I am honored to be joining the faculty at Texas A&M University for the 2023-24 academic year as a full-time lecturer. The COVID-19 pandemic had, in theory, marked the end of my teaching career. However, friends and colleagues persisted in sending me academic job listings. One friend, in particular, persuaded…
Tag: job search
Dear 2023, you have already been way too interesting. We’d appreciate a change to “boring” mode for the remainder of your days. And, definitely, no more near-death experiences. We’re disappointed in you, 2023. We’re already looking ahead to 2024. As 2023 began, we thought the year was going to be uneventful.…
My grand plan to write daily fell apart on the night of April 18-19, after a losing battle with an online employment system used by a university. I spent three days preparing documents and then the HR system being used (Workday) choked while uploading my materials. The application was marked…
I spent the last two days working on two versions of my résumé: techie me and teacher me. I feel “incomplete” when I read one or the other, as if I’m not being honest about who I am. The technology résumé is modeled on samples I found online at two…
The academic job hunt is over, concluding after 61 applications and near-exhaustion. I did not locate a post at a college or university and do not intend to look again next year. My Ph.D defense is May 11. That, and a handful of remaining conference appearances, will mark the end…
I was watching a television spot that included the line, “She still has hope an employer will call.” Hope is passive. It should never be the only approach to a problem. Hope is not a strategy. I understand the role of hope and optimism. Every time I send a portfolio…
I had written a long reflection on the job hunt (better an essay someday) as I finished preparing yet another portfolio to send to a state university. I found myself focused on a comment from a search committee member. “You aren’t anything like Christopher in The Curious Incident. Are you…
Early Monday I leave for my first on-campus interview. Others are being scheduled, so the next month might be busy. This is a great thing in the face of weak job market. Multiple interviews are rare when so many institutions have hiring freezes or would prefer adjunct to tenure-track hiring.…
I am on track to receive my Ph.D formally this April or May, depending on university paperwork processing. The dissertation is done, approved by my adviser, and only minor edits remain. The university bureaucracy is certainly navigable, though it is essential to have extra copies of every form on file.…