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Self Assessment-Know ThyselfJob Search Advice.Home Page | Reading the Job Ad › Be honest with yourself. Know what kinds of things you realistically can do, and cannot do. Know what courses you can reasonably and effectively teach, and which would be a real ordeal for you. Be honest about your publishing trajectory; compare your plans for publishing with the teaching/administrative load at the schools you are thinking of applying to. Know where you want to live, and where you wouldn’t want to live. I you have a spouse, life partner, and/or children, find out where they would be willing to live. [S]elf knowledge is one of the keys to going out on the market. The candidate should really reflect upon what kind of school (in what part(s) of the country) she or he is willing to work in: is teaching the graduate seminar very important? a variety of undergrad writing courses? etc…etc. If at all possible, one should apply to places where one would actually like to work. I was glad to see the link about the financial costs of the job search; I once tried to make that argument in an advice session with senior and junior grad students, and the faculty facilitator cast aspersions on my expense totals. Hmph. Be realistic and clear off that credit card. You need to know who you are. comp/rhet types and tech comm types come in many shapes, forms, and sizes. Unless your graduates know how they want to position themselves in the market, they won’t be able to see the sub-texts in the job ads. Just because the ad says they want a tech comm or professional writing type, doesn’t mean that ad is suitable for every student. My best friend from grad school, who graduated from the same program, and I went on the market the same year and only applied at 2 of the same schools. This suggestion may sound obvious, but it was the best advice I was ever given. |