Timeline for an Academic Job Search
| October | November to December | December | January to Spring
Summer to September
- Join MLA (and SAMLA, NCTE, CCCC, AWP, as best suits your concentrations) and continue to check the web listings
- Familiarize yourself with the MLA Job Information List (JIL) and The Chronicle of Higher Education. The extensive listings of the JIL are password protected; the Department Head will distribute the password for access. The Chronicle's more general higher education listings are updated weekly.
- Prepare different versions of your letter of application. Additional help with writing application letters is available online.
- Request letters of recommendation from faculty members familiar with your work. Be sure to give the confidentiality waiver (available in 9022 Haley Center) and a reasonable deadline to recommenders. Follow up (tactfully) to make sure the letters are written.
- Prepare teaching packet (sample syllabi, student comments, assignments).
- Prepare and polish your writing sample. If it is part of your dissertation, you will want to introduce it with similar polish.
- Review your letter of application and vita with Margaret Kouidis or Kathryn Pratt.
- Browse MLA Newsletters and The Chronicle for more information. MLA maintains an extensive electronic file of information related to the job search. You might also want to purchase The MLA Guide to the Job Search.
- Attend the English Department's Job Services meeting in early September.
Questions about this site
Last updated April 14, 2005