Someone recently forwarded me an article from the New York Times about women professors at MIT:see Gains, Drawbacks for Women Professors. And almost immediately I started noticing that everyone and their sister was sharing it on Facebook and on their blogs, so of course now I want to comment too.
Some have suggested that this story uncovers a broad, general problem in academia as a whole: that women professors everywhere are feeling this kind of bias. Indeed, the article suggests that MIT is a "national model for addressing gender inequity" on campuses.
I have to say, calling MIT a model in this area is rather a stretch. MIT's questions about women's participation have come after other institutions have looked at and attempted to fix structural issues. Note, for example, Duke University's Women's Initiative. There, women faculty noted (in 2003, four years after MIT's initial report uncovering disparities among faculty salaries, office space and percentage of faculty, and only a year after MIT completed its initial study of women at its engineering school) that women's salaries had parity with men's salaries, relative to research, experience in the field, and rank. On that point, Duke and other schools (including both the institutions for which I have worked) did better than MIT at the point when MIT was just beginning to uncover the difficulties mentioned in the article.
More troubling in the Duke report, is that women continue to have lower numbers of people at rank (associate and full professor). This is, indeed a nationwide trend that was found at MIT as well. My own university sees those same kinds of numbers (though it has relatively more women at associate professor level than Duke appears to have had in that report). The presumption is that reaching full professor necessarily has fewer women because the people who could make full professor now came to the university at a time when the ratios between men and women were much more disparate. The big question for schools now will be how to give women the resources they need to receive tenure and promotion. Office space, lab space, time for writing, are all at issue and MIT is correct to focus on that.
So it would seem that there are a couple of factors to consider in all this. One is the institutional culture of the school and the ways specific schools have to respond to the unique difficulties women at those institutions experience. It does not really surprise me that MIT should have found such radical disparities between male and female faculty in the late 90s, after many other schools had already noted such things and worked to correct them. MIT's focus on scientific and technological fields, fields that have difficulty retaining women even in private sector jobs, would make the gender question an issue along different lines than it would be at other institutions.
Consider for example, the unique gender questions I had when I went to teach at an all-male school: teaching all male students was sometimes a real difficulty, and posed concerns that MIT faculty would not likely have encountered in 1999 when they did their survey. On the other hand, my colleagues were terrific and close knit, partly because the school was in a small town. This was also a school that had/has one of the best maternity leave policies in the country, something that spurs envy among friends at other institutions. The maternity leave policy did not magically appear, of course; it took a lot of hard work by a lot of good people (men and women both) but it was created by, and itself created, an overall distinctive atmosphere from the one evidenced at MIT.
But the second consideration is cultural awareness of women as a whole, and this is what MIT faculty commentators get exactly right: “The more fundamental issues are societal,” Professor Kastner said, “and M.I.T. can’t solve them on its own.” The so-called Ivory Tower is, in fact, affected by so-called "real life."
I don't know if it is more fundamental, but the whole question of balance is one that women ask, academic or not. For example, it does seem ubiquitous that a woman is always asked about work/life balance, as the MIT professors discuss in the article. Consider my own blog: what is it supposedly about, but a balance between work and motherhood? Have I implicitly complied with patriarchal structures by even considering the question? Another group of women say that this is just the problem that working mothers have: they are, de facto, the ones who have to think about child care and home economics alongside work and are therefore the ones who need to find that mythical balance.
But as I have said in other posts, I do think that "balance" is a myth: having to negotiate parenthood and work is part of life itself and places of work need to recognize this. Work does not exist for its own sake; it is part of community building as a whole. I do not think it is the case that women have to do this more than men, I just think men are the ones who have had to be more silent about it and who also think about that balance in different ways. Real life is work and family combined; how we go about doing that in good ways is something that we all (including our places of work) need to consider.
Showing posts with label academia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label academia. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Academic Job Search II - Networking
For the other posts in this series:
Beginning a search First Interview On Campus Interview Contract Rejections
In the general workplace, the standard job-seeking adage is: "It's not what you know, it's who you know." That doesn't really work in academia because it IS, in part, what you know (or how you think?). One of the standard adages in the academic job search is, instead,: "You get your first job because of your advisor's work; you get your second because of the work you do." In other words, the network of people your advisor knows is really important for that first job; you, as a beginning graduate student, are presumed to have not much of a network.
This is a holdover from the days when previous generations of scholars really did rely heavily on their advisors for their jobs. Indeed, I think many academics in the past could get away with not networking in the sense we might mean today. A phone call was often all that was needed to land a job somewhere and if one wanted to progress, a well-placed article in a top journal could do the trick. The network functioned much differently than it does today, for the most part. (Philosophy PhD Husband claims that his field still does kind of operate in this way.)
I wonder how true this is anymore. OF COURSE, letters of recommendation are extremely important and in general I suspect that having a letter from a more well-known professor is a boon for an applicant. (Though it may also be a hindrance - students of Stanley Hauerwas have long suspected that they get jobs in certain places because of their advisor's work, while not even getting a second glance in other places, because of their advisor's work. Is this true? We shall never find out. The academic job search is not known for transparency.)
