May I Have This Dance?

It's official---I'm a part of the Fall 2007 faculty recruitment with the American Assoc. of Law Schools. I'm going to the Dance.

It's a long process, but it's a good system. And it's all about getting that coveted job in the Academy.

In August, if you're on your toes, the dance begins. Anyone who wants to participate fills out the online Faculty Appointments Register form, uploads a resume, and pays the fee. (How much? Well, it's significant, to me. I don't have to make a car payment until September, and good thing; the fee is a little more than my monthly car payment!). The deadline this year was August 3. And on August 13, the first round of candidates' information gets distributed.

I've received confirmation about the dates this year; the one-page FAR forms that each interested candidate completed will be sent to all schools on August 13 for the first round. (If you miss the first round, there are two more distributions---in September and October. No worries; I made the first round.) In all, we're talking hundreds of candidates. (I try not to think of that too much.) Once those one-pagers are sent out, recruitment commitee members sort through those forms---sometimes very quickly---looking for candidates that might match their needs.

And so, for now, I wait for that distribution and the sorting. In all reality, when the distribution happens, faculty members are enjoying their last fews days of summer before finishing up their syllibi for the fall, attending those first faculty meetings, then being busy with the first week or so of classes---getting back into the swing of things. And some schools do not start for another three weeks. (I begin in two.) And some committees will put off going through the forms---standard procrastination. And so yes, it might be a little while before my phone rings.

But in the meantime, I will receive online access to the Placement Bulletin---also a part of my registration with the FAR. That publication lists all available positions. And yes, we're talking about positions that will begin in August 2008.

But hopefully, some calls will come in, and I'll schedule some interviews for the conference---the big dance. The conference will be the last weekend in October in DC. And it's essentially back-to-back interviews for everyone---the committees and the candidates.

Here's to hoping that my dance card is decently full! :-)