Interviewing in Academia
It's been awhile since I've been on here. I have an excuse! I've been applying for full time teaching positions. Imagine that. I go from full time adjunct to a hopeful full time professor. Don't worry, I'm not the first or the last adjunct to take this position. I mean that is what we want, a full time position . . right? To all of you who are taking on this path, I have some recommendations for you, especially if you are a foriegn language teacher. Here goes . . .
1. Be willing to relocate. Unless you live in a state with a high university ratio (New York, California, Pennsylvania) a move may be in your future. In this uncertain time you have to be willing to move where the jobs are because they certainly are not moving to you!
2. Research how to write the letter of presentation/interest. I did, and I've read some pretty funny things. I read an essay from a faculty member who was on a search committee. She commented that applicants made such errors as addressing the letter to the wrong university, leaving out the date, including misspelled words and leaving out major qualifications that would make them stand out amongst their peers. Proofread your work people!
3. Be well rounded. It is an employer's market. Universities want a 2-1 type of deal. In foreign language terms this means, two languages from one professor. Look at your language of interest. Can you pick up one of its siblings to be able to teach lower level classes in that second language? For example, if one of your languages is a Romance language, it should be easier to pick up French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or Romanian. If you want to stay closer to English, try Latin, Greek or German. If you don't want to pick up another language, try getting a specialization in English. You'll be treated as an adjunct with full time pay. Everytime they have a need to form an extra class, they'll give it to you. Of course the con of this is that you won't be able to stay 'pure' in your language, but look at the bright side, you'll have a job! You can also study linguistics, or teaching English as a second language. Be prepared to teach those classes!
4. Get teaching experience. If you don't have it, get some. Tutor and work as an adjunct (spearingly) to get the experience. Many announcements ask for two years post secondary experience. If you can't get on to the local college, work at the high school level (try private first) or give community college non credit courses in your area. These are great because you are still the teacher of record, and you can teach your language of interest and get paid for it. Look up online classes in foreign languages. More and more colleges are putting their classes online and looking for adjuncts to teach. This would be great because schools are asking for technology experience and this would make you more desirable. Bottom line, be creative and think outside the box!
5. Think about the people who can write you letters of recommendation. It is important that you look for people who can comment on your teaching style. Adult students can even write about their experiences in your classroom. So once again, if you don't have teaching experience, get some. Ask your dean or someone else in your department to come into your classroom and watch you teach! Make sure they have good things to say!
6. Set up an automatic job search. There are three basic websites that publisize college job opportunities they are The Chronicle, HigherEdJobs and Inside Higher Ed. Set up automatic job searches therefore you won't miss a good job match. You can set up the teaching areas you want, the location and the type (administrative, faculty, etc.)
7. Present at your local language organization. This is a perfect way to get your name out there. You will find out that the people who make decisions at the college level run in the same circles. Conferences are the best way to meet them. Get out there and share your information. You can present your findings based on your master's degree thesis or things you are doing in the classroom.
8. Don't go at it alone. Teaching can be so individualistic. There are other people who are doing the same as you. Get a support group. Depending on where you are looking, it might be better if you weren't in the same field! Visit your local college and talk to students who make up the Graduate Student Association. Plenty of them are on the hunt too!
9. Take a night off. Like any job search, this one can be stressful. Choose a day where you won't focus on jobs. It will help your sanity .. trust me!
10. Make a teaching portfolio. If you make it to the interview stage, you should always have teaching portfolio. Include your teaching philosophy, syllabi, projects, examples of student work, observations and any other information that allows them to "see" your teaching style. I've had to "teach" a class during an interview before so BE PREPARED!
1. Be willing to relocate. Unless you live in a state with a high university ratio (New York, California, Pennsylvania) a move may be in your future. In this uncertain time you have to be willing to move where the jobs are because they certainly are not moving to you!
2. Research how to write the letter of presentation/interest. I did, and I've read some pretty funny things. I read an essay from a faculty member who was on a search committee. She commented that applicants made such errors as addressing the letter to the wrong university, leaving out the date, including misspelled words and leaving out major qualifications that would make them stand out amongst their peers. Proofread your work people!
3. Be well rounded. It is an employer's market. Universities want a 2-1 type of deal. In foreign language terms this means, two languages from one professor. Look at your language of interest. Can you pick up one of its siblings to be able to teach lower level classes in that second language? For example, if one of your languages is a Romance language, it should be easier to pick up French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or Romanian. If you want to stay closer to English, try Latin, Greek or German. If you don't want to pick up another language, try getting a specialization in English. You'll be treated as an adjunct with full time pay. Everytime they have a need to form an extra class, they'll give it to you. Of course the con of this is that you won't be able to stay 'pure' in your language, but look at the bright side, you'll have a job! You can also study linguistics, or teaching English as a second language. Be prepared to teach those classes!
4. Get teaching experience. If you don't have it, get some. Tutor and work as an adjunct (spearingly) to get the experience. Many announcements ask for two years post secondary experience. If you can't get on to the local college, work at the high school level (try private first) or give community college non credit courses in your area. These are great because you are still the teacher of record, and you can teach your language of interest and get paid for it. Look up online classes in foreign languages. More and more colleges are putting their classes online and looking for adjuncts to teach. This would be great because schools are asking for technology experience and this would make you more desirable. Bottom line, be creative and think outside the box!
5. Think about the people who can write you letters of recommendation. It is important that you look for people who can comment on your teaching style. Adult students can even write about their experiences in your classroom. So once again, if you don't have teaching experience, get some. Ask your dean or someone else in your department to come into your classroom and watch you teach! Make sure they have good things to say!
6. Set up an automatic job search. There are three basic websites that publisize college job opportunities they are The Chronicle, HigherEdJobs and Inside Higher Ed. Set up automatic job searches therefore you won't miss a good job match. You can set up the teaching areas you want, the location and the type (administrative, faculty, etc.)
7. Present at your local language organization. This is a perfect way to get your name out there. You will find out that the people who make decisions at the college level run in the same circles. Conferences are the best way to meet them. Get out there and share your information. You can present your findings based on your master's degree thesis or things you are doing in the classroom.
8. Don't go at it alone. Teaching can be so individualistic. There are other people who are doing the same as you. Get a support group. Depending on where you are looking, it might be better if you weren't in the same field! Visit your local college and talk to students who make up the Graduate Student Association. Plenty of them are on the hunt too!
9. Take a night off. Like any job search, this one can be stressful. Choose a day where you won't focus on jobs. It will help your sanity .. trust me!
10. Make a teaching portfolio. If you make it to the interview stage, you should always have teaching portfolio. Include your teaching philosophy, syllabi, projects, examples of student work, observations and any other information that allows them to "see" your teaching style. I've had to "teach" a class during an interview before so BE PREPARED!
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