On the other hand, there are schools (often smaller liberal arts schools) that tend NOT to hire those from big name schools or with big name advisors because they're worried about the Attrition Effect. That is, there's a sneaking suspicion among academics that everyone wants a job "up the ladder" and everyone wants to be at an R1 (research school with low teaching requirement) university. Students from big name schools, it is presumed, are the ones that especially can break into R1 atmospheres, and so they're the first ones to leave smaller schools. So why not short-circuit THAT eventuality by hiring someone who is from a less-well known school and less hireable by R1s?
It's a cultural assumption and it's not clear to me how true that is. It's just not clear to me how much of a "ladder" really exists in academia. It seems to me that it's more about figuring out what balance of teaching, research, and service works for you, and that the R1 hankering is more of a false desire instilled in graduate school because so many PhD programs are at R1s. Plenty of PhDs have their fill of R1 academic life in graduate school and have decided it's just not for them because they love teaching more. Plenty of PhDs at liberal arts colleges have found ways of doing good research even while having a high teaching load - and dare I say, even do better research than some at R1s because they've had to make time to do it and stick to it more than those who have perhaps a bit too much time on their hands. (Which is to say: when you're applying, don't preclude community college jobs or high teaching load liberal arts colleges just because the prevailing attitude in graduate school is that an R1 is the best place to be. Community college listings, by the way, do not tend to be listed in the national conference journals.)
All of the above ought to demonstrate what I pointed out at the end of "Academic Job Search I" - so much of the job search is NOT about you. There's an "academic voodoo" at work that will leave you scratching your head wondering, "Why NOT me? Why didn't I get that interview/job/book contract?
So instead, let's focus on the things you can worry about when it comes to networking...
1. Do rely on your advisor, but not overly so. Definitely get your advisor's advice but don't leave it there. Do some networking yourself.
2. Network at national conferences - Most conferences now allow graduate students to be members - use that to your advantage. Submit a paper proposal but even if you don't get one accepted, try to get to the conference anyway. (NB: hostels and sleeping on floors are cheap housing options.) Publishers flock to these things. Use the time to browse the books of various publishers to see which ones publish in your area(s). Perhaps even talk to an editor about your project and see what the result is. Go to publishers' cocktail parties. Introduce yourself to speakers at panel presentations and say what/how/why their work interests you, along with mentioning that you are a graduate student at such-and-such school and might be looking for a job in the near future.
3. Network at regional and institutional conferences - Be one of the people to volunteer to pick up people from the airport, or attend dinners with guests. Paper acceptances are often easier here; use that to your advantage because you never know where that random conversation you have after your paper session will get you.
4. Devise a graduate student conference at your institution (with help from friends) - Getting to know graduate students in your field is an excellent way to network. That grad student you meet this year may be on a hiring committee at an institution in a year or two. Invite a non-grad student scholar to give a keynote. A) It can go on your CV and B) it's another person you've gotten to know.
5. Research Assistantships - Take advantage of the work your professors give you to make connections with other scholars, if those opportunities come up. Copy editing, organizing conferences, and the like are all helpful ways to network.
6. Others? Any one else have good networking tips for graduate students or even faculty members?
Special Tips for Women and Moms: Women, I hate to say this (I really do) but it is still the case, I think, that women are expected to "know" something about feminist theory in relation to their fields. While I think it need not be the case that you must write a dissertation on feminism, I think it is very likely that a school will presume "feminist theory" and ask you a question about gender. So it's a good idea at least to have familiarity with gender questions in your field and to have read some books. Take a class if you can; otherwise attend some feminist theory sessions at conferences (or attend a feminist theory conference) and do some networking there. Women, too, have a network - it isn't just about the "old boys' network" anymore.
[NB: Men, I think it's often seen as something uniquely good if you, too, can contribute intelligently to gender conversations.]
At the same time, a caveat: women and especially moms, may find themselves gravitating toward precisely gender related topics that they're experiencing in their lives. I'm currently on maternity leave and find myself suddenly interested in The Moral Life of Babies. Other topics might include the history of motherhood or marriage, the biological mothering drive, the psychology of children, et cetera. I think it's excellent to think about these topics. I also think you'll want to consider carefully how wedded you want to be to "traditional women's issues." Some people end up making that their focus; others end up feeling stuck there.
Beginning a search First Interview On Campus Interview Contract Rejections
In the general workplace, the standard job-seeking adage is: "It's not what you know, it's who you know." That doesn't really work in academia because it IS, in part, what you know (or how you think?). One of the standard adages in the academic job search is, instead,: "You get your first job because of your advisor's work; you get your second because of the work you do." In other words, the network of people your advisor knows is really important for that first job; you, as a beginning graduate student, are presumed to have not much of a network.
This is a holdover from the days when previous generations of scholars really did rely heavily on their advisors for their jobs. Indeed, I think many academics in the past could get away with not networking in the sense we might mean today. A phone call was often all that was needed to land a job somewhere and if one wanted to progress, a well-placed article in a top journal could do the trick. The network functioned much differently than it does today, for the most part. (Philosophy PhD Husband claims that his field still does kind of operate in this way.)
