On this page you'll find general advice for the job market, as well as some specific suggestions. You should always take this and make sure it applies to your own context and goals.

The academic job market is weird, and unlike anything else out there. The job market starts in the fall and can extend all the way into the following fall semester. The process of applying to a job and then getting interviewed and visiting campus and getting an offer can take upwards of six months or more in many cases. The general shape of the process is as follows:

1. Application to open position
2. Initial screening interview (phone or online)
3. Campus visit interview (2-4 days)
4. Offer made
5. Negotiation
6. Job start in August

Generally speaking, you will want to choose more jobs to apply to than you think you will need. Generally, a good wide-ranging search will involve applying to somewhere between 50 and 150 positions nationally. Most successful searchers have a wide net geographically. In addition to a wide geographical area, you will need to make sure to apply widely for positions.

Many times, you may not know what is behind a particular job search's text. The text is often drafted by a committee full of individuals with their own goals and desires for the position, many times goals and desired reflected by the programs they represent. If you can find a way to see yourself in a job ad, you should apply to that position. You may not sound like the ideal candidate in your own reading, but you may well end up matching up with the job better than you expect, perhaps better than anyone else.

You will see may positions at smaller schools (and at times larger ones) that look for a wide variety of expertise. Many jobs are out there for candidates that are willing and able to wear different hats in the classroom. This is one of the reasons you are encouraged to learn how to teach as many different courses as possible during your time in the RCO. Your major area of study is just one part of your application, and it may get you partway to a job, but having extra teaching expertise can seal the deal for you.

You may think that you will be paid immediately upon taking your first job. This is often not the case. Most academic positions are 9-month appointments, and this often means that you will be paid a half paycheck at the end of August. Wherever you end up living, you will need to survive on that half check with your own supplemental funds until you get a full check at the end of September.