Applying for jobs (a special re-issue)

and being kind to yourself

Hello darlings –

Are you ready to kick ass this week? Let’s do it!

So, it’s time for the political science job market. That’s both exciting and terrifying. Lots of you have asked for an MHAWS about the job market and I’ve been a bit reluctant to write one because what the fuck do I know? Ah hell. Here’s my best shot from last year, with some updates. Don’t want my advice? GREAT. I wouldn’t want my advice either! Here’s Paul Musgrave’s advice. Or a great handout from some UT grads, written while they were on the market. Or the Duck of Minerva!

For those hiring:

Yo! Are you on a hiring committee this year? Can you think about ways to make the hiring process less miserable for the people you are trying to hire? Can you a) be incredibly transparent about the process, b) notify people of their progression through the process, c) give as much information as possible to people about what items are up for negotiation, and d) decide to not do things that make everyone miserable?

Concrete suggestions:

- give people zoom questions in advance. - tell people as much of their schedule as quickly as possible. It is okay if there are changes later! - give people a one-pager on what they can negotiate for in your department or school (here’s a link to a mildly redacted one I did for Tulane last year). - give people heads ups about weird shit in your department so they don’t take it personally (is there someone who falls asleep in EVERY talk? the candidate won’t know it wasn’t THEIR FAULT OH GOD I FAILED so please tell them). - follow up after the visit with any information you think might be useful.

For candidates:

The job market can be really fucking demoralizing. In political science, we have somehow landed on a structure of hiring that is both a colossal fucking waste of everyone’s time and is as cruel as possible. We have done nothing as a discipline to collectively combat the adjunctification of our teaching, nor do we seem to care collectively about the racism, sexism, and elitism that permeates every piece of the hiring process. Below are very individual solutions to these very collective problems.

Here are some small tips on how to negotiate the political science market:

Nothing about the job market is about merit or worth

If you get your dream job – that’s amazing. Good for you. If you don’t, you are still amazing. Nothing about this process is designed to actually hire the best fit for the position. Nothing is about merit. Academia is not a fucking meritocracy and the job market is a prime example of that.

Treat the job market and applications like an actual job with a fixed number of hours

It is possible to spend every minute of your life on job market materials and research. It is also possible to get overwhelmed and spend no time at all on it because it is all a cluster fuck of chaos. Pick something in the middle. Specifically, block out a max amount of time you will spend on job market materials, prioritize your important tasks (see below), and then stop working on shit when you get to your max number of hours

Have a real life

You know what I’m going to say. Take nights off. Weekends away. Keep up with exercising. Watch amazing videos on the internet. Work on your strange ass hobbies. Be a real human being.

Ask for help

Do not do this alone! Ask people on the market last year for their materials. Have your advisors and friends and family members read your cover letters. DO NOT write a teaching philosophy from scratch (honestly, who has a philosophy of something that you have probably only done rarely). If you don’t know what a job talk looks like in the field, subfield, or department, ask people if they will send you their slides. Ask friends, family, and pets to watch your job talks. It is hard to ask for help but it is harder to fail like a loser. Don’t be a loser. (And then pay the help forward later on!)

Prioritize what is important (and know what is important)

When you are considering how to spend your time and resources, it is also important to remember that your preferences matter. It is fine to have geographic parameters on where you apply. Yes, it is fine if you don’t want to work in a particular state that limits your bodily autonomy (hi from Louisiana Texas). It is okay to not want to live in a big city or in a small town or in a place where you can’t actually afford to live. This is a job, not a life. Put yourself first.

Once you have an idea of what jobs are actually interesting to you, consider coding them by your fit, interest, and the work associated with the job. Sort by those values and you now have a list of the jobs that are the highest priority to lowest priority. Next step is to consider the ways that those generic materials can be tailored to jobs. Use your priority list and focus your available time each week on the applications that are high priority and due soon.

You are super smart

Remember? You should. The job market has nothing to do with that.

Read the job ads

Sometimes job ads are total bullshit. But sometimes they aren’t! Hiring committees that are applying (sometimes sketch) DEI- and gender-equity best practices often use rubrics based on the job ad itself. The key questions that I would ask are: is this an ad for a ‘best athlete’ (aka we just want someone who studies POLITICAL SCIENCE) or is it more specific? If it has specific requirements in the ad, then consider the ways that you might tailor your cover letter or materials to specifically address the job ad. I would only do this for high-priority jobs.

Ask questions!

If someone on a hiring committee says they would love to talk to people about the job, then make an appointment to talk to them! People don’t offer if they aren’t serious. If you know someone in the department, talk to them! If your academic cousin (your advisors’ coauthors’ advisees. it works. look it up), real cousins, summer-camp-from-2002-kissing-cousin is in the department, ASK THEM QUESTIONS. This is especially important if you get an interview!! Some questions might be: Can you tell me about teaching at University X?; The job ad says X, do you know anything about why that’s in there? What kinds of service do junior people do in your department? What is the collaborative culture like? What are the broad expectations for tenure? Is there anything I should be careful about in my interview? What is the best bar that’s close to campus but far enough away that students don’t go to it? (Henry’s or Carrollton Station would be my answer in New Orleans. I am still exploring Houston.)

When (not if! positive thinking, folks) you get an interview, think about the questions you will want to ask and the questions you will be asked. Sara Mitchell has some questions on her website.

Be kind

Be kind to other people on the market. Be kind to office staff helping you apply or schedule interviews or get money back. Be kind to yourself. Part of being kind to yourself is remembering that whatever happens in the job market, it is not an indication that you yourself are a failure. Remember what Anne Galloway says: “We are all smart. Distinguish yourself by being kind.” Also, when you get that job, remember that your nemesis hates it.

Good luck my bbs!

XOXOX

Mirya