I wonder how true this is anymore. OF COURSE, letters of recommendation are extremely important and in general I suspect that having a letter from a more well-known professor is a boon for an applicant. (Though it may also be a hindrance - students of Stanley Hauerwas have long suspected that they get jobs in certain places because of their advisor's work, while not even getting a second glance in other places, because of their advisor's work. Is this true? We shall never find out. The academic job search is not known for transparency.)
On the other hand, there are schools (often smaller liberal arts schools) that tend NOT to hire those from big name schools or with big name advisors because they're worried about the Attrition Effect. That is, there's a sneaking suspicion among academics that everyone wants a job "up the ladder" and everyone wants to be at an R1 (research school with low teaching requirement) university. Students from big name schools, it is presumed, are the ones that especially can break into R1 atmospheres, and so they're the first ones to leave smaller schools. So why not short-circuit THAT eventuality by hiring someone who is from a less-well known school and less hireable by R1s?
It's a cultural assumption and it's not clear to me how true that is. It's just not clear to me how much of a "ladder" really exists in academia. It seems to me that it's more about figuring out what balance of teaching, research, and service works for you, and that the R1 hankering is more of a false desire instilled in graduate school because so many PhD programs are at R1s. Plenty of PhDs have their fill of R1 academic life in graduate school and have decided it's just not for them because they love teaching more. Plenty of PhDs at liberal arts colleges have found ways of doing good research even while having a high teaching load - and dare I say, even do better research than some at R1s because they've had to make time to do it and stick to it more than those who have perhaps a bit too much time on their hands. (Which is to say: when you're applying, don't preclude community college jobs or high teaching load liberal arts colleges just because the prevailing attitude in graduate school is that an R1 is the best place to be. Community college listings, by the way, do not tend to be listed in the national conference journals.)
All of the above ought to demonstrate what I pointed out at the end of "Academic Job Search I" - so much of the job search is NOT about you. There's an "academic voodoo" at work that will leave you scratching your head wondering, "Why NOT me? Why didn't I get that interview/job/book contract?
So instead, let's focus on the things you can worry about when it comes to networking...
1. Do rely on your advisor, but not overly so. Definitely get your advisor's advice but don't leave it there. Do some networking yourself.
2. Network at national conferences - Most conferences now allow graduate students to be members - use that to your advantage. Submit a paper proposal but even if you don't get one accepted, try to get to the conference anyway. (NB: hostels and sleeping on floors are cheap housing options.) Publishers flock to these things. Use the time to browse the books of various publishers to see which ones publish in your area(s). Perhaps even talk to an editor about your project and see what the result is. Go to publishers' cocktail parties. Introduce yourself to speakers at panel presentations and say what/how/why their work interests you, along with mentioning that you are a graduate student at such-and-such school and might be looking for a job in the near future.
3. Network at regional and institutional conferences - Be one of the people to volunteer to pick up people from the airport, or attend dinners with guests. Paper acceptances are often easier here; use that to your advantage because you never know where that random conversation you have after your paper session will get you.
4. Devise a graduate student conference at your institution (with help from friends) - Getting to know graduate students in your field is an excellent way to network. That grad student you meet this year may be on a hiring committee at an institution in a year or two. Invite a non-grad student scholar to give a keynote. A) It can go on your CV and B) it's another person you've gotten to know.
5. Research Assistantships - Take advantage of the work your professors give you to make connections with other scholars, if those opportunities come up. Copy editing, organizing conferences, and the like are all helpful ways to network.
6. Others? Any one else have good networking tips for graduate students or even faculty members?
Special Tips for Women and Moms: Women, I hate to say this (I really do) but it is still the case, I think, that women are expected to "know" something about feminist theory in relation to their fields. While I think it need not be the case that you must write a dissertation on feminism, I think it is very likely that a school will presume "feminist theory" and ask you a question about gender. So it's a good idea at least to have familiarity with gender questions in your field and to have read some books. Take a class if you can; otherwise attend some feminist theory sessions at conferences (or attend a feminist theory conference) and do some networking there. Women, too, have a network - it isn't just about the "old boys' network" anymore.
[NB: Men, I think it's often seen as something uniquely good if you, too, can contribute intelligently to gender conversations.]
At the same time, a caveat: women and especially moms, may find themselves gravitating toward precisely gender related topics that they're experiencing in their lives. I'm currently on maternity leave and find myself suddenly interested in The Moral Life of Babies. Other topics might include the history of motherhood or marriage, the biological mothering drive, the psychology of children, et cetera. I think it's excellent to think about these topics. I also think you'll want to consider carefully how wedded you want to be to "traditional women's issues." Some people end up making that their focus; others end up feeling stuck there.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Academic Job Search I - Tips for the pre-interview stage
For other posts in this series:
Networking First Interview On Campus Interview Contract Rejections
I have been wanting to discuss job search tips (applicable to everyone but with some special considerations for moms on the job market) for a while now. When I wrote the post, though, it turned into an extremely long post no one would want to read. So, here for your reading enjoyment are shorter versions of that blog post (which people may ALSO not want to read, but at least I'll have tried ;-))
Usually, people come to me seeking tips on the academic job search in early fall. I don't mind offering tips any time of year, but I hate to say it: early fall is just a tad too late when doing a job search. So I'm posting this now in the hopes of helping people out a little sooner.
