Job Search in Academe Strategic Rhetorics for Faculty Job Candidates Stylus

“With a great deal of wit, with a whole lot of common sense, and with a sound grasp of the rhetoric of identification, Dawn Formo and Cheryl Reed have produced a ‘handbook’ which will be invaluable to job seekers.” — Ross Winterowd

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star When common sense and simple courtesy fail…
The authors seem to assume that by the time most graduate students complete and defend their dissertations they are bereft of the simplest social graces. Doctorally prepared adults who can’t keep themselves from being obstreperous with prospective colleagues, chairpersons and deans need therapy and not “strategic rhetorics.” This is a poorly written and highly dispiriting book. You’d do well to stay away from it.

4 Stars Very Useful Coaching
Maybe this book is not for everyone, but I truly found large portions of it helpful when I was on the market last year. Women and men-of-color may find it more useful than white men. I especially recommend the chapters on the interview itself. I took this book along in my suitcase, would re-read the interview chapters, and then leave the hotel room, ready to communicate my main message. Only for the socially challenged? Gee I don’t think so. One of the important messages of this book is presenting one’s authentic self in a stylized way which makes interviewers perceive you as real but fits within the structure of a formal interview. The discussion of the type of school you would prefer and how to fit was useful as well. I requested that our local public library buy this, they bought 2 copies which are usually checked out.

4 Stars Different, but nice
I bought this book at the late stages of my job hunting process, i.e. after my first, phone interview, and right before the on-campus one. This book is not the traditional “how to get a job” book. It is written in a completely different style and this will make it difficult for some to follow (especially if what someone is looking for is a numbered list of things to do, say, question and answer). I myself found the relaxed, friendly tone of this book more entertaining. It covers all the phases of the job hunting process, starting from the application process (although I didn’t read this part) to the first steps as a junior faculty member (which I plan to read). I focused on the middle, but most important phases, that of being interviewed in different situations (on conference, over the phone, on campus, etc.) What I really liked about this book is that it covered all different kinds of academic jobs, focusing on the differences between the interviewing process in community colleges, state universities and phd-awarding institutions. I also liked the fact that the authors used their own experiences and guided the readers through them. What I didn’t find as useful was that the book is written by people who’ve been through this process searching for jobs in the humanities/literature/philosophy areas which seems to be a lot different that computer science/engineering positions, which was my case. The same holds for the resources on finding job announcements placed in the end of the book. The aforementioned fields are not there. Of course, one can always use the web!

I would recommend buying this book, perhaps along with another, more generic, less detailed book, such as the “Academic Job Search Handbook” by Heideberger and Vick.

5 Stars helpful advice from people who have been there
I think the other reviews are much too hard on this book - I found it an extremely helpful resource. Certainly it duplicates a certain amount of information found in other academic job search guides (why is this surprising? 90% of any job search books on the market probably share about 90% of the same advice), but what is valuable about this book is the perspective that its authors bring to the topic. Formo and Reed have been on the market recently, and understand the experience very personally. For me, this made the book more useful than what I would consider the closest runner-up, the also excellent _The Academic Job Search Handbook_ by Heiberger and Vick (their advice is great and they are very sympathetic, but their distance from the personal experience of the job search occasionally made me resentful of how easily they talked about this difficult process). What I found particularly helpful about the Formo and Reed book was how they were able to discuss and provide examples of how necessary it is to get a real sense of oneself across in job applications. Using the Heiberger/Vick book, I produced applications that looked just like anyone else’s; using the Formo and Reed book, I was able to come up with applications that looked like me. Finally, if, as one reader comments, these books are filled with information that any advanced grad student would know already, I advise her/him to check out any number of graduate programs that do nothing to prepare their graduates for the professional process of job applications, and in which students honestly in fact *don’t* know much of what this book explains (it amazed me too, but I’ve been at conferences with such people…).

Buy/More Info

Job search strategies for students with disabilities a nuts and bolts approach Eastern Washington University career opportunities for students with disabilities SuDoc ED 1 310 2 405664

Buy/More Info

Job search behavior at the end of the life cycle

Buy/More Info

Quick results in your job search a job search manual for prospective and recent graduates with and without disabilities SuDoc ED 1 310 2 432112

Buy/More Info

The Complete Job Search Book For College Students A Step by step Guide to Finding the Right Job

Using step-by-step, easy-to-follow techniques, The Complete Job Search Book for College Students, 3rd Edition, shows you all the essential aspects of a successful job-search campaign. From discovering what employers are really looking for, to taking a personal inventory and managing expectations, to staying focused on what’s important–you’ll learn everything you need to know about organizing an effective and practical plan. The Complete Job Search Book for College Students, 3rd Edition includes:

• A step-by-step plan for landing your first job
• Samples of resumes and cover letters that really work
• A comprehensive list of online job-hunting resources
• The latest information on the best career paths
• “Inside” information for making the most of career fairs and university job resources
• How to match your qualifications to employers’ needs This book tells you how to write winning cover letters and resumes, with dozens of samples covering most fields of study–including new and growing interdisciplinary fields such as biochemistry and international studies/language. There’s more–learn important interviewing skills and how to negotiate a job offer!

If you want to stand out from the pack and win the job you want, you need The Complete Job Search Book for College Students!

Buy/More Info