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Placement and MLA Information The first thing you should do is log on to the MLA Job Information List. The list is published quarterly but updated online weekly. The first issue is published in early October. To access the list, go to the ADE website. Note: You will need the English department's ID and password to access the job list. You can get this password from the English department head or job placement coordinator. For a list of job openings in the University System of Georgia, click here. Consider joining the Modern Language Association (MLA) and plan to attend the MLA convention.
PREPARATING FOR THE ACADEMIC JOB SEARCH
Assemble your dossier. It’s never too soon to request that faculty write your letters of reference, and you want to be sure they know a lot about you. Whenever you decide whom you’d like to work with (on exams, dissertations, etc.), ask them to sit in on one of your classes. It helps if advisors can address both your research and your teaching. Also, make sure that you sit down with the people who are writing you letters and discuss your progress on the dissertation. Give them copies of whatever you’ve written. Aim for finishing the dissertation draft by December of the year you go on the market, and be sure that the people writing letters understand that you are nearly finished. The more detail they can give about your dissertation and your progress, the better their letters will be. You’ll probably want 3-5 letters, from your dissertation director(s), people who examined you, teaching mentors, director of graduate studies (optional), department head (optional), people for whom you’ve done research, and so on. Check to be sure that all letter are in before you send out your applications. These letters of recommendation should be ready by mid-October, when the job list is issued. UGA uses ReferenceNow, an online dossier service. Access and examine the job list. Log on (password required) to see last year’s list, or borrow somebody’s hard copy from last October if possible. You’ll need to see what’s been available in past years, what sorts of parameters usually inform the job listings, how many openings you can expect to reply to, how much work you’ll need to do, and how optimistic you can afford to be. You’ll also be able to consider in advance how to market yourself. In spite of lip-service to interdisciplinary studies and changing trends in academia, most openings are advertised according to historical boundaries. You’ll want to keep this in mind. You’ll also notice, however, announced interests in race, gender, film, cultural studies, humanities computing, etc. There’s a definite hierarchy to consider. Don’t try to bill yourself as an expert in some alien field just because that field seems popular, but do consider the range of ways in which you might talk about your work. Keep track of your professional activities. You will need a space on your vitae for publications, conferences, etc. Though committee work fills out the curriculum vitae, it doesn’t count as much as an essay forthcoming in Eighteenth-Century Studies, for example. Conference papers are the best way to get started here. It’s harder to publish an essay, but if you can send out the best of the work you’ve done, you can list these essays on your vitae as “under consideration.” Your main goal should be to demonstrate that you are honestly trying to enter the profession. Start early, with a good seminar paper, take advantage of readers’ reports when you revise, and when your submissions are rejected, don’t lose heart: keep revising and submitting. Save your teaching evaluations. If they’re good, you may want to put them in your teaching portfolio. Some schools may ask for them with your cover letter or when you visit campus in the spring. You’ll also need to submit a cover letter and curriculum vitae. You may need to submit the following: 1. Writing sample (20-25 pages). A search committee may ask for this up front, with your letter and c.v., or it may ask for a writing sample later, as the candidate pool is narrowed. You might want to consider preparing two writing samples. 2. Dissertation abstract. This is not a prospectus; it should sound as if your dissertation is finished. Limit abstract to one page. 3. Teaching Philosophy. 4. List of graduate courses. 5. Transcript. 6. Teaching portfolio.
