David Hamilton Golland

Three years ago my friend Joe Sramek defended, went on the job market with over 100 applications, had about a dozen interviews at the 2007 Atlanta AHA (and turned down a few more that he couldn't find time for), had three on-campus interviews, and was offered and accepted one tenure-track job. He was both lucky and talented. Since then, as you know (unless you've been blissfully nose-deep in the books these past few years, which is entirely possible), we've entered the worst academic market possibly since the Middle Ages—but definitely since the 1970s. Under these circumstances, it’s very difficult to hold ourselves up to Joe’s standard. Having just completed a year on that market with very different results, my advice may prove useful to grad students who will be defending in the next year or two.

First, to parallel Joe's story, let me tell you about my year. I went on the market with over 100 applications. I had two telephone interviews for tenure-track jobs and two local campus interviews for replacement faculty jobs (in my case, CUNY full-time substitute positions) and had exactly zero interviews at the 2010 San Diego AHA (although I enjoyed attending panels in the balmy weather). I was also placed on a pre-interview shortlist for one tenure-track job but didn’t make the interview cut. All four of the preliminary interviews resulted in second-round on-campus interviews. One of the tenure-track jobs resulted in a rejection; the other ended in a cancelled search (for administrative reasons; I’ve been encouraged to re-apply next month when the search is reopened). I was offered both replacement jobs. I still don't have a tenure-track job, but under the circumstances it was a successful year. I am a full-time faculty member with a full-time salary and summers off—and the opportunity to try again.

Some will advise you not to go on the market the semester you defend. Others will say you won't get a tenure-track job in this market without a current replacement job and a book contract. I say you should apply for anything and everything for which you are qualified. Serendipity, synchronicity, and dumb luck are incredibly important and underrated factors—and completely beyond your control. But if you don't apply, you definitely won't have a shot. The financial outlay is minimal—the cost of postage for those departments that are still using snail mail, and the cost of Interfolio dossier service. The energy outlay, however, is significant. Be prepared for 8-12 hours per week in the fall, and 1-2 hours per week in the spring—not counting interviews. The more you do in advance, the easier the individual applications will be.

Use Interfolio dossier service. Do you really want to bother your referees for every application? Get three trusted faculty members to write strong anonymous letters of reference, and have them upload them to your Interfolio account. You should also order a copy of your doctoral transcript to be sent to Interfolio. Once your dossier is complete, you can order Interfolio to send the documents in any combination—by e-mail or post—directly to each search committee. Interfolio will send your documents for $6 per application. You can also upload your CV to Interfolio, but I don’t recommend that, because you’ll want to change your CV too often for the service to be useful.

Some more documents you’ll need, in varying combinations, for most applications: A research agenda (what you plan to do with your dissertation, and what you’re thinking about doing next); a research philosophy (how you approach the task); a teaching philosophy (ditto); three writing samples (a full chapter, a truncated chapter, and something 2-3 pages long--like a book review); your dissertation table of contents as a separate file; sample syllabi (from courses you’ve already taught as well as for 2-3 courses you’d like to teach as electives); and your teaching evaluations (scan your copies and combine them into a single document). If you plan to apply for post-docs, you should prepare a research proposal. And if you plan to apply for public history jobs with the federal government and are a military veteran, scan your DD-214.

And then there’s the cover letter. I have five draft versions and I still tailor them for each application (beyond de rigueur address and date changes). My main cover letter is for research universities. Then I have one for small colleges and community colleges; one for replacement jobs; and one for replacement jobs at small or community colleges. (Small and community colleges prize teaching flexibility—if you’ve taught in your minor or in other disciplines that’s a plus—and replacement searches usually aren’t looking for a permanent colleague). Finally, I have a cover letter for post-docs (sometimes they require it). The cover letters for jobs should include a section on your scholarship and a section on your teaching. I put scholarship first for the big colleges and teaching first for the small colleges. But read the call for applications carefully and add or subtract based on what each search committee wants.

Check out these three articles: “How to Make Your Application Stand Out,” by Rob Jenkins (Chronicle of Higher Education, November 23, 2009); “Dodging the Anvil,” by Thomas H. Benton (Chronicle of Higher Education, January 4, 2010); and “Subtle Cues Can Tell an Interviewer ‘Pick Me,’” by Phyllis Korkki (New York Times, September 13, 2009).

The fall is application season, with deadlines usually beginning on October 1 but sometimes stretching into late December. During the late fall telephone interviews begin, and most primary interviews are conducted in the early winter, often at the AHA. In the late winter and early spring there will be on-campus interviews and applications for late searches and replacement jobs (these are called substitutes at CUNY and visiting professors elsewhere). Don’t give these short shrift; until you have a job offer, you should remain actively on the market, and being a replacement is far better than adjuncting.

Where are the jobs listed? Once a week I check historians.org, H-Net, and CUNYFirst. And tell the office administrator to keep you on the grad student listserv--it's how I first heard about all my actual jobs except my current one.

Lastly, don’t forget to keep up with your scholarship. Your break after your defense should be no longer than twice the length of the break you took after your orals. Get to work on your book proposal. There’s no better way to cheer yourself in a horrible job market than with the news of a book contract (and it’s helpful in landing those jobs, too)!