tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454161596094447448.post928215986679175032..comments2024-02-20T12:26:24.682-05:00Comments on language goes on holiday: Advice to [and other information for] job candidates IIDuncan Richterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15708344766825805406noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454161596094447448.post-47382768583877925152011-11-08T18:39:55.786-05:002011-11-08T18:39:55.786-05:00Conferences are good, yes. Beyond that I should st...Conferences are good, yes. Beyond that I should stress that I'm really only talking for myself. But it seems to me that to get tenure these days you really need to have several publications in respectable journals (or a book), and the best indication (not the only one, of course) that this is likely to be no problem for you is to show a track record of publishing such work. <br /><br />I think that if I were on the market and read what I've posted here I'd be disheartened. If that's how your friend feels then I sympathize. The good news is that I don't think any single candidate really hits every single target, so the things I've listed as pluses are not necessary conditions. The bad news is that we might only interview somewhere between 3 and 6 people, and we have had some incredibly strong applications.Duncan Richterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708344766825805406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454161596094447448.post-76218031213471579442011-11-08T18:03:57.910-05:002011-11-08T18:03:57.910-05:00One more thing (question from a friend): you menti...One more thing (question from a friend): you mention publications, but what about conferences? (There are lots of different sorts of conferences of course.)Matthew Pianaltohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16380038537888895216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454161596094447448.post-48205806019425462582011-11-08T10:18:16.790-05:002011-11-08T10:18:16.790-05:00Yes, Academia.edu is a good idea. I think I've...Yes, Academia.edu is a good idea. I think I've seen some Google web pages too, which probably show up high in Google searches. <br /><br />You're right about the diversity issue. There isn't much you can do about this, after all. <br /><br />And right again on the other programs point. I know that if you're applying to lots of places it's hard to do much research on all of them. And it might take quite a bit of digging to find some things, which might not be worth the time involved. I just wanted to get it out there that there are things like this that can make a difference. I really don't think anything of this kind will make or break someone's application, but it could give you a helpful nudge.Duncan Richterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708344766825805406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454161596094447448.post-38761371518880568842011-11-08T09:43:09.682-05:002011-11-08T09:43:09.682-05:00All very helpful. I'm sending it to various pe...All very helpful. I'm sending it to various people I know who are on the market. It might be worth adding--especially for the technologically disinclined--is that an easy enough way to manage your "web presence" is simply to set up an account on Academia.edu--these seem to hit pretty high in my experience (especially if people don't have faculty webpages).<br /><br />In terms of this being "advice," a few minor items might be re-framed in terms of what individual applicants can actually control (e.g. the point about diversity--something like: if there's a way of effectively but gracefully communicating that you would contribute to the diversity of the faculty, that would be good to mention). Similarly, the point about contributing to other programs: unless it's mentioned in the job ad, this is a place where applicants can show that they have "done their homework"--that is, if someone says, "I see VMI has a module on poverty and blah blah..." that shows that the person has taken an interest in the school and has made some effort to learn about it. I agree that looks good, as long as what's said (in the "blah blah") seems good and relevant and not like overreaching (or as you say, trying too hard to impress).Matthew Pianaltohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16380038537888895216noreply@blogger.com