The Meat (not meet) Market

Breathe in.

Breath out.

Now I can.

This round is over. (I hope I’ve made to the next round for some places!)

Indeed, I had all of my interviews today. It’s nice because this way I can return home tomorrow, and tomorrow morning I can focus on some class prep for next week! (Egads, I am behind where I like to be on that!)

How’d it go? Well, Monday afternoon after the first one, I wanted to vomit. No, seriously. I wanted to vomit. But I didn’t feel like that once today! (And fortunately, I didn’t vomit on anyone either, like we heard (in the candidates’ workshop, held yesterday) another candidate had done a couple of years ago. Ouch.)

Indeed, the experience Monday was fundamental in my feeling prepared today. I had great discussions about all three of my current scholarly pursuits, about teaching, about faculties, etc. And I was me. No—as recommended to us yesterday, I was the best me I could be . . . for thirty minutes at a time. :-)

Where do I go from here? Back to the waiting game. Yes, now I must wait to see if any of the schools I spoke to will call me for the campus interview. (Where I must be the best me I can be for a day-and-a-half.) What are my chances? Well, like I said, I think the interviews went well. And so, I’ve done all I can. But it will completely depend on who else they talked to who have teaching interests similar to my own and if that other person (or people) bring more to the table.

We heard yesterday too that we should keep in mind that’s part of the deal: some years, many schools are hiring for things you teach or want to teach, and the next year, maybe not. In other words, we were told that even without success this year, don’t give up. After all, the message was more about the fact that everyone in the room had interviews. On paper, we made it. We had the necessary credentials (at least in the eyes of some committees). Now it was a matter of finding the right fit, and sometimes that takes time. How great was it we were here? Well, close to 1000 people threw their hats into the ring to apply for spots. And the word was that many of those folks were not invited to make the trip here.

No, I have no idea when I’ll hear anything—positive or negative. For now, it’s back to teaching and some intensive work on what will be my job talk at any place that invites me to visit.

Actually, for now, it’s a glass of wine and some room service. :-)

Oh -- and Breathe.