First Person

Much Ado About Nothing

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By Charles E. Winchester

When I first began chronicling my job search, I mentioned that my wife's career in university administration meant that I would be looking for a faculty position close to home. We didn't want to move, and we knew that would make my search difficult. But we agreed to make an exception to our stay-put rule: If I could land a position at an excellent university in another part of the country, my wife would put her career on hold until I gained tenure.

As my first year on the market comes to a close, I can now say that I have been rejected by some of the finest colleges in the land.

Perhaps I am lucky that I didn't make it to the interview stage at any of those colleges. Rejection is easier to take if you never get close. And campus interviews can be depressing and discouraging. A friend of mine had an on-campus interview this year at the college of his dreams. He did not land the job, but the experience on the campus made him wonder if he would have taken the job had it been offered. My friend is not a Protestant, and born-again Christians in the department seemed to have little respect or understanding for the traditions of his religion. Department politics seemed more brutal than normal. Most disturbing was the low morale. Professors seemed eager to complain about the low quality of their students. He was puzzled as to why they would say such things to a candidate they were trying to court.

Back in December, I discovered two exciting opportunities close to home that involved managing large grants dedicated to the improvement of history education. My friends all thought I would be perfect for either position.

I applied to both, and quickly landed two interviews. One of the interviews went very well, and in both instances, the hiring committees said they would get back to me in a week or two at most. I started to get overconfident. What if both committees make offers? I wondered.

As the weeks went by with no word from either, my confidence began to turn to anxiety. Why were they taking so long? Had they settled on candidates who were stalling them for time? Should I call them or let them call me, as they had promised? After many, many weeks, one of the committees finally sent me a one-sentence rejection e-mail.

The head of the other committee was kind enough to call and explain the delay. It turned out that I had indeed done well on the interview and the committee had settled on me and another finalist. The problem was that we were equally attractive and the committee was deadlocked. In the end, the other candidate got the job.

I was more than a little disheartened, but shortly after, I spotted an ad in The Chronicle for a tenure-track position at a fine liberal-arts college about 90 minutes away from my home. It was a delightful surprise as the ad appeared in the spring, roughly six months after the surge of postings in September and October.

The college was looking for someone in my subfield who could also teach introductory classes in a subfield rather different from my own. I had inside connections with the college administration, however, and I thought that would at least get me an interview. After sending off my application, I studied the unfamiliar subfield intensively in order to bring my teaching abilities up to snuff. It was a lot of work but it was fun to feel like a grad student again. Alas, except for the intrinsic value of learning, all was for naught. After another agonizing wait I called and discovered that I had been rejected yet again.

Personal contacts did not help me in that case, but they did finally come in handy. Through a friend, I heard about an excellent opportunity for adjunct work, and I took the job. Normally this would be no cause for excitement, as I can land adjunct positions almost at will. The difference in this case, however, is that next year the college intends to promote one of its new adjuncts to a full-time position. It would be an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of what appears to be a rapidly growing and entrepreneurial college in a great location.

Just in case my quest for a tenure-track position fails to pan out, I have started a consulting business. I have a lot of experience with getting grants and judging the grant proposals of others, so I've decided to put that experience to good use. My services include grant consultation, grant writing, and the independent evaluation of grant projects related to American history at both the school and college levels.

So far, business has gone very well. I don't enjoy it as much as teaching, but it is closely related to my teaching and research interests, and the compensation sure beats adjunct pay.

It's August now, and a new hiring cycle will soon be under way in academe. Looking back, I can see that I was depressed during those months of watching and waiting. I feel much better now, probably due to my success with consulting and the possibility that my new adjunct gig will lead to a long-term position with significant responsibilities. I'll be working hard in the coming year, and next summer at this time, I hope to have something to show for it.