IN THE FALL BEFORE APPLYING:

• Start early. This especially includes asking for letters of recommendation.
• Buy a large expandable file folder for keeping all job related stuff. It made it easy to find my application materials, letters received,and jobs ads. I also entered all the jobs into my handheld.
• Plan to go to the joint meetings, unless you are only applying for postdocs.
• Make a web page. Post your job application materials there once you have them. I know several of my potential employers looked at my web page.
• Get copies of all your transcripts, including your undergraduate transcripts. Some schools will want these, although most will accept copies for initial applications.
• Try to write and practice your job talk now. My undergrad institution was happy to have me come give a talk (and I bet the local math club would have let me as well.)

• Read job ads carefully to determine fit. If teaching load is something you are concerned about keep in mind that a 12 credit per semester teaching load can mean either 3 or 4 courses a semester. If I could go back and do this over, I might have e-mailed the schools with 12 credit teaching loads and asked approximately how many courses that loads is a semester.
• Buy a copy of US News and World Reports college rankings. This allows you to find out basic information about the schools. School websites are also good for this.
• Make sure to state in your cover letter if you will be at the meetings. Some schools do not interview officially at the meetings,but will want to talk to you there anyway.
• If you are going to be teaching in the spring semester try to find a person willing to substitute for you for all your absences now, instead of over break when it can be hard to find people.

• Every phone call or chance meeting with your potential employers affects their perception of you.
• Most phone calls are interviews, whether the person calling calls them that or not (I learned this one the hard way.)
• Have a list of questions to ask the interviewers. Whether you use it or not, it is helpful to have thought about what you wish to know. Take notes on the answers, you'll start getting schools mixed up by the end. My list, which I did use, is the following article.

• Try not to schedule late afternoon interviews unless they are for dinner. Your interviewers will be tired and so will you.
• Carry snacks in your briefcase/purse to eat when your energy is low.
• Make sure to take some time to actually go to some talks and see the vendors.

• Carry your slides for your job talk with you in your carry-on baggage.
• Pack medicine for indigestion or any other travel related sickness you are prone to get.
• Carrying snacks in your briefcase/purse is also helpful at on-campus interviews. So is buying a pair of gel support inserts for your dress shoes. You'll be walking around campus a lot and might have quite a busy schedule (usually an interview every hour or half hour.)
• Try to find as much information about the school in advance as possible. The school website is good for this. Especially nice is determining what field the dean or other administrators studied, since they will sometimes ask you to explain your research.
• Come with questions. The most useful question to ask everyone is: What is the best thing about working here and what is the worst thing about working here? (suggested by Karrolyne Fogel)

• Remember you can ask for extra time if you would like to finish your scheduled interviews first. Don't expect too much time though.
• It is useful to negotiate things that are important to you. I negotiated a lower teaching load for the first two years and no obligation for summer teaching.