I took a look today at the APSA job postings, curious to see what was required of would-be assistant professors who are trying to land an ever-scarcer job in a shrinking landscape of opportunities. At a time when many political scientists are finding their contracts and tenures to have less meaning, with programs closing and lay-offs routine, surely we are being kind to the new PhDs who are just trying to get started in their careers. I had thought the market bad in 2008, when the financial crisis led to some folks seeing verbal offers withdrawn as the financial crisis hit that fall. But there are even fewer jobs available now, and those jobs are less secure, so, I imagined that those in the discipline running searches would practice kindness and make the submission process as painless as possible.
What do I mean by kindness? Simply that we demystify the job process and reduce the amount of work expected up front for applicants competing with hundreds of others for precious few jobs. In the past we asked for all kinds of customized documents to help guide the choice, but in an age when we can conduct zoom interviews with our short lists and request additional materials by email, surely–SURELY–we are only asking candidates to submit cover letters and cvs, and maybe letters of recommendation (since those are common across all jobs) or transcripts (better left for the actual hire).
yeah…no.
Continue reading “Stop the job application cruelty.”