THE JOB INTERVIEW
GENERAL COMMENTS Be yourself. Represent yourself with enthusiasm and confidence, but don’t lie. If you are not familiar with a book that is mentioned, don’t try to fake it. You will be caught. Keep in mind that this committee is not looking for a superior graduate student; they are looking for a new colleague. Show that you have moved beyond graduate school and would be an interesting new colleague. You should also demonstrate your intellectual character and interests, your ability to think on your feet (as you must in the classroom), and what you’re like in person. As you prepare for the interview process, be sure to take the time to reflect on the new life you are about to enter. Think of yourself as a potential faculty member somewhere: what kind of faculty member do you think you’ll be? What kind do you hope to be? WHEN YOU ARE CALLED FOR THE INTERVIEW Be prepared to schedule the interview according to the needs of the committee. If you have another interview scheduled for that time, tell them so, but otherwise make yourself available. Do not try to work around sessions you’d like to attend. Sometimes you will be called by a department secretary, but more likely the person will be a member of the search committee, usually the chair. Things you should ask: 1. The names of people who will be interviewing you 2. The duration of the interview 3. The hotel where the interview will take place, and the name in which the room is registered (essential) 4. How you should find the room number Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time between interviews, so that you can unwind, get something to eat or drink, go over your notes, and so on. HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW Check out the college and department web pages to acquaint yourself with course offerings, requirements and faculty. Don’t try to read the work of the faculty who will interview you; your time will be much better spent if you think about the courses on offer and the ones (in your area) the department lacks. You should be prepared to talk at greater length about your dissertation, and you should practice doing this ahead of time. It’s a good idea to write down 2 concise versions of your dissertation description, one about a minute long, another about 5 minutes. Memorize these. Often an interview begins with an invitation to “tell us about your dissertation,” and it helps to have something committed to memory. But be sure you can describe this project with animation, not with bored detachment. Don’t try to assume modesty; it sometimes comes across as boredom or world-weariness. Committees are looking for enthusiasm. Try to find a new language (separate from your cover letter, or your dissertation abstract) to describe this project. Speak about it as if you were an enthusiastic third party. Try to find a way to invite a dialogue: by talking about your discoveries, new ground your dissertation explores, what you’d like to think more about as a result. But don’t introduce a new topic you’re not prepared to talk about. Be prepared to talk about a range of courses you’re prepared to teach. Even if you have never taught them before, you should have course syllabi plotted out in your head, for courses of all ranges: introductory writing courses, sophomore surveys, upper-level specialty courses, graduate courses. Be prepared to lay out the basic readings and logic of interesting, well-defined courses. When you talk about special topics courses, be sure they are not on the dissertation, unless someone asks you specifically to describe a course based on your research. Be prepared for both. Be prepared to talk intelligently about incorporating the teaching of writing into the teaching of literature. And when asked how you would teach a particular course, be sure to talk about content and ideas. It’s fine if you want to say that you prefer discussion to lecture, but most of the candidates on the market feel the same way; you want to distinguish yourself. So talk about what you’d teach ——what you hope students will learn from one course rather than another. As in the cover letter, the more detailed you can be, the better. Try to have examples of different texts you might juxtapose, for instance. At the very least you should be able to explain not only what texts you’d choose but also what general principles you’d use to organize the course (chronological? Generic? Theoretical? Combination?), whether you prefer essays or exams, etc. When you answer questions about upper-division classes, don’t hesitate to ask what preparation the students will have had (how many semesters of composition, any survey courses, methods course, etc.). It’s often important to show that you’re aware that departments need students, and that they therefore need to hire faculty who can draw students in. You might, then, begin describing a course with some kind of “hook”: how will you make the course accessible? Then you can describe the basic theoretical questions your course rubric will enable you to ask your students. If you pitched a course called “The American Renaissance,” for example, how does that title immediately make certain basic questions (about the relation between history and the imagination, for example) inevitable? Does the course allow you to short-circuit certain inevitable traps into which students fall? Is there a text that the interview committee are likely to know that you can use in a sentence or two to demonstrate what you will do with texts in the course? Try to cover these issues in about a minute; then you can describe some of the other texts for the course, giving most of your attention to how they interact with one another within the logic of the course. FINDING THE INTERVIEW ROOM Try to get to the hotel early. You can find a chair in the lobby and pull yourself together. Most interviews will take place in the main English sessions hotel, but others will be located at other MLA sites. Allow plenty of time for travel between sites. Once you get to the hotel, go to any courtesy phone (or the front desk) and ask to be connected to the room. Concierges will not give you the room number; you must first call. Be sure to give yourself enough time to find the room number and get there (in the often crowded MLA elevators). Try to get to the floor early, but do not knock until it’s exactly time. Sometimes you will knock at the proper time and discover that an interview is still in process. Do not be offended, do not feel that you are at fault, and try not to let the experience rattle you. The committee has simply fallen behind, and you should try to be as engaging as possible so that they forget their own frustrations. They don’t like falling behind schedule, and they may feel a little flustered.