The academic job search is in a category all its own. Imagine, first of all, that every.single.job offered involves a nationwide search (in many cases, international search), and then imagine that this job search only happens once a year (that's right: one time per 12 months or you have to wait a year), and then finally imagine that each spot will most likely have over 50 applicants, but more probably over 100 applicants for the spot. With all that in your head, you're beginning to get a sense of the academic job search.
[You're thinking: there must be a caveat. Well, there is, somewhat: the above is for full-time, well-paid, generally tenure track positions. If you're just looking for a part-time temporary position, or adjuncting work (pay at $2500 or less per class per semester), those are usually offered (again, nationwide) between March and July - after people have said they're leaving to take new jobs elsewhere and institutions find themselves at loose ends trying to find someone to cover their fall classes.]
I've been on the job market three times and had countless first round interviews and eight second round interviews, and been on a few hiring committees myself, so I'm basing my tips on those experiences. (My mistakes, mostly.... ;-)) This post is about the pre-interview stage, where you have to write the cover letters, CVs, teaching philosophies, research statements, and whatever else the school might be looking for, in the hopes of getting an interview.
In a word: it's YOU, Academic (Cue those Dr. Oz books...). It's all about you at this stage. You're trying to showcase your best self (cue Oprah music). So what does that mean, practically?
1. Take a close look at the job ad. Is it focusing on research, teaching, or a little of both? If you can't tell, presume a focus on teaching as that's where most of the jobs are. If their focus is teaching, when writing your cover letter, you'll want to focus, therefore, on teaching as the second paragraph. I can't tell you how many times I've seen cover letters focus on the dissertation. Not a good strategy.
2. Take a close look at YOU in relation to the job ad. I know the job market is tight. I know that you're willing to take almost any job because it's a job. But watch my words here: it REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, won't help to apply for a job that you know is way out of your field. REALLY.
I cringe to think that I applied for a church history job in my first job-seeking round. I really am a theological ethicist but I wrote my dissertation using Augustine to comment on the contemporary theological scene. I milked that Augustine angle for all it was worth, but I'm just not a church historian. I never got a reply back from that school, wasted postage and time writing a dazzling (but apologetic) letter explaining why even though I had a PhD that said "theological ethics" I could teach church history.
Don't waste your time and money on that kind of thing. If it's a general position (includes the words "general" or "broad" or "multi-") then that might be worth your time, but if they're looking for someone that specific and you know it isn't you, don't do it.
3. Take a second look at the job ad in relation to YOU. On the other hand, there will be job ads you might pass over automatically because you think it isn't "you." Take a second look at those. There will be some jobs that don't at first look like good fits, or maybe the job ads are just too vague. In those cases, ask advisors and friends what they think about that position. It might be worth a look. My first real academic job was not one I initially thought I could apply for, but I am sure glad I did!
4. The mysteries of the "cover letter" revealed.... Fill in the blanks, amend as necessary for your particular skills...
Address
Date
Dear ____________
I am writing to apply for your job position that appeared in ________________. I am ABD/PhD candidate at _____________ studying ______________ with (name of professor). I believe I have the background and skills you are looking for.
Paragraph A. Teaching paragraph (unless this is a research position, in which case switch with Paragraph B) I notice that you are looking for someone with ______________ qualities and I see that your university/college has an emphasis on ____________. I believe I have qualities you seek because I have already taught ____________ classes. My students think I am awesome, based on my teaching evalutions. In fact, one student suggests in a course evaluation, "_______________." My particular strengths in teaching include, but are not limited to, entertaining lectures, fast, fun-filled debates, amazing discussions that include acting out parts of the readings, and tests that my students enjoy taking. I teach writing in the following way: _____________. I always ______________ when I teach because my students love it so much. I have certificates in teaching with technology, teaching gender, teaching diversity, teaching practical reasoning, teaching students to read, and I won the "Best Teaching Assistant Award" last year.
Paragraph B - the research paragraph: I notice that you are looking for someone who has __________ interests; I share many of those interests. My dissertation focuses on _____________. (Go on about your dissertation for no more than 2 sentences). I am also interested in ____________, ___________ and ________ and hope to ____________, which fits with your university mission in ___________ way. I have published articles in ______________ journals and won a research award last year so you won't be sorry you've hired someone who hasn't studied _______________.
I am enclosing my dossier and I look forward to discussing my application with you further. I will be at the _________ conference but you may also reach me at _____________.
Sincerely,
NB: I, of course, had very few of the "extra" qualifications suggested in this letter, but I did tailor each letter to the school and explain why I thought I'd be a good fit. That's really the most important thing: tell the school about you and why you think you're the one they need.
5. The mysteries of the "teaching philosophy" revealed.... Some schools ask for these and lots of applicants find them mysterious. Well, they are a bit mysterious, so here's a help:
Explore Lecture Write Create Guide Think Exasperate Listen Tell Funnyquote Discuss Weirdquestion Wastetime Analyze Mentor Empathize Sympathize Regurgitate Drinkcoffee
Circle the words that most appeal to you and then consider how your teaching fits (or not) with those words. Then write a 500-750 word essay that discusses your teaching using the words you circled.
