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[thehighking]

I just realized that on about half of my cover letters I forgot to mention that I will be attending my discipline's conference (where the majority of interviews are conducted). Am I screwed or will a committee still contact me if they're interested?

[arty_]

We will still contact you. Don't worry about that.

[larryc]

I think this a very minor gaffe. You could send an email to the department secretaries: "Since I wrote my cover letter, I made plans to attend the XX Conference and would be available if the department plans to do interviews there. Please put this note in my file, and thank you."

[thehighking]

Thank you both...so just to follow up: should I even bother doing what larryc suggests?

[arty_]

 In my field, it is hard to get hired without going to our conference, so we actually assume you'll be there, even if you do not mention this one way or another in your letter. If interested, we call.  In my field, therefore, the existence of the note would be a neutral factor.

[systeme_d_]

Yes, it's up to you.  Like Arty noted, in my discipline we assume you'll be at the conference.

If this assumption is not made in your discipline, then go ahead and contact the administrative assistant in the hiring department.

[t_r_b]

Only the looniest of search committees would reject an otherwise appealing candidate for this reason. Perhaps if you stated that you would NOT attend the conference, but for simply not mentioning it? Don't worry about it.

[tee_bee]

I think the answer to this question may be field-dependent. In my social science discipline, we don't automatically assume that everyone goes to every conference, even the top two big ones. So a short note might be appreciated by the search committee. Were I on the search committee, I'd like to know this.

[toni52]

I agree. In some fields, there is one big conference that everyone attends.  But in others, it's not as clear-cut.  I know plenty of people in my field who never go to the major conference but only to smaller conferences based on their subfield.   In any case,  since you're in a field where they routinely do academic interviews at the conference, they'll probably assume that you will be there.  Also, are you presenting at the conference as well?  Because if so, the committee will see it on your CV (if you provided the information there).

[janewales]

Our field does have a huge conference, but we stopped going to it long ago, preferring instead to use phone interviews and then move swiftly to campus visits in January (and we're a big R1). So even in a field with a major conference, that conference may not be essential-- increasingly so, I suspect, as budgets tighten.

[t_r_b]

In any case,  since you're in a field where they routinely do academic interviews at the conference, they'll probably assume that you will be there. 

I work in such a field, and I have never had a SC assume I would be there. They always ask. It's not, "please stop by our suite the AHA," but "will you be available to speak with us at the AHA?" Sometimes I haven't been. I have never known for certain whether I would be there or not until well after sending out applications, so I have never mentioned it in my cover letter. If I did say in the cover letter that I would attend, I imagine the question would then become "are you still planning to attend the AHA?" Plans change.

In any case, the point here is that if a SC wants to know whether you will be available to interview at a conference, they can very easily ask you. Any SC that eliminates candidates from consideration for their failure to mention whether they will attend probably has a collective screw loose. Good to mention that you'll be there? Sure, and probably more helpful in some fields than others. Something to lose sleep over? No.

[thehighking]

Awesome, thank you all...reassuring to at least know that this isn't an issue. :)

[toni52]

In any case,  since you're in a field where they routinely do academic interviews at the conference, they'll probably assume that you will be there. 

I work in such a field, and I have never had a SC assume I would be there. They always ask. It's not, "please stop by our suite the AHA," but "will you be available to speak with us at the AHA?" Sometimes I haven't been. I have never known for certain whether I would be there or not until well after sending out applications, so I have never mentioned it in my cover letter. If I did say in the cover letter that I would attend, I imagine the question would then become "are you still planning to attend the AHA?" Plans change.
 

Mostly, I was just agreeing with what arty_ and systeme_d both said since this is not as much of an issue in my field.  However, students in my doctoral program were expected to attend the annual "X" conference.  Since they do conference interviews there, it's almost impossible to get hired in the field if you don't go to to the conference.  And search committees did assume that if you were a grad student in "X" field looking for an academic job that you would be there.  So it depends on what's expected in the OP's field.    But of course, it goes without saying that if they are interested in an interview they will contact the OP beforehand to confirm attendance. 

[oatmeal]

OP-you should definitely do what larryc suggested. There is no harm at all.

[fedscholar]

I agree that any committee that passed over a good candidate for missing a conference would be "loony." Although the current market may be out of wack, I know it is hard to find the right person, and when I have flown searches, I always wanted to get the widest pool I could.