Going on a HUNT

A Job Hunt!

I know in my last post I said I would be doing my next post on duty calls, but with hiring conferences going on, I figured I would do a post about job searching.  I have experienced job searching first hand from the first job hunt while still in grad school to job hunting for a different, possibly bigger and better position.  I have picked up some tidbits on the way.

First time searchers might feel overwhelmed by all the possibilities and all the interviews.  The best thing to do is make sure you have an open mind.  Don't expect that your dream job at your dream school will be there waiting for you to apply.  If it is there waiting for you, expect that you won't  be the only one applying.  Have back up plans.  First off you need to have an open mind about where you are looking for a job.  If you have a specific place you want to move to realize that there might be limited options so have alternative locations you wouldn't mind moving too.  If you were like Casey and didn't really have a preference of where you want to move, know what kind of position you are looking for and perhaps even narrow it down to the size of school.  Do you want to be a little fish in a big pond, or maybe a smaller school where the department you are working in will be smaller?  Like I said make sure you know what you are looking for in a position and in a school in order to know what positions you would like to apply for.

Also what can be overwhelming to a first time searcher is the amount of interviews you will probably engage in while you are searching.  When you attend a hiring conference it's very easy to stack your day full of interviews.  Casey went to a hiring conference and his interview card was full.  Make sure you apply and try and get interviews for the schools and positions that are on the top of your list if they are in attendance.  Wouldn't hurt to have a few back up interviews.  Don't stretch yourself too thin that you are over stressed and that you cannot function from one interview to another.  Make sure you leave time to prep for each interview because if you don't have time to review each school you might go into an interview feeling overwhelmed and under prepared.  Also you don't have to thin out your interviews so much that you leave the conference not feeling like you had a productive time.  This same goes for doing traditional phone interviews outside of a conference.  Don't stack them all in one day or back to back.  It's very easy to get carried away with interviews, especially if you worry about not finding a job.  In the same turn it's also easy to feel very confident about getting a position that you won't have enough options just in case the one you really want falls through.

Expect to spend some money.  Job searching doesn't come free.  Depending on your school you might have to foot some of the bill for attending conferences.  Also depending on the school you will be interviewing at you may need to foot the bill for on campus interviews.  Yes, you will most likely have to go on at least one campus interview.  Especially in the field of higher ed they will expect to bring the top two or three candidates to campus for in person interviews.  Depending on what position and how high it is in the department will depend on the amount of compensation given for campus interviews.  So that is one thing you will have to take into consideration when accepting a campus interview.  If you weren't impressed or feel like that job is right for you based on a phone interview then consider if your money would be well spent going on a campus interview.  Depending on how you do your taxes you might be able to claim some of it on there, but like I said that depends on how the taxes are done.  I know moving expenses for a job can be claimed on taxes if the new place doesn't cover it, but that's a whole other story.  If you are gonna fly make sure you price out airlines and several airports especially if you live within a reasonable distance to more then one airport.  Flying out of the closest airport  might not be the cheapest option, so do your research on flights before accepting a campus interview if you have the time before accepting the interview.

Research is another important to do with interview.  Researching the job, the department you will be entering into, the school you would be at, the town you will be living in, the surrounding area.  If something doesn't jive with you about any of that, that might be a red flag and maybe pass.  You have to like the job, like the school and like the area.  There will always be both pro and cons to every position, department, school and town, so don't feel like you have to search for the perfect of everything, because honestly there isn't a perfect of everything.  Just so about your researching the area this way.  Could you see yourself spending a few years in that same place.  If the answer is yes, it's probably a good idea to apply.  If you cannot see yourself in the position for more then one year maybe pass on it.  Take your time to learn as much as you can about the place.  It will also help you in the interview if you research the school.  Interviewers will ask if you have any questions and that would be a good time to ask questions you have about the department that you may have stubbled across while you were looking into their department and school.

You may also need to take into consideration other people.  When Casey first started his job search we were living together and wanted to continue to do so, so on his list of things a school needed to have was a domestic partner policy.  We were lucky that he was able to find a place that allowed couples to live together without being married.  Obviously we did end up getting married, but having a place that allowed us to live together before being married was really nice.  Then once we were married and started our family our moves had to take into consideration our growing family.  The place not only had to work for us but also for our children.  Now obviously most first time searchers will not have family to move with them, but maybe that is something down the road you will have to consider.  As you get further and further along in your career the more and more things you will have to take into account when it comes to job searching.

For all of you out there searching right now, especially those who are on their first job search, relax and know that you will find a great place for you and a great place to help get you on the career path you hope to be on.  I hope some of what I wrote was helpful and feel free to post comments if you have any questions.  I wouldn't mind sharing some more insights from my role in the res ed job hunting.  So to all of you job hunting right now, take a deep breath, relax, research and don't get discouraged you will find a job that is good for you.

Good Luck going on a job hunt!