Job wiki: like Crackbook but more demoralizing

I assume most of you on the job market already know about the Physical Anthropology Job Wiki, no? It's a place where OCD is stoked into a frenzy, hope goes to die, and envy reigns supreme. In other words, it is AWESOME.

I am posting this not only for the job seekers but also for senior faculty and search committees. You need to know how the process is perceived, and perhaps offer your (anonymous) insight to calm down the people who are freaking out. The vague job descriptions, maddening online application systems, the bazillion documents all saying sort of the same thing but not quite, the mystery of the name of the person "to whom it may concern" - all these things freak people out and they give vent to it in the Wiki (and perhaps more constructively here and here).  And perhaps most nerve-wracking of all, consider how it makes job seekers feel to never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever hear from you. Especially if they were invited for an interview. Because shockingly often, it does come to pass that some lucky applicant makes it to the short list and pours their heart and soul, and countless cups of coffee, into prepping their talk and their answers to whatever questions you might ask them - and then NEVER HEARS ANOTHER WORD (except on the Wiki where they learn someone else got the job). Maybe the interview went well, maybe it sucked, but in either case, it's been an enormous investment and a little thank you for showing up helps soften the blow of not getting the job. The lesson for search committees is that news travels ever faster in this hyper-connected world which has some impact on shaping new cultural norms of engagement.

Job updates

If you are actively on the market or just indulging in some good old-fashioned voyeurism, be sure to keep tabs on the Physical Anthropology Job Wiki. There are 25 jobs posted that are still in play. I don't think it's an exhaustive list, so I encourage BANDITs to provide updates.

Hey, jobs!

The 2011-2012 Bioanthropology job market is shaping up to be pretty decent. There are many places to look for jobs and you *should* look in multiple places because not all jobs are cross-listed. Here are my recommendations:

The Anthropology job wiki. A perennial favorite of the BANDIT blog, not only does the wiki provide a handy digest of the current market, but you can find out from other users about information requests, interview invitations, job offers and rejections. It can be a little painful to follow the wiki because of that, but considering the frustrating silence so common to so many search committees, it can be a relief.

The job postings page on the AAPA website. This is pretty good and often includes postdoc opportunities.

For the biological anthropologist with training and teaching experience in anatomy, the classifiedsat the American Association of Anatomists might point you to an interesting opportunity.

The career center on the American Anthropological Association website lists several bioanthropology jobs.

Through the University of Wisconsin, you can access Primate Jobs to look for, you know, primate jobs.

If you're willing to do a little more digging (tip: if you want a job you should be willing to do a little more digging!) search anthropology, biology, and psychology postings at the Chronicle of Higher Education.

I'll also continue to post individual job listings that BANDIT readers forward to me. Good luck to all searchers!

Got a job interview? Don't screw it up!

Claire Potter over at Inside Higher Ed has some great tips to be sure you don't blow your job interview. It's written with historians and conference interviews in mind, but is widely applicable. For instance, it behooves you to know what your dissertation is about and be able to speak eloquently, confidently, and concisely about it. A no-brainer, right? Surprisingly, this actually takes some thought and practice PRIOR to your interview to get right.

Updates to the job wiki

Hey folks, hope you've been keeping track of the emerging bioanthro job market .

Here are some links to biology posting.

Anatomy folks ought to be looking here for job openings.

Good luck everyone!

The 2011-2012 job season

There are 13 professorial postings currently listed on the anthro job wiki.

Here's my take on the specialty breakdown (note that the total may exceed 13 depending on the job description)-->
Medical anthropology: 1
Human health & disease/Biocultural approaches to disease/Global Health: 3
Primatology: 1
Skeletal/bioarch/paleo: 6
Ecological anthro/ecotourism: 1
Generic bio/physical: 3

The Career Center at AAA lists 10 bio/phys positions and 7 medanth positions. Note that there is overlap between these categories and also that these postings include administrative and other non-academic opportunities.

The Chronicle of Higher Education appears to list only 4 bio faculty jobs.

Good luck!

2010-11 Bioanthro Job Wiki

The count is up to eight. Not bad for July!

They're baaaack...

Just when you thought it was safe to enjoy the rest of your summer, the 2010-11 job search has begun. If you don't know about the job wiki already, your subclinical academic OCD is about to get kicked into agonizing and entertaining overdrive.