A possible golden road in front of me?
Entry posted by docoflove1974
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So, in the humanities and social sciences, most of 'us' are well-entrenched in the academic hiring process. Letters and dossiers have been sent, and the first round of interviews are about to commence. The usual process is to interview either by phone or at a convention (which tends to occur right after Christmas, or perhaps the first week of January), followed by an on-campus interview which lasts 2ish days; this second interview is usually done in January or February, so that decisions can be done in March.
Thursday 30 November, Bella woke me up at 7:30am...I told her I wanted to sleep until 8am. At exactly 8:03am, my phone rings...it's someone from one of the universities which I applied for^. They want to set up an interview. Uh, sure! No problem! My adrenaline starts pumping immediately, waking me up far more so than normal at 8am. (Have I mentioned that I'm pretty much brainless, especially in connecting thoughts to vocal aparatii, before 9:30am?)
No...they want me to fly out there. After quickly catching my jaw before it hits the floor, I agree. They want me to fly out 2 December for an interview on 3 December...nope, sorry, guys, but I have to give a final exam that day, and activities the following day preclude me from flying out there. But I can do it after that. Ok, they say...please fly out here for the following week (we'll reimburse you, of course). [NB: this is normal for on-campus interviews, that either the school schedules the flight or, in many cases, the interviewee schedules it and is reimbursed once they get to the interview.] I'm calm, poised, ready for action during the phone conversation and in the booking of my flight (hot damn I love American Airlines and the AmEx I have with them...POINTS! POINTS! POINTS!). I call the professor back and ask for an email, so I can forward my confirmation. Sure thing. Done.
I put the phone down...Bella just starts looking at me with that cute kitten face (you know the one: Ooh! Whatcha doing?! Can I come, too?!)...and I'm trying not to squeal like a little girl (don't want to freak Bella out completely), but it's hard to muffle it.
Seriously...I have an on-campus interview as my first interview...I'm just finishing my first article, so I'm going to try it out on them (I don't know if it's the wisest move, but I want to show that I'm moving on from my recently-finished dissertation, and not stuck on it). The only minor problem is that since I had my suit last tailored, I've put on a few pounds...on the other hand, it's tailored to my 4" heels, and since the forecast calls for snow and sleet, perhaps it's best to set the wardrobe around my stacked-heeled loafers (much lower heel, thicker heel...rubber soles). Yes, yes, I know, not the greatest snow gear, but consider this: 1) I don't live in an area where it snows...and don't know if I will be; 2) I still have to dress to impress, and snow boots aren't exactly punching a wow-factor; and, perhaps more importantly, 3) I'm not going to be walking around outside much. Yes, there's a campus tour planned, but I'm guessing that if it's snowing and/or sleeting, there's not going to be much of that. Thankfully my 'good' long coat is wool, warm, and should do ok. I wish I had a weatherproof one, but again, I don't want to buy one and then end up not needing it after the interviews*. So we'll see.
So, tonight I'll finish the PowerPoint presentation and accompaning handouts. Tomorrow off to Kinko's to copy them, a couple of loads of laundry, and last minute stuff. My brother flies back from LA-La-land Sunday afternoon, and will take care of Bella while I'm gone. I come back Tuesday night...and hopefully full of tales.
^I'm keeping this 'anonymous', so that I don't possibly get this jinxed. Also, for decorum-sake. I'm not even going to give the location, short of the fact that it's east of the Mississippi...you never know....
*Yes, I said interviews. I have to go to our 'convention', which is in FREEZING COLD CHICAGO on THE WEEK AFTER CHRISTMAS...they are going to move it to the first week of January, but that's not until 2010, so I'm freezing until then. Buggery bollocks, as Edina Moon would say.
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