I won't be at the AHA convention this year, but I have some tips for job seekers, for what it is worth. If you are unsure of whether or not you should attend, I have some things I hope you will consider before the preregistration deadline this coming Friday.
Rest assured that the job market is as strong as it has been in the last few years. Consider the following stats gathered from H-Net. Between 1 July and 31 December of each year, here are the number of job postings (in both primary and secondary listings) that appeared:
U.S. in 2004: 305
U.S. in 2005: 298
U.S. in 2006: 275
U.S. in 2007: 294
Euro in 2004: 205
Euro in 2005: 205
Euro in 2006: 181
Euro in 2007: 180
Another measure of the strength of the job market comes from the AHA blog. David Darlington reported a month ago that "the Job Register now has a record 185 searches being conducted at the annual meeting." He is estimating this number could reach 370 by conference time. By comparison, there were 283 searches coordinated through the Job Register during the 2007 AHA convention and 193 in 2000.
Be sure to follow the news submitted by applicants for specific faculty positions in history at the AcademicJobSearch wiki.
If you are wondering which retiring professor the department may be trying to replace, you could use the methods described in this post to figure it out.
Make sure you know the approximate number of job applicants you are up against. Here is a table from the AHA that will give you an estimate of the number of applications per position.
Remember that, on average, you will probably have a better chance of obtaining an interview with a college or university from the South than you will with institutions from other regions of the country. If you don't believe me, consider the evidence in this post and this post.
Don't give up hope if this is your third or fourth time on the job market. The average amount of time that elapses between doctoral graduation and being hired as an assistant professor keeps increasing each year. Check out this post for more details.
Print out this web page if you haven't already and enjoy the convention. I wish you the best of luck with your job hunting. I will be doing the same thing next year.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
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8 comments:
Sterling,
Great post. If nothing else, you can refer back to it next year!
It seems to me, based on the AHA interview numbers, that two things are happening.
First, fewer are interviewing at AHA relative to the increased number of postings. Is this true?
Second, fewer and fewer institutions are getting their acts together to give polite (say, 30 days minimum) notification to potential interviewees about AHA possibilities. If this is true, why don't more schools simply scrap AHA interviews?
I think I know the answer: the latecomers piggyback on the diligent schools. This, to me, favors the extra solid candidates and shortchanges the (so-called) mediocre ones who won't hear on interviews until the week or two before.
Thoughts in reply?
- TL
Sterling,
The article of mine you link to (citing the 185 searches) is referring to the 2007 Job Register in Atlanta, not the upcoming Job Register in D.C. It's from Nov 2006 not Nov 2007.
For what it's worth, so far we've been informed of 205 searches being conducted in D.C. And as I say in the article, a significant number of searches won't lets us know they're at the meeting until it actually starts.
I live in DC and probably won't be going. Too expensive for an adjunct, and it doesn't look great for a Europeanist either. Frankly, I'm beginning to wonder if there aren't better ways to make a living. I want to stick with history and even keep up some teaching, but a real paycheck would be nice too. I don't have a concrete plan yet, but at least I'm finally admitting there's a problem.
I think Tim is definitely right. Employers who know that they have the cachet to be able to select from the top of the field count on being able to wait an extra week or so and still see the candidates they want to interview at the AHA. There were a number of searches by prestigious institutions this year in my field in which (if you believe the wiki) interviewers were not scheduled until the 14th or 15th of December, which makes it really hard to get an affordable plane ticket for the 2nd of January.
The flip side, of course, is that those are the institutions that often have the hardest time making up their minds about a candidate (I work at one). Top institutions that really want to make a hire try to force the calendar by creating a smaller short list and getting their candidates on to campus well before the AHA, in hopes they can get the "pick of the crop" before the regular hiring season really gets going.
Tim: Thanks for the comments and questions. I have not been able to track change over time in the number of interviews at the AHA. So I am not sure how it compares to trends in the number of advertised jobs. I think it would be really useful it the AHA could run the stats and tell us how many jobs are filled each year through AHA interviews, and break it down by scheduled and unscheduled interviews that took place at the convention. We would then know what fraction of advertised jobs are filled by people who interviewed at the AHA. It might also give some people a better idea of whether attending the AHA, in hopes of an interview, is worth their time. I think you are right about people who attend the AHA but end up being shortchanged.
David: Sorry I mixed those up. I am glad I have people like you to catch my errors. Best wishes with the job register this weekend.
MS: Have you looked into public history options in the DC area? I hear there are a lot there.
flacius1551: Your comments are always so insightful. I had no idea that schools bring people to their campus before the AHA interviews. I agree also with your assessment of how hard some schools make it for people who are wondering whether they should attend the AHA. At the same time, though, I am not sure the AHA is blameless. Has the AHA ever tried to negotiate with the airlines to purchase several thousand tickets at reduced cost?
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