* Seriously, the purpose of the teaching philosophy is let the committee get some sense of why you want to teach and what style of teaching you have. My own teaching philosophy started with "Funnyquote" and developed that theme, with a bit of "write" and "mentor" thrown in.
6. Research Statement - First of all, DO NOT wax poetic about your dissertation. Your research statement should give a sense of broad areas of research, and your next potential project in some detail. Of all the things you write for the job search, this one is the most fun because a) it's neat to dream and b) it's fun to look back on this later and discover that none of the things you mentioned actually resemble your future research.
And while we're here, let me reiterate that you SHOULD discuss your dissertation in your cover letter, but keep it brief (like two to three sentences - you can do it!) and then demonstrate how awesome you are because you have research interests beyond your dissertation. (You do, don't you?)
7. Don't lie on your CV. All joking aside, if your paper isn't published yet, but you've sent it for review, just say it's being reviewed. If you were a teaching assistant and not the main professor, say you were a TA. Don't falsely bulk up your CV just because you're worried you won't stand out. Those of us on the hiring committee well remember being graduate students trying to fit in to academia - and we're sympathetic to those beginning years. You just simply won't have the publications, teaching experience and service that older colleagues will and that's okay. Will it cost you an interview? Perhaps - some schools do like to have people with some teaching experience so someone who's taught their own class may well win out over someone who's "just" TA'd. Others may give an edge to someone with research experience. But not always, and not necessarily even usually. Sometimes the people who get the jobs are people who have no real time experience in either teaching or research, leaving you to scratch your head and wonder, "Why NOT me? I had this and this and this...."
8. Which leads me to the following statement (and this will not be the first time I say this...): Academic job searches are NOT rational, not ultimately. It will make sense why a committee will reject some candidates (only has a master's degree in music when we're looking for an ABD or PhD in history) but it will not make sense why the committee doesn't call YOU for an interview. Sometimes, you'll be surprised that they DID call.
To quote someone who once interviewed me: chalk it up to "academic voodoo." This is why, after you send off your application it is no longer really about YOU though you'll continue to need to put your best foot forward. There are all kinds of reasons why someone might or might not call for an interview, including lack of funding, departmental personalities, institutional personalities, inside candidates, lack of funding, sudden change of heart, institutional donors, how large a department is, what someone had for lunch that day, and lack of funding.
Special considerations for the women/moms out there: None at this stage, except to remind you that in this, as in all job searches, at the beginning stages you must pretend you have no family. In some fields, it helps that you're a woman (if your field is mostly male); in others, gender is a neutral thing.
Networking First Interview On Campus Interview Contract Rejections
I have been wanting to discuss job search tips (applicable to everyone but with some special considerations for moms on the job market) for a while now. When I wrote the post, though, it turned into an extremely long post no one would want to read. So, here for your reading enjoyment are shorter versions of that blog post (which people may ALSO not want to read, but at least I'll have tried ;-))
Usually, people come to me seeking tips on the academic job search in early fall. I don't mind offering tips any time of year, but I hate to say it: early fall is just a tad too late when doing a job search. So I'm posting this now in the hopes of helping people out a little sooner.
The academic job search is in a category all its own. Imagine, first of all, that every.single.job offered involves a nationwide search (in many cases, international search), and then imagine that this job search only happens once a year (that's right: one time per 12 months or you have to wait a year), and then finally imagine that each spot will most likely have over 50 applicants, but more probably over 100 applicants for the spot. With all that in your head, you're beginning to get a sense of the academic job search.
[You're thinking: there must be a caveat. Well, there is, somewhat: the above is for full-time, well-paid, generally tenure track positions. If you're just looking for a part-time temporary position, or adjuncting work (pay at $2500 or less per class per semester), those are usually offered (again, nationwide) between March and July - after people have said they're leaving to take new jobs elsewhere and institutions find themselves at loose ends trying to find someone to cover their fall classes.]
I've been on the job market three times and had countless first round interviews and eight second round interviews, and been on a few hiring committees myself, so I'm basing my tips on those experiences. (My mistakes, mostly.... ;-)) This post is about the pre-interview stage, where you have to write the cover letters, CVs, teaching philosophies, research statements, and whatever else the school might be looking for, in the hopes of getting an interview.
In a word: it's YOU, Academic (Cue those Dr. Oz books...). It's all about you at this stage. You're trying to showcase your best self (cue Oprah music). So what does that mean, practically?
1. Take a close look at the job ad. Is it focusing on research, teaching, or a little of both? If you can't tell, presume a focus on teaching as that's where most of the jobs are. If their focus is teaching, when writing your cover letter, you'll want to focus, therefore, on teaching as the second paragraph. I can't tell you how many times I've seen cover letters focus on the dissertation. Not a good strategy.
2. Take a close look at YOU in relation to the job ad. I know the job market is tight. I know that you're willing to take almost any job because it's a job. But watch my words here: it REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, won't help to apply for a job that you know is way out of your field. REALLY.