THE INTERVIEW The Audience Your interviewers will likely be the department chair and the search committee chair, as well as one or two other faculty (maybe people who are at MLA anyway, maybe members of the search committee). There may be nobody on the committee who is a specialist in your field . . . or there may be several. Sometimes you will find a full room (over 10 people) and sometimes only one (with a tape recorder), but these situations are rare. You’ll more likely find yourself with 3-5 people. Most interviews run 30-45 minutes. It’s unlikely that everyone who read your materials will be present; some members of the search committee do not attend MLA. It’s possible that not everyone interviewing you will have had time to read your materials (and in any case, they may not remember what they have read). So don’t assume that they’ve all read that writing sample they requested, for example. You’ll need, therefore, to convey a lot of information about yourself and your work, and quickly. But try not to sound rushed. Remember that as much as you want to be liked, the committee will also want you to like them. Job searches are expensive and time-consuming, and the committee will want to appoint someone who will be happy at their institution. Have fun talking about your work and answering sincere and interested questions. The committee may offer you coffee or water. Respond exactly as you feel inclined. The time will pass very quickly. Be aware of how long you’ve spoken, and be attentive to cues from the committee that it’s time to move on. It’s better to be brief and to ask if you need to elaborate than to dominate the interview. You are, of course, the center of attention, and you are not entirely in control, but do try to give the committee time to take part in the discussion. The best interviews are dialogues, not monologues. Know when to stop talking about the dissertation. Even if your committee seems to want to keep on this theme, try to find ways to introduce your teaching or other research, and be attentive to cues that the committee wants to do so. When asked about courses you’d like to teach, be sure the courses you describe do not come directly out of your dissertation. Some places will never ask about your dissertation. Don’t feel insulted. In general, the heavier the teaching load, the more time the committee will spend on course-related questions. Very important: Always take cues from the committee. Don’t talk for too long, and don’t try to fill in silences. If there’s a lull after your answer, the committee is probably thinking; give them time to follow up. When you’ve given a brief answer, you might ask whether you should elaborate. That gives the committee time to shift gears, ask follow-up questions, or encourage you to continue. It’s best to start with relatively short responses and allow the committee to pursue a question, rather than to ramble on and bore them. If you’re not clear about a question, ask for elaboration. Take the time to collect your thoughts before answering. Make eye contact, address your answers to all members of the committee, include them in the conversation. Draw on the skills you’ve learned as a teacher. Kinds of questions to anticipate: 1. Please summarize your dissertation project
2. What will your next major project be? 3. How do your research and teaching influence each other? 4. What theorists have you found most useful in formulating your dissertation project? 5. What do you consider the most important contribution of your dissertation? What makes it unique and significant? 6. What critical approaches do you find most persuasive? How do they translate into your teaching? 7. What would you hope the non-specialist reader of your dissertation would take away from it? 8. Where do you place yourself in relation to other writers who work in [your field here]? 9. When will you get your degree? (Be absolutely specific and positive) 10. Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? [Here you might mention publishing your dissertation and moving on to research in a related area.] 11. How would you organize a freshman composition course? 12. How would you teach [insert appropriate survey course here]? 13. If you could teach any course you wanted, what would it be? What would you teach next if you could teach two of them? >14. How would you organize an upper division course in your field? 15. How would you organize a senior seminar in your field? Or a graduate class? 16. What kinds of essays do you want your students to write? 17. How do reading and writing interact in your classroom? 18. How do you feel about teaching composition? 19. How do you teach composition? 20. How do you know you’ve been successful in teaching composition? 21. What are the most difficult challenges of teaching [composition/your field],and how do you meet them? 22. What interdisciplinary courses could you teach? 23. How would you teach a major work in your field?(they may pick one for you) 24. What’s the most difficult text you’ve ever taught, and why? How did you deal with it? 25. What was the most rewarding text you ever taught, and why?
