Job Application Season in Academe

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Dr. Janni Aragon | Leave a comment

I’ve served on numerous hiring committees over the last 14 years. Many times as the graduate student representative and now a handful of times as a professor myself. I’ve come to the realization that I have had exceptional mentors. People who always offered to assist me with my file, my interview, and the entire job process. I can see that many committees and mentors are failing their students and not offering enough supervision so that their mentees are sending out the strongest files that they could. Perhaps the applicant is not listening to the advice, but I find that harder to believe.

I have reviewed numerous job applications…not only the academic, but also the administrative staff applications and one of the easy things for fixing–read the job application. Many people seem to not read the job application closely and this influences the file. These are the applications that go in the “no” file immediately.

Specific to academic files for tenure-track jobs not reading the job application is a major flaw. But given the academic job climate people are throwing their files into the ring in hope that people will take notice. There are few jobs! So some applicants are applying for them all, but be careful here. You don’t want to misrepresent your work or your research agenda for a job that calls for a comparativist and your heart is really in political theory. Regardless, it’s important to submit the best file ever. If the application calls for a CV–submit one. If the application calls for a research statement and teaching statement-submit them.

Let’s break this down, though. What does a research statement mean? What are you working on and where do you see your research going in the next five to ten years? What is the next project? And, the next one after that. What is the guiding theme with your research projects? Why are you engaged in this research? You want to explain all of this in such a way that it is clear that you know what you’re doing and have thought considerably about where you are in the field. Likewise, this also afford you the opportunity to speak to grants or awards. I imagine that it varies by field, but I do know that listing the amount of the award is instructive.

The teaching statements is probably harder to write, since anyone who has sat on one committee can explain that the teaching statements will not vary too much in content. You enjoy teaching, want the students to feel safe, use innovative techniques or technology in the classroom, you are open to learning, and have good teaching evaluations. OK, I just ran through that rather quickly, but the teaching statements are often quite similar by most. Where they vary–is the strong writing and the people who have spent more time polishing the teaching statement so that it really reflects some depth. If you have only taught once or a few times–be honest about that. There is nothing worse in my opinion than someone who has taught once and attempts to put together this full dossier based on that one time.

You should have trusted people proof-read your cover letter, statements, and run through the interview questions (if they bother to provide them). If the campus does not provide the questions, your mentors or friends will be familiar with some of the standard questions. They vary, but will include: which classes are you willing/able to teach at the undergraduate/graduate level? What class in your area are you looking forward to teach? How do you mentor/supervise students? Where do you see your research going in five years? Are you prepared to do service? (This might not get asked). But, you see where I am going here.

Things to avoid: If the call asks for hard copies, send hard copies. If there is a deadline, meet the deadline. Many departments will place a sticker or handwritten note on late files. Do not send in a folder or binder, as the file might need to be photocopied and this makes it harder for the staff. If you must submit it in a binder, do so with a three-ring binder and not one of those inexpensive clip binders, as they cut off the first 1.5 inches of the left margin and are a pain.

And, this might sound harsh, but the committee or the staff will not take the time to contact people who are not short-listed. So, please do not expect an email or note in the mail. Some calls for applications will field upwards of 300 applications and there is just no time to contact people. Even if the call fields less than 50 applicants, people will not get contacted unless they are invited for an interview. And, if you don’t get invited–it’s not always about you. It could be about the committee or what the department really wants.

This is a quick, run-down if you will of my primer on the job application process. I will blog more about this, as the topic deserves a fulsome discussion. It’s also important that I add that this post in now way reflects my employer. I am pulling together many hiring committee experiences here and not from one campus, but from three.

Not Shopping on Boxing Day: Class Bias?!

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Dr. Janni Aragon | Leave a comment

I have previously shopped on Boxing Day or the day after Christmas. It’s a good time to find bargains, but the upshot is that everyone is out shopping and it’s almost as chaotic as Black Friday. I tweeted on Twitter about how I would not be at the mall today. And, a few friends responded or retweeted. One thing that I noted today, though, is this dripping sense of condescension toward the hordes that were shopping.

Now, we can get into a debate about consumerism and that is fine and well. However, my issue here is more about people looking down at the people who are braving the crowds and saving money. I do have the luxury to buy the vast majority of my kids’ Christmas gifts prior to Christmas. I certainly do not think that today’s shoppers are misguided. I guess that I am reacting to tweets and posts on other social media platforms.

