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[d_w_s]

Hi! I am heading to the CAA conference this next week in Dallas. I am particularly interested in talking to folks who are interviewing at CAA about what they expect. Here are some possible questions.. .

-- How many people are you interviewing with?
-- How late do you anticipate schools will contact you about your application for a CAA interview?
-- If some schools did not include on their job posting that they are attending CAA, is it right to assume they'll be there anyways?
-- Can we actually get people to use the wiki (http://wikihost.org/wikis/academe/wiki/studio_art) to update which schools are out there and responding to applicants?
-- Any tips for a newbie applicant?

Thanks to you all! Pay it forward, i promise it will come back to you!

[almond]

-- How many people are you interviewing with?
1 (the lowest number in my 3 years on the job market)
But I have 2 campus interviews at places not going to CAA.

-- How late do you anticipate schools will contact you about your application for a CAA interview?
Most would give at least a week's notice... So it's a bit too late now.

-- If some schools did not include on their job posting that they are attending CAA, is it right to assume they'll be there anyways?
Maybe. They don't always mention CAA in the posting. They might have people on other committees or going to parties.

-- Can we actually get people to use the wiki (http://wikihost.org/wikis/academe/wiki/studio_art) to update which schools are out there and responding to applicants?

-- Any tips for a newbie applicant?
Do your research about the schools, rehearse some interview questions with a friend, relax.

[thenewyorker]

I am following the (depressing) wiki site and thought I was doomed (ie only two interviews at that point). But I got a call a day ago to schedule an interview at caa. So there still is hope. This was a school that did not specify in the ad that it was going to be at caa. And two CUNY schools (Baruch and Queens) have not even started their interviewing process. Although they are also not going to caa. I assume they will have phone interviews. Same with another school on Long Island.
It seems to be a tougher year than last. Last year I was not done with the diss and had three job offers. This year it is done, I had a one year position, more conferences and publications and nothin'. sigh.
Good luck!!!

[hanabi]

The year I was interviewing at CAA I got a call the day before the conference started!  Some people do wait until the last minute to call. 

[arty_]

This year, zero interviews. I agree - it's grim.  I've never had fewer than 2, and sometimes as many as nine.  However, usually I paper the world.  I have a comfortable position now, so I'm doing a very limited search.

I have been occasionally contacted DURING CAA for an interview, and often the week of (i.e. Monday). But, anyone organized would have called by Friday.

You can never tell what schools will be there, nor what they'll be doing.  For example, some schools are just interviewing in hotel rooms, other schools have boxes out for new applications, and some staff tables to answer questions, but not really interview.

Advice:  Practice interview questions before you go.  Try to stay away from toxic people -- there can be a lot of (understandable) desperation, and it can be a healthy choice to minimize contact with folks who are, again, understandably, over the edge. Also, get in the book fair and get some free art supplies.

The very best of luck.  See you there.

[dragonbait1]

One interview only, but I've also got one on-campus for a school that's not going to CAA.  I waited until I had an interview to even book a flight - which meant waiting until the last minute as I didn't get a call until the second week of February, and now I'm not at the conference hotel.  But that's ok, I'm nearby.  I've also been able to set up meetings with far-flung colleagues, have a bunch of receptions to attend, etc., so that will all be kind of fun.  I didn't register for the actual conference - as I didn't register early, I missed the cheap rate and simply can't afford the extra $200+ to hear some panels.  As long as I can get into the hotel to get to my interview and attend some receptions, that's all I need.

I don't anticipate hearing from any more schools, though newyorker's getting such a late call gives one hope.

[jwormold]

Thanks maggie_simpson for starting this thread-- I'm looking forward to hearing how the rest of you fare. At least we've got nice weather!

I've had more phone interviews set up than CAA interviews. I haven't heard anything back from the phone interviews, though, so I hope they weren't somehow screening for their CAA lists! And the wiki has been totally uninformative.

Speaking of which, since we're in Dallas, any recommendations for some good Tex-Mex? Somehow things got crazy the past few weeks, and I didn't get a chance to prepare for the most important part of CAA: the food!

[anywho]

I'm back from CAA!

The long, long day of nonstop interviewing went well overall. I was a bit awkward and inarticulate out of nervousness in my first one of the day, although I didn't bomb it. I doubt they were terribly impressed by me though.

The rest, with one exception, went well as far as I could tell. The exception was what I now believe was a "we need to fill our quota of national applicants before we can install our internal candidate" kind of an interview. Phooey on them.

I'm not much of a meat eater, but went to a steakhouse with friends who treated me to a big chunk of beef. Someone else had elk. The restaurant grows its own meat on a ranch somewhere in the area.

