Given a sudden uptick in searches for job market postings, I thought it might be wise to dig this up and locate it front and center. The text below is pilfered from my 2009 edition of the same name, but I hope most of the information will still apply. Though the academic landscape is a-changing, it hasn’t gone so far as to make these basics obsolete.
If you’ve stumbled upon these posts for the first time, please know that they represent a) one person’s perspective, a perspective informed by a few go-rounds on the market as a job seeker and a few as a member of sundry search committees, and b) they were originally written at a time (2008-09) when the job market was unusually unkind. The coming year seems slightly kinder, though much will depend, as always, on your specialization and ambitions.
The string of posts corresponds approximately to the contours of the long search season–the first offers some preliminary thoughts, and the last offers some recommendations on handling the aftermath. I’ve fielded occasional questions in the comments section, and I’ve embedded some links that may lead you to other resources you can use. (The links should be updated; my apologies for any errors or omissions.)
- Part I (preparatory overview)
- Part II (one search committee member’s point of view)
- Part III (recommendations for the cover letter)
- Part IV (the curriculum vitae)
- Part V (more search committee insights)
- Part VI (the MLA interview)
- Part VII (the MLA aftermath)
- Part VIII (the campus visit in general)
- Part IX (the teaching presentation)
- Part X (the research presentation)
- Part XI (negotiation)
- Part XII (at search season’s end)
- Addendum (a few stray thoughts on the 2008-09 search season)
- Various and Sundry (notes on search term queries)
I hope that makes life a bit easier on the keyword searchers. Also be sure to visit the English Literature Job Search Wiki, but be forewarned: more than a few folks have noted that the wiki experience can be a little obsessive, a little addictive.
It goes without saying that you’ll want to pay weekly visits to the MLA Job Information List (which should punt you over to ade.org; the season officially opened a few weeks ago), and don’t forget to keep tabs on the list over at The Chronicle of Higher Education, which often features gigs that go unadvertised on the MLA site.
Good luck in your searches; here’s to hoping this year will be friskier than the last.
