Monday, March 24, 2008
Job Application Competition
Almost every adjunct I know wants to get full-time work. Most adjuncts would like to find full-time work with one of their current employers. That opportunity is very rare. So we send out vitae and applications to several if not a dozen schools looking for a tenured gig. Most of our adjunct colleagues do exactly the same thing. And as most of us usually get along with our colleagues, the application process can create a bit of tension.
Do you tell your colleagues which schools you are applying to?
Do you tell your colleagues where you found the job listing?
Do you share with your colleagues the writers of your letters of recommendation?
Do you let your colleagues know when you scored a telephone or in-person interview?
When we are broke, it is easy to want to hide the resources, hide the openings, and take tight control of the information. We horde it so that one or two or five less people know about the job. Such behaviors appear to make for less competition, but that’s not a good way to treat colleagues. That’s cut-throat competition, and it is not something I believe in or endorse. It also generates a subtle shift in one’s overall attitude and interactions with colleagues—deceit and manipulation are given credibility by such actions.
Yes, I have engaged in both deceit and manipulation. Of this I am not proud. Yes, I did not tell colleagues about openings in the past, and I felt like garbage afterwards. Maybe I’m touchy-feely, or maybe the Seventies stole my soul, but I believe that there is nothing to be gained from deceit, deception, and white lies—especially when it has to do with my colleagues. When I apply for open positions, I do the best job possible. When I teach, I do the best job possible. And when I am a colleague, I do the best job possible. Sharing job listings and resources is part of being the best colleague possible.
And if I am labeled a softy, I really don’t care. My integrity matters more to me than most things. What I am is honest, and I am honestly following my sense of ethics and my code of honor. In sharing resources, I am not only living up to my own expectations, I am fighting one small battle against the forces of corporatization and management culture. I am working to retain the open and fair exchange that has helped define Composition as a discipline.
Fortunately, I know I am not alone.
So please, when you are looking, applying, or interviewing for work, remember what kind of colleague you want to be. And then be it.