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budget crunches, word smithing, and the writing of a job ad

By nowhiring
Posted Fri Nov 14, 2008 at 01:49:51 AM PDT

Whew, that was close! Like many places, the economy's nosedive has hit our university hard. Budgets are tighter than ever and according to some friends across the country, some places are facing hiring freezes. It looked like that might happen here as well. Just this week we finally got the go-ahead to proceed with our search. That meant trying to agree on the wording of the ad...

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I don't quite know why everyone (including myself!) gets so worked up over the exact wording of the advertisement. There are some real misunderstandings on both sides of the interviewing table. Candidates fret over margins, layout, and acid-free paper; my colleagues and I couldn't care less about these things. Maybe the wording of the ad is the same situation in reverse. We go back and forth for 30 minutes over "demonstrated research excellence" versus "track record of research success" and candidates couldn't care less. C'est la vie.

What always gets my goat is that so many applicants don't just gloss over the particular wording, they miss entire sections of the job ad! The last time we hired an algebraist, we made it clear in the ad that we didn't just prefer an algebraist, were <bold> were going to hire</bold> one. I was stunned at the number of topologists, analyists, non-linear PDE specialists who spent the time (not to mention the money) sending us an application.

It really leaves me wondering what's going on in their heads. Maybe they think that the job ad is just a suggestion? (As our HR staff informs us every year, hiring someone who doesn't fit the job ad leaves us open to serious legal challenges from applicants who fit it better.) Or maybe they just want to move to this part of the country and hope to get lucky.

Or maybe we still have loads of people who broadcast their applications widely hoping that something manages to take root. I guess this strategy works for some animals when they reproduce, and for spammers...

At least now with electronically submitted applications they aren't mowing down forests to submit hundreds of applications.

Enough griping. This year's applications have started pouring in and I'm excited to start looking at them next week. Check back in a week or so and I'll share my initial reaction to the e-mound of CV's, cover letters, research statements, teaching philosophies, and recommendation letters.

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budget crunches, word smithing, and the writing of a job ad | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)

[new] flooding (none / 0) (#1)
by Cotati on Sun Nov 16, 2008 at 04:59:17 PM PDT

What always gets my goat is that so many applicants don't just gloss over the particular wording, they miss entire sections of the job ad! The last time we hired an algebraist, we made it clear in the ad that we didn't just prefer an algebraist, were <bold> were going to hire</bold> one. I was stunned at the number of topologists, analyists, non-linear PDE specialists who spent the time (not to mention the money) sending us an application.
It really leaves me wondering what's going on in their heads. Maybe they think that the job ad is just a suggestion? [...] Or maybe they just want to move to this part of the country and hope to get lucky.
Or maybe we still have loads of people who broadcast their applications widely hoping that something manages to take root. I guess this strategy works for some animals when they reproduce, and for spammers...

I think it is partly the advice we're getting. I'll be defending in the spring or summer, and the advice I usually hear is something along the lines of, Apply to at least 40 schools, preferably 80. The trouble is, there aren't 40 listings that match both my qualifications and what I am looking for on the EIMS and MathJobs websites, and even when I add in schools to which I will send an unsolicited application, I don't think it would reach that number. As you said, it looks like the job market is tightening, and people will be desperate to get any sort of work. They figure that the worst that will happen is that you will simply toss their application in the round file. It is not as if you are going to put them on some sort of blacklist. ... is it?

The backfiring of flooding by halewis, 11/16/2008 17:09:47 PDT (none / 0)

[new] Getting a job I thought didn't fit (none / 0) (#3)
by jobhunter08 on Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 04:58:02 AM PDT

To respond to the question above about getting a job you didn't initially think fit, I'm currently in that situation. I didn't even apply for the job until the joint meeting when I was urged to by one of my undergraduate professors. The main issue is that I thought it was an "applied" department and it was outside my geographic area.

Turns out, they were looking for a wide variety of research interests, and because it's temporary (and it turned out to be such a good fit) I relaxed my geographic restrictions. All in all, it turned out quite well. Now after three years in a temporary job I have a much better idea of what kind of job I want.

To paraphrase Joe Gallian, "The job you get might be better than the job you thought you wanted."

[new] From the other side of the process (none / 0) (#4)
by functionology on Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 09:51:03 PM PDT

Having just fired off my first-ever batch of job applications, I can say what I felt about the wording in job ads. I think for the most part ads are very clear in separating a preference for field versus a requirement.

However, there were many instances where I felt compelled to apply for a job whose preference was not my area of focus. In some instances, this was because I knew the school well enough to know that I wanted to work there. In others, the desire was based on "category" factors (school location, school size, etc). I was fairly thorough in ruling out ads that I didn't feel I was qualified for, but I can't fault someone for firing off a MathJobs application to a school based solely on those types of factors. Who knows? Maybe another opening crops up that year or the next and my application -- already on file -- suddenly becomes more relevant? (I would categorize that scenario as "wishful thinking" ;-)

I am sure that a search chair or two is going to go "Can't this guy read? We want a [topic other than combinatorics]-ist!" At the same time, I feel this was a no harm / no foul situation. It is further complicated by the abundance of ads that seem to be for a specific field, but then toss in a phrase along the lines of "exceptional candidates in other fields will also be considered." Sometimes, that $\epsilon$-degree of hope is enough to get me to bite :-)

budget crunches, word smithing, and the writing of a job ad | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)

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