after submitting

[anon27]

So I submitted my first few job applications of the year. I expected to hear trumpets, but no such luck. I did treat myself to a cookie.

Anyone else feel the creeping sense of watchful tension? I know it's a long wait to hear anything, so I'm hoping this gets better...

[jobhunter]

Sumit the rest of the applications and get it over with. Then sketch out your job talk. Then try to write the best dissertation ever. Meanwhile, try to keep your personal relationships intact. Thats it.

[agree]

I agree with the above poster. Try not to think about it too much or else youll go crazy- especially because a bunch of the places you apply to you may never hear back from.

[yes]

agreed. you're just going to have to chill out. job ads are drawing 100+ applications (many more for higher profile gigs), and it's going to take a long time for committees to get through them. I know my dept, which usually tries to be speedy with hiring, was really slowed down last year, by maybe an extra month, just by the sheer volume of applications. The bulk of interviewing won't happen till after Thanksgiving, so stop checking your email, looking for shortlist notifications, or whatever other nonsense you're surely finding yourself doing. This process takes forever. Most jobs won't be decided till spring. So chill. and good luck.

[anon27]

Haha. So my post was meant to be more of a share the funny/unrealistic feelings we have post-applications, but maybe the "we" is just "me". Amazingly, I've been through the application process before and yet still feel this way. But I get the same feeling of tension after submitting grants, papers, etc. (so most of the time). Maybe I'm just a tense person? I assumed others would feel the same vague sense of expectancy, but maybe not.

Back to apps. Thanks for the advice--I will try to heed it!

[with you]

I've submitted one app so far and I already feel the stress + tension even though I went through this all last year and returned to grad school (so it can't get worse, right?).

le sigh. (amusing: the security check was "in the club")

[unclekarl]

I felt that way the first time around, but its been replaced by a grim numbness. I am applying to 30 schools this first round, and I will be happy if 2 short-list me. I am trying to apply for 60 schools, & I hope to snag 1 job. I am more tense about not finding *any* job, and I view the inevitable rejections as the most common event in the process.

For what its worth, this seems par for the course. I have heard 3 or four endowed chairs say they had something like 4 interviews and 2 offers. There are some all stars who do well, but the market just generally seems brutal and random.