More AWP

Another interesting idea that was suggested was in a session I went to on the MLA interview and tenure track positions. The key is preparation--in terms of a CV, in terms of the interview, in terms of the letter. All the speakers emphasized excellent points, but Peter Streckfus from the University of Alabama made great suggestions about ways to professionalize while still in grad school.

It's that idea I want to suggest for UB: the creation of a group of resources and people that can work to build materials and experience for those of us who may end up in a hunt for tenure track jobs. Besides gathering like-minded students, he suggests a faculty mentor and, this was most interesting, beginning a database of CVs, philosophies of teaching and letters of interest from faculty members and graduates who have landed jobs--this allows students access to those kinds of materials that have been successful and to see similarities that, hopefully, will allow them to build documents of their own. He even recommends sample syllabi go into that binder, and that students work on the creation of "dream" syllabi for that perfect course, as well.

He recommends this link from MLA: http://www.mla.org/career_resources#andandadfl.
I've only skimmed the page so far, but it seems a great free resource for job seekers.

Another interesting idea for the grad student group, is that it set up mock interviews--asking likely questions culled from polling faculty that have been on search committees. This gives students a way to think through common questions and iron through what Streckfus calls "blips"--simple moments that might have been glossed over, but that could cause a nervous candidate to become thoughtless or to misspeak. I like this suggestion and it seems something rather simple that once we get the ball rolling, could continue to be a resource for UB students--one that will stay with the program.

He claimed to have spent close to 200 hours in preparation for his interviews, etc. and this made me want to faint (I get the vapors easily), but, as we saw in the previous post, there is a lot of competition out there. . .