Preparing for the Not-So-Strong Job Market
Kristenne M. Robison
 
You’ve heard the stories.  The economy has turned the academic job market upside down.  Soon-to-be and recent Ph.D.’s are anxious, uncertain, stressed out, and just plain frustrated.  But all is not lost.  As Al Gore suggests in his documentary An Inconvenient Truth (2006), we should consider the opportunities available in crisis.  Keep your mind open as opportunities are there, but recognize they might not necessarily fit your expectations or the path you planned for yourself.  Below are some ideas for preparing both mentally and, in some ways, physically for the job market.  The first step is to be open to your opportunities!  The second step is to network, network, network.  This is just a start for those of you thinking about entering the job market.  But I want to stress that it is important to stay positive and do your best to minimize stress regarding the job market.  One of my mentors warned me that entering the job market creates a feeling of extreme highs and lows.  As it turns out, he was right.  When I reflect on those highs and lows, I recall at times feeling almost bipolar.  Besides being open to opportunities and networking, my advice to you is to stay balanced, positive, and stay focused on what you can control, yourself.   Good luck!
**For your information, I catered this conversation with the assumption that a great majority of you might be looking for jobs at academic, research-focused institutions.  While this was not the path I took when I accepted a position this past winter, I remained open to all possibilities while job searching.  Look out for our next issue of the Graduate Student Corner where we will continue our discussion of the job market and more! 
1)             Be Open to the Opportunities!
a.     Community Colleges – President Obama just announced he is prepared to invest in our community college systems (http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/14/obama.community.colleges/).  I can testify that in Onondaga County, where Syracuse University is located, Onondaga Community College is thriving.  It has become a cultural and intellectual center of our community.  Keep in mind, not all community colleges are the same with some thriving more than others.  In addition, a setback of many community college appointments is the high teaching load making publishing more difficult.
b.     One-Year Appointments – One-Year appointments are excellent opportunities to get your foot in the door at an institution.  While one-year appointments are not necessarily ideal for publishing, as they often require high teaching loads, you are gaining professional experience and getting a paycheck.
c.     Post-Docs – Don’t underestimate the power of a post-doc appointment.  Post-docs allow you to continue to gather research and focus on publishing to better prepare you for the job market.  In addition, you often get strong mentoring and access to great resources.  Not to mention, a number of post-doctoral fellowships will make you more competitive on the job market.
d.     Non-Academic Jobs – Non-Academic jobs provide excellent research experience as well as professional experience to strengthen your CV.  However, once in the non-academic track, job seekers often find it difficult to get back to the academic track.  
2)             Network!  Network!  Network!
a.     Social Media – Social media provide ample opportunities for those who desire to network.  Associations and divisions have listservs, facebook pages, and more.  Use the social media to your advantage by contacting potential mentors.  Listservs (DWC@LIST.MSU.EDU) serve as a great resource to ask questions of seasoned job seekers.  Don’t be afraid to ask.  If you are thinking it, so is someone else.  Also, check out job market forums, they can be useful in brainstorming potential opportunities (http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,43629.0.html)
b.     Employment Exchange – The ASC has an employment exchange at the ASC annual meeting where you can meet with representatives of departments that are hiring.  You can learn a lot about the interview process and begin to think about types of positions that interest you.  Remember, you can learn a lot about an institution in those fifteen-minute interviews!
c.     Conferences/Division Meetings – Present your work at conferences and be certain to bring business cards.  It never fails, if you don’t have a business card, someone will ask you for one.  Feel free to ask for business cards from those you meet and follow-up with an email.  Also attend division meetings.  It is amazing how small our research/teaching circles can be.  Treat every introduction as a potential job interview (they all are)
Resources:
http://www.asc41.com/books.html (Books on Job Market for CRIM/CJ)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/arts/07grad.html
http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2009/07/2009071601c.htm
Places to look for jobs/post-docs:

The Employment and Funding page of this newsletter!

American Society of Criminology Job Bank: http://www.asc41.com/employment.htm
American Sociological Association Job Bank: http://jobbank.asanet.org/jobbank/index.cfm (must be an ASA member)
Chronicle of Higher Education:  http://chronicle.com/jobs/
Inside Higher Ed:  http://www.insidehighered.com/career/seekers
http://www.phds.org/
http://postdocjobs.com/
http://www.usdoj.gov/06employment/06_1.html