Subterranean Job Search Blues

There are a couple of things that prompted me to write this post. First, of course, are my own recent experiences with being a job candidate (which I will reference only in the most general of terms, as to do otherwise would be unseemly and unprofessional). Second, I have a very dear friend who is finishing up her Ph.D. and who is on the market for the first time, and she and I have commiserated on more than one occasion about how frustrating (and, at times, bewildering) the academic hiring process can be. Finally, as we recently discussed on this very blog, many people are unfamiliar with what it is, precisely, that criminologists do. I'd argue that the same is true of the academic job search: unless you've been through it, it is hard to fully appreciate just how unique a beast it is.

After thinking it over for some time, I decided that there are several key ways in which the academic job search differs from other types of hiring processes. They are as follows:

1. "The Hiring Season"

The first defining feature of the academic job search is that, with a few exceptions, candidates are interviewed and tenure track positions are filled during one hiring season (roughly from October to March or so), after which job opportunities tend to dry up until the following year's hiring season begins. Of course, there are important exceptions, as I noted: unexpected departmental funding or faculty departures may initiate a search during the spring or summer months, for example, especially if a January start date is possible. Research, data analyst, or other non-tenure track positions also may be filled throughout the year. But, generally speaking, tenure track positions typically are filled during the fall-to-spring hiring season, which means that a candidate who does not receive (or accept) an offer during that time likely will have to wait until the following year to apply for a new batch of positions. It's not as simple as just waiting a few months to see if more jobs become available, as in other types of job searches.

2. "At The Mercy of the Market"

Clearly, it is true in all types of job searches in all types of fields that candidates are at the mercy of the market -- if there are few jobs available, then few people will be hired. But this is especially true, I think, in the academic job search. For example, I am often asked, "Where do you want to work?" or "What area do you want to relocate to?" This is such a difficult question to answer. I usually end up saying, "It depends" -- and it really does. I mean, it may be possible to identify the type of university or the type of department one wishes to work at (e.g., a large, Research-I school or small teaching college; a department with an x/x teaching load, etc.), but that only goes as far as the jobs that are available given one's research focus. So, let's say that I study circus-related crimes, and my dissertation examines intra-acrobat violence. It's all well and good that I know the type of department I'd like to work in, but the only thing that really matters is which departments are advertising positions for circus-crime scholars. Same goes for geographic region: if I desperately want to work in the southwest because it's home for me and I love the heat -- it's not, and I don't -- that matters little if no universities in that region are hiring for a circus-crime position.

Obviously the circus thing is an absurd example, but there's an element of truth to it. Whereas criminologists who study generalist (or "bread and butter") issues may have a broader array of job options from which to choose, scholars with narrower or niche research interests likely do not, hence the whole "it depends" thing.

3. "Incommunicado"

I don't want to over-generalize here, but I think it is safe to say that in few other hiring markets is it commonplace to wait five or six months after submitting one's application to receive any word from the prospective employer. This one really baffles relatives and friends who inquire about my job search:

"So, have you heard back from Ben & Jerry's University yet?"
"Nope, not yet."
"Wait, didn't you apply in, like, October?"
"Uh huh."
"But it's April."
"I know."
"So when are going to hear something?"
"I don't know."
"Well, can't you call them and ask?"
"No."
"What?! Why not?"
"Because you just don't. You don't call unless you have an offer from somewhere else."
"That's so weird."
"I know."

The other unusual thing is that not hearing back from a university for several months after you have applied does not necessarily indicate that you are out of the running, so to speak. Bureaucratic snags, search committee SNAFUs, and other unpredictable circumstances sometimes cause long delays between application deadlines and the commencement of candidate interviews. You just never know.

4. "Things Over Which You Have No Control
(Or, How Does Anyone Ever Get Hired?!)"

Finally, I have learned from my own experiences as a search committee member and as a candidate, and from the experiences of friends and colleagues who have participated in the academic job search both as candidates and faculty members, that there are many, many forces driving the hiring process over which candidates have zero control. Of course, this is true in other fields as well, and I do not mean to suggest that academics have sole claim to idiosyncratic job searches. But, I think one important distinction is that in academia, a faculty of a dozen or so people often select which candidate will receive the job offer, rather than one or a few people as in corporate hirings. Really, with all of the diverse perspectives, expectations, assumptions, and impressions in any given faculty, it's a wonder that any consensus is ever reached! And there are so many factors beyond a candidate's control that can influence the offer decision: the type and number of a department's teaching needs, the academic pedigree or reputation of a candidate's dissertation chair or major professor, the content of a candidate's letters of recommendation, the opinions of various faculty members about what is "most needed" or who is "most qualified" -- the list goes on and on. As a candidate, you can only have ownership of your credentials, experience, preparation, and the manner in which you represent yourself during the interview -- the rest is out of your hands.

So, what do you think? Are my observations correct, or do you have a different view of things? Anyone care to share (without discussing specifics, of course) their experiences with the academic job search, either as a candidate or a faculty member?

P.S. While I was searching the web for images of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" to use above, I came across this sweet site where I created the following video -- enjoy!