My Friday return flight was wiped out by the snowstorms in the east. I ended up staying until Sunday, which worked out well because I went to the Dallas Art Museum one day, spent some time at the conference on the other, and had a chance to visit with friends.

Another forumite posted some great tips in another thread on getting a good price on Dallas hotels. I used priceline to get a 3 star hotel for 65. per night. Score! Thanks, losemygrip.

My trip cost over 800. including travel, taxis, food, hotel and conference expenses. If this year's search doesn't result in a job, the CAA conference costs may be the straw that sent the camel into bankruptcy. I'm staying positive and hoping for the best, but I do wish there was another system for job seekers that didn't require such extravagant spending.

In Dallas I saw mostly highways, parking lots, parking garages and hotels. I took the train to my hotel and walked 1/2 mile from the station to where I was staying. The train station was desolate, and the walk was along a huge highway lined with strip malls for miles. Otherwise, the walking was OK. I only saw one or two other pedestrians in the neighborhood near the hotel. They were hotel workers.

[d_w_s]

Hi anywho, thanks for your post. It's nice to hear about others' experiences.

I had a really good time at the conference. I stayed off-site, which was a really good choice, as I had to plan out my moves and be decisive about being in that maelstrom of activity at the conference hotel.

My interviews went well. I was not nervous like i thought i'd be, and for the most part they were just very pleasant conversations about my work and teaching interests. I really have to thank the search committees for their overall  enthusiasm and thoughtful questions. I even had a couple of them invite me to their receptions. 
I did have the feeling in one interview that they were just trying to fulfill a national search. . .their questions were aggressive and specific, and even their body postures (shoes off, leaning against the bed headboards, made me sit on the bed with them) showed me how disinterested in the meeting they were. Plus, they pretty much said as much to me in the interview.

It was so awesome to run into friends from other schools, people interviewing and people on search committees. There was an air of madness to the whole thing, and i hope next year I can afford the conference fee so i can check out all the panels.
In general, I stayed away from the conference interview booths/tables -- it just seemed like fishing, and i had already applied to a few of them, so if they were interested they would have contacted me before the conference.
For the record, I got a call as late as Tuesday evening for an interview at the conference.
In the case of another school, they contacted me before the conference for an interview and then never replied to tell me when/where to meet them! 

overall, though, i had a really good time and dallas was fun. . .could have been warmer. Anywho, you're right -- it was expensive. . .I think i spent like $1,000, especially with the crappy food and taxis.

Hey, let's keep this up -- people should post to the wiki as well as send out info when they get their first call-backs or rejection letters after the interviews.

[anywho]

I couldn't register for the conference this year either, but hopefully next year I can fully participate. I really wanted to attend the Painting and Critique in the Age of the Market panel on Wednesday, the Sustainable Studio one on Thursday, and several others, but it was not to be this year.

[anywho]

Oh, and I also attended the convocation. It was great to see Sylvia Sleigh, who is now in her 90's, since I often show her work to intro students as part of  presentation on the history of painting from the nude model.

I enjoyed the awards presentations. That first-person account of the looting of the Baghdad Museum was harrowing.

[thenewyorker]

ok...I was complaining about the costs, uncertainty, etc .of attending CAA in an earlier post and it still irks me. But it is interesting how my perspective changes after the fact. I always enjoy the experience of catching up with friends. I chatted to much I was exhausted each night! I attended great panels. And I snagged two on-campus interviews.
But I was speaking to someone in another discipline and he noted that it would seem fair that the SCs try to get their CAA list together at least by the beginning of January so that attendees have at least a month to secure plane and hotel reservations. But we can only dream.

[d_w_s]

wow, newyorker, that is great.
How do you know that you already have two on-campus?
Did they tell you during the conference? That's a pretty quick turn-around time.

I know, I feel the same way. . .it was a b*tch to put together, but the end result (networking, interviews, collegial intellectualism) made it worth the harangue prior to the event.

[gastr1]

You know, a colleague and I were talking about how CAA should put together a list of entertainment and eating options in the area. It would be super-easy to do--just ask the CAA people in the area for their recommendations!

I could have offered some insight on that...this year was fun in part because we took a car and ate wherever we wanted. A freaking feast, it was, because we were familiar with Dallas and knew where to go.

But you all are right, it's too expensive. Another good thing might be a wiki that puts potential travelers in touch with each other for the purpose of saving money through shared rooms and such.

[d_w_s]

gastr1, i totally agree. I kept thinking there was one (a list of local restaurants) and I just didn't know it.. .
it took me 24 hours to figure out that there were restaurants in the westin.

i went out down mckinney one night with friends and had a good time down there. . .organic greek place.
pricey, though.