Other kinds of questions: Some questions are illegal; search committees generally don’t ask these, though someone might. It’s best to try to ignore them. In general, rudeness is rare and thoughtlessness is much more common. Try to keep your cool: if someone has made a faux pas, rest assured that his or her colleagues will take it up in private. Remember that they also want to make a good impression on you, and they will be furious if one of their colleagues makes a thoughtless mistake. What should you ask? Have in mind a few questions if given the time to ask them. This is not the time to ask about salary, spousal hires, benefits, etc. Appropriate questions include questions about student population, number of majors, interdisciplinary opportunities, research opportunities, support for travel, history of tenure and promotion (if this is a tenure-track job). Since you will have plenty of time to ask other questions during a campus visit, these questions should reflect your interests and say something about you as a potential colleague. Don’t be disappointed if you have no time for questions. Basic interview guidelines: 1. Do not lie. 2. Never badmouth other schools, candidates, faculty, or scholars. You will be perceived as an unpleasant person. 3. Answer short rather than long. If the committee wants elaboration, someone will ask for it. 4. Don’t be arrogant or condescending. Be enthusiastic and friendly. 5. Don’t try to be too modest. Be enthusiastic about your work. 6. Don’t be sycophantic. If you’re familiar with someone’s work, don’t grovel over it. Best not to mention that you admire their work. 7. You’ll have a lot to remember. Keep a notebook to take notes after the interview (names of people you met, when you should expect to hear from them, your impressions of them, your sense of your own performance). Don’t take notes during the interview. 8. Have fun! Think about it this way: Interviews are a place to meet (mostly) interesting people, to get some free coffee, and to talk about your own interests. (How often have you found a willing audience for that?) You will probably learn a lot, including new ways of formulating the argument in your dissertation, new books to read, and new courses to teach. Most people will be pleasant and interested. Make the most of the occasion. And if you should run across someone who's rude and tired (it rarely happens), remember that you’re not the one who’s out of line. Think of yourself as a hot commodity: if you are treated badly by your interviewers, they have blown it, not you 9. Be sensitive to your grad school mates who may not have had as many interviews as you. If you do not get interviews, don’t despair; many schools do their recruiting in the spring, after their funding is in place. If you got lots of interviews, try not to be cocky about it. This is an exciting but also a difficult time for many people. Be humane and as upbeat as you can be.
THE CAMPUS VISIT Whether or not you’ve already met these people at MLA, at SAMLA, or during a phone interview, the following guidelines should help you with your campus visit. From here on out try to think of yourself not so much as one of the finalists (there may be 1 or 2 others) but as a prospective employee looking for the best fit. You want to be thinking more about the kind of teacher and scholar you want to be, and about how you can accomplish those goals given the school you’re visiting. Now is the time to familiarize yourself with the department. Check out its web site, its course offerings, its faculty. Will you be the only Americanist on faculty, the only creative writer? Do all faculty teach composition? Does the department employ adjuncts? Most colleges and universities will require you to perform one or more heroic tasks. These may include: 1. Teaching a class. Think of a short text (poem, very short story) that you can teach easily. Try to find something that has worked well in the past. Think about how much time you will devote to lecture and discussion. In the event that you are not free to choose your text, do the best you can with what you’re given. Feel free to ask the chair (or whoever contacts you) for advice about the choice of text, and for an account of the students you’ll be teaching (is it a regular class? A group of students cobbled together for the purpose of your visit?) 2. Giving a lecture. Depending on the school, you may direct this at undergraduates, graduate students or faculty. It may be formal (a 20-pp. excerpt from your dissertation, for example) or informal (speaking from notes, on a particular topic like how you integrate theory in your undergraduate teaching). It may be a summary talk about how you might teach one day in the survey of early British literature. It may be an informal discussion of your research interests. Try to attend job talks given here, and think about the kinds of questions asked (general or specific? Hostile or friendly? Interested or bored?) and the way that successful candidates have dealt with them. Dress comfortably but formally.
You may be able to negotiate for a computer, a course release, a bit more salary or moving expenses, and so on. Although it’s difficult to negotiate these things after you’ve signed a contract, you should also be aware that while some institutions have room to haggle, others (particularly small undergraduate colleges) do not. Be firm but not pushy, as too much bargaining can damage the goodwill of your new colleagues.
WEB ADDRESSES RELEVANT TO YOUR ACADEMIC JOB SEARCH
The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Career Network: http://chronicle.com/jobs/archive/advicearch.htm Article on job interviews: http://chronicle.com/jobs/2002/01/2002012101c.htm UGA’s EGO web site on academic and nonacademic jobs: http://www.english.uga.edu/~ego UGA Career Center: http://www.career.uga.edu UGA Career Center Credentials Service (ReferenceNow): http://cppnt.cpp.uga.edu/ccweb/students/credentialsfiles.html UGA Office of Instructional Support and Development’s Teaching Portfolio Site:http://www.isd.uga.edu/teaching_assistant/ta-portfolio.html
THE NONACADEMIC JOB SEARCH
The following links provide job listings, advice columns, and miscellaneous information about your nonacademic job search. Poke around and be sure to check back often, as materials found in these links tends to change weekly.
Association of Departments of English (ADE) information on developing a nonacademic career (Look under "Online Job Counseling.") Chronicle of Higher Education's list of positions outside academe The Chronicle's "Where to Find Information on Nonacademic Careers" "So What Are You Going To Do With That?": guide to postacademic careers "Sellout": a site for humanities PhDs considering careers outside of academe Linguistic Enterprises, private-sector employment opportunities for linguists
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