I previously blogged about Black Friday and Zombies, so perhaps here I am being somewhat hypocritical. That post was really about our need for “stuff” and I had just finished a YaLit book that included a Zombie who moaned, “Stuff,” so the comparison really worked. George Romero beat me to the comparison a generation ago! I know that when I drafted that previous post, I kept on thinking about how some shoppers have to shop on Black Friday in order to afford the gifts/items. One thing that I can tell you–collaborative consumption is making more sense. But, when I was a college student, I lived for the after Christmas sales.

Now, tomorrow we will work on our “something in and something out” rule. This does not include books. I know that we’ll have a bag or box to take to Women in Need or the Salvation Army. Happy Holidays!

Feminism: Revisit

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Dr. Janni Aragon | Leave a comment

I’m re-posting this blog post. It first appeared in Jan 2010 and I feel that I need to share it again.

This is the first post in a series where I will ruminate on what it means to me to be a feminist. First things first, I have no problem self-identifying as a feminist. Just as some of my colleagues live by their Marxist or Socialist tendencies, I live by my feminist beliefs. I advocate feminism and I am an advocate of feminism, but I do not shirk the label.

Secondly, I am a strong believer of the fact that there are different types of feminisms. There is not a monolithic feminism or feminist club that I have to earn a card to be a member of and act and speak a certain way in order to keep my membership. Feminism is not Costco. Feminisms provides a philosophy of life, love, education, politics and so much more. My feminist politics includes an understanding of the importance of intersectionaliy. My feminism includes an understanding that politics and life are influenced by race, class, education, sexuality and many other indicators.

To be honest, I find it quite amusing when a student or other person outside of academe accuses me of having feminist politics. The student might as well accuse me of breathing and thinking. We are all guided by a philosophy of sorts–mine just happens to be feminism. And, some many decades later this term seems to scare, enrage or confuse people. I recall being in grad school and a professor asking me if I was a Chicana or Feminist first. I felt the question was a ridiculous question. Shall you take my right arm off or my left? My identification of my ethnic background is inextricably connected to my feminism. This is part of my identity.

Feminism informs the way I read pop culture, articles, people’s actions and I will not apologize for thinking. If my feminism intimidates you–you need to think about why is this the case? Do you understand feminism? Do you want to? Years ago I recall telling a friend that I was going to be a cultural critic when I grew up. I don’t think either of us understood this, but when she later told me that her mother thought that was a terrible idea, I knew I was on to something. I tell my students that my vocation is thinking, reading, writing, and more thinking. This thinking is informed by feminism.

The typology of feminism that best explains my own would be Women of Color feminisms circa This Bridge Called My Back added with Third Wave feminisms. I was lucky enough to earn a BA in Women’s Studies (Go Aztecs! ) at SDSU, so most of my mentors were of the Second Wave persuasion. I feel well versed in different types of feminisms.

How does this feminism inform my daily life? Well, that is for a different post or two. One about my teaching, and another about relationships (parenting and love). Indeed, I have posted about these topics since this post went live.

Challenge Update

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Dr. Janni Aragon | Leave a comment

I am participating in a challenge with some of my colleagues at the University of Venus ( @UVenus ). We are taking special care to network and meet people across our campus. Given that I am the Chair of the Academic Women’s Caucus this provides me an easy way to do this, but I have also had a few coffee meetings to meet with different colleagues across the campus and would like to speak to how helpful this has proven during these last two months.

Most recently I met with the coordinator for the Anti-Violence Project and we are working on a shared conversation about safe spaces on campus and the university support of safety. These are just the early conversations, but it was great to have this meeting that caused us to find out that we share some of the same professional networks.

Last month I had coffee with Dr. Jentery Sayers from the English Department at UVIC and I was so impressed and envious with his courses and current area of research. I was happy to get some of the flyers for his course, “How to Network a Novel.” It looks like an amazing course and I have since shared the flyer with the students enrolled in my courses.

For the second year I am sitting on the December 6th memorial planning committee, and the committee is made of some different staff from last year and I have the opportunity to work with a great group of women from all over campus. And, I look forward to the events that we are planning.