I cringe to think that I applied for a church history job in my first job-seeking round. I really am a theological ethicist but I wrote my dissertation using Augustine to comment on the contemporary theological scene. I milked that Augustine angle for all it was worth, but I'm just not a church historian. I never got a reply back from that school, wasted postage and time writing a dazzling (but apologetic) letter explaining why even though I had a PhD that said "theological ethics" I could teach church history.
Don't waste your time and money on that kind of thing. If it's a general position (includes the words "general" or "broad" or "multi-") then that might be worth your time, but if they're looking for someone that specific and you know it isn't you, don't do it.
3. Take a second look at the job ad in relation to YOU. On the other hand, there will be job ads you might pass over automatically because you think it isn't "you." Take a second look at those. There will be some jobs that don't at first look like good fits, or maybe the job ads are just too vague. In those cases, ask advisors and friends what they think about that position. It might be worth a look. My first real academic job was not one I initially thought I could apply for, but I am sure glad I did!
4. The mysteries of the "cover letter" revealed.... Fill in the blanks, amend as necessary for your particular skills...
Address
Date
Dear ____________
I am writing to apply for your job position that appeared in ________________. I am ABD/PhD candidate at _____________ studying ______________ with (name of professor). I believe I have the background and skills you are looking for.
Paragraph A. Teaching paragraph (unless this is a research position, in which case switch with Paragraph B) I notice that you are looking for someone with ______________ qualities and I see that your university/college has an emphasis on ____________. I believe I have qualities you seek because I have already taught ____________ classes. My students think I am awesome, based on my teaching evalutions. In fact, one student suggests in a course evaluation, "_______________." My particular strengths in teaching include, but are not limited to, entertaining lectures, fast, fun-filled debates, amazing discussions that include acting out parts of the readings, and tests that my students enjoy taking. I teach writing in the following way: _____________. I always ______________ when I teach because my students love it so much. I have certificates in teaching with technology, teaching gender, teaching diversity, teaching practical reasoning, teaching students to read, and I won the "Best Teaching Assistant Award" last year.
Paragraph B - the research paragraph: I notice that you are looking for someone who has __________ interests; I share many of those interests. My dissertation focuses on _____________. (Go on about your dissertation for no more than 2 sentences). I am also interested in ____________, ___________ and ________ and hope to ____________, which fits with your university mission in ___________ way. I have published articles in ______________ journals and won a research award last year so you won't be sorry you've hired someone who hasn't studied _______________.
I am enclosing my dossier and I look forward to discussing my application with you further. I will be at the _________ conference but you may also reach me at _____________.
Sincerely,
NB: I, of course, had very few of the "extra" qualifications suggested in this letter, but I did tailor each letter to the school and explain why I thought I'd be a good fit. That's really the most important thing: tell the school about you and why you think you're the one they need.
5. The mysteries of the "teaching philosophy" revealed.... Some schools ask for these and lots of applicants find them mysterious. Well, they are a bit mysterious, so here's a help:
Explore Lecture Write Create Guide Think Exasperate Listen Tell Funnyquote Discuss Weirdquestion Wastetime Analyze Mentor Empathize Sympathize Regurgitate Drinkcoffee
Circle the words that most appeal to you and then consider how your teaching fits (or not) with those words. Then write a 500-750 word essay that discusses your teaching using the words you circled.
* Seriously, the purpose of the teaching philosophy is let the committee get some sense of why you want to teach and what style of teaching you have. My own teaching philosophy started with "Funnyquote" and developed that theme, with a bit of "write" and "mentor" thrown in.
6. Research Statement - First of all, DO NOT wax poetic about your dissertation. Your research statement should give a sense of broad areas of research, and your next potential project in some detail. Of all the things you write for the job search, this one is the most fun because a) it's neat to dream and b) it's fun to look back on this later and discover that none of the things you mentioned actually resemble your future research.
And while we're here, let me reiterate that you SHOULD discuss your dissertation in your cover letter, but keep it brief (like two to three sentences - you can do it!) and then demonstrate how awesome you are because you have research interests beyond your dissertation. (You do, don't you?)
7. Don't lie on your CV. All joking aside, if your paper isn't published yet, but you've sent it for review, just say it's being reviewed. If you were a teaching assistant and not the main professor, say you were a TA. Don't falsely bulk up your CV just because you're worried you won't stand out. Those of us on the hiring committee well remember being graduate students trying to fit in to academia - and we're sympathetic to those beginning years. You just simply won't have the publications, teaching experience and service that older colleagues will and that's okay. Will it cost you an interview? Perhaps - some schools do like to have people with some teaching experience so someone who's taught their own class may well win out over someone who's "just" TA'd. Others may give an edge to someone with research experience. But not always, and not necessarily even usually. Sometimes the people who get the jobs are people who have no real time experience in either teaching or research, leaving you to scratch your head and wonder, "Why NOT me? I had this and this and this...."
8. Which leads me to the following statement (and this will not be the first time I say this...): Academic job searches are NOT rational, not ultimately. It will make sense why a committee will reject some candidates (only has a master's degree in music when we're looking for an ABD or PhD in history) but it will not make sense why the committee doesn't call YOU for an interview. Sometimes, you'll be surprised that they DID call.
