque, here's an adapted ditty you can sing in your living room, drunk and in your underwear:

Back in grad school
My dissertation seemed totally cool
Who wouldn't hire such a jewel?
What a naive fool.

Sending out apps
I think of all those chronic VAPs
And as I lick the envelope flaps
I know I'm playing craps.

(chorus)
The wiki blues
Don't wanna have
the wiki blues, anymore
The wiki blues
Please save me from
the wiki blues, ever more

Perusing the ads
I notice all the hiring fads
And I realize the bads
Of too many grads.

A new PhD
I worked so hard for my degree
Now it's down to the search committee
Will it ever be me?

(chorus)
The wiki blues
Don't wanna have
the wiki blues, anymore
The wiki blues
Please save me from
the wiki blues, ever more
(Repeat and, quite likely, fade)

love!! Thank you for the lyrics. I've got my ice cream ready... although I'm trying very very hard not to check the wikis. I know I'll give in... but I'm trying to maintain my cool by putting it off for as long as possible.

Update on my situation:
nada, nothing, no news

[dr_dre]

I've had a strange week. One snail mail rejection. One wiki rejection. But on the positive side, a top university press is interested in seeing my full diss ms. if the other university press reviewing it now decides to pass; that press says they expect reader reports back in a couple of weeks. I have a sinking feeling that I won't find a job this year, but I really want to recommit myself to my research. As others are saying in this thread, that's one of the only places left for energy.

[dr_dre]

Hey, this thread is a sticky! I feel like I should comb my hair and put on a jacket now.

[zhimbo]

I'm relieved to now have 2 scheduled phone interviews. The wiki suggests I'm probably out of the running for three other positions. That leaves, if memory serves, 18 others I'm still waiting on.

Even though 2 phone interviews is a long way from a job offer, it sure is better being "in process" than merely waiting...and waiting...the "buzzing anxiety" has quieted down tremendously. Although now that the action is starting to happen on the relevant part of the wiki, I'm not doing very well on my "wiki once a day" resolution.

[epistephiliac]

Thanksgiving seems the best day to post my stats for this job search. I've been incredibly lucky, because apparently my discipline is a little crazy this year: very high demand/very low supply. I just want to point this out up front, because the numbers are nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the discipline and the timing. I'm certainly no rockstar, or even an AHAstar.

So, to sum up:

Applications submitted: 18
Rejections: 1
Withdrew before visit: 2
Phone interviews: 5
Campus invitations: 8
Declined: 3
Campus visits: 5
Withdrew after visit: 1
Offers received: 4

I have to decide by Monday. It's stressful, but certainly better than the alternative. I have a lot to be thankful for. Best of luck to everyone!

[dr_dre]

Congratulations, epistephiliac! Well done.

[wutan]

Whoa! 8 campus interviews, 5 conducted, and then 4 offers to choose from?  Congratulations, Epistephiliac!

I wish my field will be like that this year---at least for me!  I still haven't submitted any applications, what with most of the deadlines in the middle of December up until the end of January.

[epistephiliac]

Yeah, it was a very good year to be on the market in my field.

May your search be just as fortunate/successful!

[onion]

Thanksgiving seems the best day to post my stats for this job search. I've been incredibly lucky, because apparently my discipline is a little crazy this year: very high demand/very low supply. I just want to point this out up front, because the numbers are nothing to do with me, and everything to do with the discipline and the timing. I'm certainly no rockstar, or even an AHAstar.

So, to sum up:

Applications submitted: 18
Rejections: 1
Withdrew before visit: 2
Phone interviews: 5
Campus invitations: 8
Declined: 3
Campus visits: 5
Withdrew after visit: 1
Offers received: 4

I have to decide by Monday. It's stressful, but certainly better than the alternative. I have a lot to be thankful for. Best of luck to everyone!

Congrats! Good for you! 

[onion]

I But on the positive side, a top university press is interested in seeing my full diss ms. if the other university press reviewing it now decides to pass; that press says they expect reader reports back in a couple of weeks.

You rock! That's awesome!!

[dundee]

Wow, epistephiliac, four offers, that's sensational! Happy thanksgiving to you!


According to the wiki, three of the jobs I really wanted have either asked for writing samples or scheduled phone interviews, but haven't contacted me. One of them was "written for me," as they say, and would have solved my two-body problem, so that really sucks. At least I already have an MLA interview scheduled and about 45 applications still in play, so there's hope yet.