I have also met informally and formally with different staff from the UVIC Communications team and have repeatedly found the team helpful and professional. If your campus has a communications team and you haven’t met them yet—get to it. They can help get you on the Experts Database (if your campus has one) and make sure that you are included in media releases.

And, the last thing that I spearheaded was the nomination of a colleague for a teaching award. This turned into more work than I anticipated, but it was a great process for my involvement. I contacted probably upwards of 60 people for the dossier and the file fielded some strong, personal assessments. Ultimately, I felt honored to play a small role in this nomination. It is important for me to note that this nomination was based on my position as the Chair of the Academic Women’s Caucus. I hope that next year the Caucus can nominate another woman on the Steering Committee. Part of my self-imposed mandate is mentoring and this includes peer to peer mentoring and support.

I have had a productive first few months for the challenge and look forward to the next few months!

Using Social Media to Help You Make Connections

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Dr. Janni Aragon | Leave a comment

Today I’m going to share my notes from Russel Lolacher’s ( @ruslol ) talk at #UVIC in September. His talk “How Using Social Media Can Help You Get the Job You Want” was well attended and I was thrilled to see him speak to each individual student who descended upon him after his talk. For many conversant with social media my notes might seem obvious. The talk was really geared for college students, who we know are mostly on Facebook, but for many the rest of their social media footprint is small. Lolacher gave some honest advice and often used himself as the example, which really makes his presentations that more effective and endearing. I have heard him speak on numerous occasions and if you need someone to talk about social media–ask him. But, note that his work for the BC government keeps him busy. Lolacher is the Social Media Director for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. This position, Social Media Director, was the first of its kind in the BC government and I am hopeful that it will not be the last.

My notes and please understand that I have fleshed out these points. This is not verbatim from his talk:

1. Talk to people. Go to Tweet Ups or Meet Ups. Meeting people and expanding your networks can help you with your job search. Lolacher noted that he spent about 18 months meeting people and networking before he got his current position.

2. Don’t go online if you not focused. If you’re not sure what you want, be careful. Try to figure out what you’re trying to do. If you want to become a food blogger, then go to the food related blogs. Try to make connections with other bloggers or people who are immersed in that community.

3. Don’t sound desperate. You need patience as you endeavor in this expansion of your networks. It’s going to take work and you might be scared at first. Take someone with you to an event.

4. Get on Linked In and participate in the community. Be strategic and ask questions. Many of the companies that you’re interested in are on Linked In–engage with them.

5. Get a business card! Paper and online. You can use About Me Visualize Me, Flavor Me, Beyond Credentials and countless others. Make sure that your paper business card includes links to your social media footprint.

6. Related to all of these points–make sure that your social media footprint is acceptable for networking and a future employer. Review the photos with your tags on Facebook. Are they all “clean” and appropriate. You do not want an old photo or comment on Facebook or elsewhere to influence your hiring, promotion, or other important work related matter.

7. Find your passion, find your niche!

Lolacher said more, but I was trying to pay attention and then realized that I should take notes and share! If you feel like a newbie, schedule a coffee with someone who you know that has a larger online presence. Make sure that you are honest with this person and go from there.

Occupy Wall Street #OWS

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Dr. Janni Aragon | Leave a comment

It took more than a few days for the Occupy Wall Street or #OWS #OccupyWallStreet movement to make the mainstream press, but it looks like they are finally covering it. However, this coverage varies from making the protesters look like a bunch of middle class saps who have nothing better to do than take over a bridge or sit and complain. But, this would offer a very shallow assessment of what is really taking place.

My favorite laments about the movement is that it’s disorganized and unfocused. To this I think, where do we begin? There is so much to fix and therefore lots to protest about in this latest iteration of social movement protest. Who said that the people involved must have one message or one focal point? Isn’t it enough to say: wake up. We are not happy. We need to fix things! This fix is definitely going to be more thank taking Wall street, it will need to touch every street, circle, drive, crescent and more.

The mainstream or more conservative leaning mainstream press is painting the protest as a bunch of lazy, malcontents who are complaining, but this always happens. We can think of other protests and the ways in which those in power would attempt to discredit the people walking, boycotting, or involved in the movement. It wasn’t too long ago that the news covered the Battle in Seattle and merely focused on the so-called Anarchists. Remember that?