To quote someone who once interviewed me: chalk it up to "academic voodoo." This is why, after you send off your application it is no longer really about YOU though you'll continue to need to put your best foot forward. There are all kinds of reasons why someone might or might not call for an interview, including lack of funding, departmental personalities, institutional personalities, inside candidates, lack of funding, sudden change of heart, institutional donors, how large a department is, what someone had for lunch that day, and lack of funding.
Special considerations for the women/moms out there: None at this stage, except to remind you that in this, as in all job searches, at the beginning stages you must pretend you have no family. In some fields, it helps that you're a woman (if your field is mostly male); in others, gender is a neutral thing.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Doing it all? Not a chance....
Sometimes I get asked for tips on how to do academia and the mommy thing. I am sure I'm not a great exemplar for this; I do not consider myself a "mommy" type. I do not go all googly eyed around babies, but still, I try to love my kids the best I can. Likewise, I am not the best researcher or thinker or teacher in my field; still, I love my students, and writing, and I love my job.
People sometimes call full time working and full time mommyhood "having it all." That is surely NOT what I'd call it. I think it is possible to be a mom and work (my own mother and mother-in-law both work out of the home and did so while raising kids) but I do not think we ought to think of having "both" as some kind of championship cup that has been won. That makes it seem like a) my life is too perfect; and b) that staying at home is a bad "choice." I work as a theologian because God has called me to that vocation; I also have a vocation as a mother. What it makes me is very busy.
I'd rather not play into the Mommy Wars here because it's a false dichotomy and it falsely implies choice, which is a pretty tricky concept. Some people do have more of a choice to do one or the other or both and some don't. And, I think the Mommy Wars idea tends to be an anti-woman thing anyway: as many scholars have pointed out, why don't men get called out about this?
I think we tend to have some fairly limited choices about what we do and where we go anyway. Some have more than others, but at any one point, life can throw you something that you didn't "choose" - the hearing loss, the kid with severe disabilities, the job loss. Some people have the blessing of being able to "choose" but many do not. Mothers are mothers, and we all have stuff to do. I think the phrase "bloom where you're planted" is the one I tend to go with in situations like these - because that does not imply choice, but it does imply making the most of where you are. For those who are more theologically minded, I'll just repeat the scripture I mentioned in a different blog post: by their fruits you will know them.
So with all these caveats in mind, a list on how to (kind of) survive academia and motherhood both, and this is probably not in order. Or to put it another way, all of these should be #1:
1. Have a supportive spouse, if at all possible. Actually, this is true, regardless of the academic piece of the equation. Do not have a spouse who either a) thinks that academia is just an "add on" to your "real" life of doing laundry, changing diapers and making dinner; or b) thinks that learning another language is just a bunch of hooey. "After all, no one speaks coptic anymore, do they?"
2. Don't worry about the house. Of all the things in your life that you've got going, a clean house is not the priority. In fact, take pride in the majestic nature of its messiness, as a testimony to where your priorities are (your kids, your reading, keeping food on the table and the electricity on). If you need permission to be messy, here it is!
If, like me, you just can't bring yourself to do the first tip, and you NEED to worry about cleanliness, check out a rotating chore list like the one at Motivated Moms. It states that it is for stay at home moms, but really, I find it very useful as a mom who works out of the house full time. It lists daily, weekly, and monthly chores incrementally, so that I am never doing an entire bathroom in one day, but just, say, scrubbing the bathtub. I cross off the ones I know I can't get to (like the time-consuming organization ones - have to wait for summer for that) and do the others. It takes me about 20-40 minutes each day. Very doable.
The best, best thing about it is that most of the chores are done during the weekdays, which means that the weekends are free for more family time and more reading time as necessary.
Even so, if a chore doesn't get done, I have had to adopt a "well, that chore will come around again" attitude. In other words, if I just can't get to vacuum a floor that night because a baby is screaming, so be it.
3. Take advantage of the academic calendar and rejoice in it. On the days you are off and your kids are likewise off from school, spend some time with them. Academia will try to tempt you into thinking that you must work on the "off days" as well because you've got to ___________ (fill in the blank: publish, grade, write a letter of recommendation, publish, grade).
Build in some time for that if you must, but also spend some time being a mom.
4. Surround yourself with a good community of people. You and your spouse can't "do it all" by yourselves (which is another problem with the phrase "doing it all). Marriage itself, to say nothing of kids, can't survive in a vacuum.
Surround yourselves with people who care about you, your kids, your spouse. These are the people with whom you know you have reciprocal relationships - the kind where you can call someone at 2 am, but where you are fully willing to reciprocate. Don't neglect the single friends in your lives as members of this all-important community. Hopefully, some of those people come from academia and understand academic life, too, but that is not as imperative as knowing that there's a community of support.
Tip #4 is especially important in academia, I should add, because the likelihood of finding an academic job anywhere close to family or friends you already have is miniscule. So building community is important.
