hit my wall

[ohh]

So I finally hit my wall. I cannot motivate myself to write another job application.

[onthejobmarket]

Same here. I'm so over applying for jobs.

[616e6f6e]

Right there with you both. The nearly non-stop rejection just kills my motivation. I'm seriously two days away from finishing my dissertation and can't bring myself to do that either.

[ohh]

Solidarity sistas and brothas!

616e6f6e-- I don't know if this helps, but maybe think about the *high* you will be on once you nail that diss. It might not be the same for you, but getting the diss done was not only something to put on cover letters, etc, but was a huge, and positive, psychological shift for me.

[metoo]

I hear you 616e6f6e...I too am finishing up now and feel zero motivation. I am hoping that if I get jacked up enough on caffeine, I will get a burst on motivation and do a few revisions. Good luck with yours!

[aaaa]

It this your first time on the market?

My first time was like that, but I find myself a lot more detached from the daily grind of it the second time around. I don't even read the wiki anymore and rejections don't bother me as much. More importantly, I already have cover letters ready for virtually everything I can apply for (main specialty/reseach intensive, main specialty/teaching oriented, stretch specialty/research, etc), so that if I have to apply to a new position, I don't need to spend a lot of time writing something.

My suggestions to you are:

- Take one day and write all the job applications you have in hand that one day. Get them over with, even if the deadline is 2 months away and you hope to hear on a publication by then. You can always send updated CVs if needed, but get them out of the way now so you are not constantly having to think about them, check you calender, etc.

- Take a break from the wiki and status of searches subforums. My experience is that the information there is often inaccurate anyways.

- Get a hobby unrelated to sociology. Go watch a good tv show or read a good book. Watch "the wire" on tv, as that is a great show that will take your mind off from sociology.

[whatsupwithsecuritychekcwords]

I second aaaa. Send them out and don't think.

A couple years ago, the job I got was THE LAST APPLICATION I sent, if I remember correctly at the end of December... I had the exact same feeling: I'm sick of doing this. In fact, it was the application in which I put the least thought. I just changed the name of the school in the cover letter, and off it went. I thought, 'well, it doesn't matter anyway!'

So, of course, this may not be the general experience. But at least in one case, I got the job thanks to that application that I almost didn't send.

[rrr]

Alternatively, instead of freaking out, spend time creating a syllabus for a high demand course that you would want to teach sometime, such as theory, urban, organizations or family. It will be a nice thing to have ready in your back pocket.