Public Service: It’s AALS Time (Yes, Already)
Concurring Opinions:
So it’s July. Summertime. I hear the livin’ is easy, fish are jumpin’, and the cotton is high. The different pace of summer allows me to reflect and write. Not exactly easy livin’ but I like it quite a bit. Still, this time of year slips away all too easily. August looms with syllabi to plan and lectures to prepare. For those interested in applying to become a professor the game, I am afraid to say, is on.
That odd rite the AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference (sorry the page is not built for some reason) is really around the corner. Now some may know that the conference itself is in October. But the key for you all is that the Faculty Appointments Register has deadlines next month. August 8 to be precise. These dates matter. Being in that first group is fairly important.
Today is July 7. That means about one month until the FAR information is due. TAKE A LOOK NOW. For trying to squash all you have done into a few small fields AND having a polished resume requires much more time than one might think.
One more tip: create a check list of each bit of information you want to have on the FAR form and no matter what make sure that whatever publications you have are on that FAR. The education, employment, and interests are more familiar so you may not miss those fields (although they should be on your list). The other fields, especially publications, do not always show up on a resume so pay attention for items that schools want but that you may not have encountered before. Again starting now will allow you to have that moment of “Oh God, I have not thought about that area.” From there you can…