5. In the interest of fostering #4, but also of developing the lives and interests of your kids and yourself: invite people over or out, for dinner, coffee, just to hang out. Do it as often as you feel up for it. Academics tend to be introverts as a group, so this may not get done as often as with other "types" but it's important. This is a chance not to be in the world of academic, to invite people "outside" the university. But this is also another one of those pluses in academia: there are always likely to be faculty, students or staff in need of an invite. No shortage of peopl ein academia.
This is just a general list - I'll post more later about specific academic job hunting and job keeping tips as a mom and academic. And all of you out there, academic or mom or not - have any tips to add regarding parenting and/or working out of the home?
People sometimes call full time working and full time mommyhood "having it all." That is surely NOT what I'd call it. I think it is possible to be a mom and work (my own mother and mother-in-law both work out of the home and did so while raising kids) but I do not think we ought to think of having "both" as some kind of championship cup that has been won. That makes it seem like a) my life is too perfect; and b) that staying at home is a bad "choice." I work as a theologian because God has called me to that vocation; I also have a vocation as a mother. What it makes me is very busy.
I'd rather not play into the Mommy Wars here because it's a false dichotomy and it falsely implies choice, which is a pretty tricky concept. Some people do have more of a choice to do one or the other or both and some don't. And, I think the Mommy Wars idea tends to be an anti-woman thing anyway: as many scholars have pointed out, why don't men get called out about this?
I think we tend to have some fairly limited choices about what we do and where we go anyway. Some have more than others, but at any one point, life can throw you something that you didn't "choose" - the hearing loss, the kid with severe disabilities, the job loss. Some people have the blessing of being able to "choose" but many do not. Mothers are mothers, and we all have stuff to do. I think the phrase "bloom where you're planted" is the one I tend to go with in situations like these - because that does not imply choice, but it does imply making the most of where you are. For those who are more theologically minded, I'll just repeat the scripture I mentioned in a different blog post: by their fruits you will know them.
So with all these caveats in mind, a list on how to (kind of) survive academia and motherhood both, and this is probably not in order. Or to put it another way, all of these should be #1:
1. Have a supportive spouse, if at all possible. Actually, this is true, regardless of the academic piece of the equation. Do not have a spouse who either a) thinks that academia is just an "add on" to your "real" life of doing laundry, changing diapers and making dinner; or b) thinks that learning another language is just a bunch of hooey. "After all, no one speaks coptic anymore, do they?"
2. Don't worry about the house. Of all the things in your life that you've got going, a clean house is not the priority. In fact, take pride in the majestic nature of its messiness, as a testimony to where your priorities are (your kids, your reading, keeping food on the table and the electricity on). If you need permission to be messy, here it is!
If, like me, you just can't bring yourself to do the first tip, and you NEED to worry about cleanliness, check out a rotating chore list like the one at Motivated Moms. It states that it is for stay at home moms, but really, I find it very useful as a mom who works out of the house full time. It lists daily, weekly, and monthly chores incrementally, so that I am never doing an entire bathroom in one day, but just, say, scrubbing the bathtub. I cross off the ones I know I can't get to (like the time-consuming organization ones - have to wait for summer for that) and do the others. It takes me about 20-40 minutes each day. Very doable.
The best, best thing about it is that most of the chores are done during the weekdays, which means that the weekends are free for more family time and more reading time as necessary.
Even so, if a chore doesn't get done, I have had to adopt a "well, that chore will come around again" attitude. In other words, if I just can't get to vacuum a floor that night because a baby is screaming, so be it.
3. Take advantage of the academic calendar and rejoice in it. On the days you are off and your kids are likewise off from school, spend some time with them. Academia will try to tempt you into thinking that you must work on the "off days" as well because you've got to ___________ (fill in the blank: publish, grade, write a letter of recommendation, publish, grade).
Build in some time for that if you must, but also spend some time being a mom.
4. Surround yourself with a good community of people. You and your spouse can't "do it all" by yourselves (which is another problem with the phrase "doing it all). Marriage itself, to say nothing of kids, can't survive in a vacuum.
Surround yourselves with people who care about you, your kids, your spouse. These are the people with whom you know you have reciprocal relationships - the kind where you can call someone at 2 am, but where you are fully willing to reciprocate. Don't neglect the single friends in your lives as members of this all-important community. Hopefully, some of those people come from academia and understand academic life, too, but that is not as imperative as knowing that there's a community of support.
Tip #4 is especially important in academia, I should add, because the likelihood of finding an academic job anywhere close to family or friends you already have is miniscule. So building community is important.
5. In the interest of fostering #4, but also of developing the lives and interests of your kids and yourself: invite people over or out, for dinner, coffee, just to hang out. Do it as often as you feel up for it. Academics tend to be introverts as a group, so this may not get done as often as with other "types" but it's important. This is a chance not to be in the world of academic, to invite people "outside" the university. But this is also another one of those pluses in academia: there are always likely to be faculty, students or staff in need of an invite. No shortage of peopl ein academia.
This is just a general list - I'll post more later about specific academic job hunting and job keeping tips as a mom and academic. And all of you out there, academic or mom or not - have any tips to add regarding parenting and/or working out of the home?
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