So, when the #OWS movement hits your town, what will you do? I applaud that people are reacting and thinking. And, I also hope that these same people and more will cast their vote in the next election. That’s right–I’m bringing the unconventional political action back to the conventional political action. Don’t forget to vote. Primaries and caucuses are around the corner in the US and then the general election in November 2012.

Welcome Back to the New Year: To A Great Year

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Dr. Janni Aragon | Leave a comment

Welcome back to the new school year. During the last two weeks, I shared a post about wishing students well. Today’s post is about wishing me a good year. What am I looking forward to during this upcoming term and school year?
It’s the same thing: I want my classes to run smoothly and for the students to hone their critical thinking skills. I want them to understand how diverse Political Science really is as a discipline. They will see this in my courses—through the lectures, readings, and conversations.

I want students in my office hours to leave feeling that their questions were answered and they were listened to by me. I might not give them the answer that they want to hear, but I will always be honest with them about their marks, requirements to graduate and other pertinent information.

I have high hopes for my first year as the Chair of the Academic Women’s
Caucus. After consulting with colleagues over at UVIC Communications, I have a really good idea about my self-imposed mandate to help women faculty raise their profile in their departments, on campus, and in the larger community. Part of this will include a few workshops this year. I’m particularly happy to have a great set of women to work with on the AWC Steering Committee and to have a more than competent work-study student.

As usual, I look forward to my participation on campus in the community as an ambassador of sorts for the department in my official and unofficial capacity as a faculty member and community member invested in UVIC and the greater Victoria region.

I do think that this means that it’s business as usual. And, this is not a bad thing when you really, really love your job, have a great family and network of friends. A common refrain in my household is: Life is Good. It is. To a great year!

Maclean’s Article about Dutch Women: Class and the Welfare State

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Dr. Janni Aragon | 2 Comments

Last week Macleans ran an article by Claire Ward, “The Feminism Happiness Axis: Are Dutch Women Powerless, or Simply Smarter Than the Rest of Us? The article can be found: http://awe.sm/5RZQ1 The first thing that I find most interesting is the immediate connection to feminism with work, family life and happiness. I’m so thankful that feminism has made my life complete and I embrace my politics head on, but why must the media make the knee jerk connection to cookies, family and feminism. While I enjoy cooking and especially baking, it has nothing to do with my feminist politics. This is where we see how strong stereotypes are about the alleged man-hating, mother, children hating, angry feminists. If I had a dollar for every feminist I met like this, I wouldn’t have a dollar.

The media needs to get clued in to the fact that feminists comment or write about institutions that have not given women a fair shake. Nowhere in Of Woman Born does Adrienne Rich say that she hates mothers (like herself) or that she hates her children. No. Her classic book is a wise, provocative rumination about the institution of motherhood and the lack of choices that women have or had for her generation. It’s not quite as sexy to say that we feminists are cultural critics or public intellectuals. No, it’s easier (lazy) to say that we hate men and that we judge other women for “opting out” of the workplace. The opting out discussions typically miss the inclusion of a class analysis and how women who can opt out have class privilege thanks to their partner’s income. Likewise, there is an assumption that these women are opting out forever, when some are taking time off to raise their children until primary school. Like most issues, there is so much here.

Getting back to the Macleans article, though, what is really missing is a class analysis. I’d also like to see an immigration/refugee and race analysis, as well as the basic demographic analysis. There is more to this study and our understanding of what is going on for women. I want women to feel happy–happy in the home, workplace, parliament, congress, farm, university, etc. But, I want a full picture of what this will take. And, I do not want to see the scapegoating of feminisms. If we want to point fingers, we have to look in the mirror. We have to also think about what constitutes success. And, we have to look at social welfare programs, education rates, leadership rates, and so much more. This is a rather detailed, important conversation that it going to sell lots of magazines!

What Macleans has artfully done is offered data from an interesting study and spun it about feminism-blaming and guilt. Here, we have a small country with a strong welfare state. This is not a fair comparison to the US or Canada for that matter. As social scientist, I want to see the study and I want to see demographics disaggregated and then compared to other nations. This study offers us food for thought and no more. But, alas, the spin cycle is whirring.

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