AHA report: Put on a giant smiley-face mask, if you have to
As a first-timer at the AHA Job Center I can report that it was much quieter than I expected (everyone was so tense!) and there were very few people milling around. That shouldn’t really be a surprise.
What struck me, though, is that when I smiled at people no one would smile back. I understand that the market is stressful (hello, I’m on it too) but some of the people I saw looked like they were going to cry. And there haven’t even been interviews yet! We were just dropping off CVs at the collection booth. I made small talk with one of the volunteers and he looked at me as if I had three heads. My guess is that none of the other applicants had spoken to him without having a look of sheer panic cross their face. Yes, I’m nervous too. Yes, this is a big frickin’ deal. But good God, it is not healthy to be so freaked out that you won’t even look other people in the eye. I find that very disturbing.
Those are all things I’d expect on Saturday when the interviews are in full swing, but today? Seriously. I feel like I was the only sane person in the room.
That sounds about right for the pit most years, right friends? My bet is that The History Enthusiast will compare favorably to the Debbie Downers, especially since the departments hiring this year must be cheered by all of the top-notch candidates they’ll be able to lure. For those of you tempted to be Debbie Downers: buck up, at least while you’re interviewing. Practice smiling in a warm, friendly, non-smug, non-condescending way at your fellow job seekers. There’s plenty of challenges in faculty life–no one wants to hire a malcontent right out of the gate. (Well, no one most of us want to work with.) Remember: you’re never fully dressed without a smile!