Thread by @drmonicahuerta

job market thread of love and support for my #mla19 peeps, but also for any #scholar in the running for jobs 💜:
1. prioritize sleep and self-care between now & interview time
2. even though its awkward, practice a few different ways of telling the story of your diss out loud 1/

3. figure out if the best way for you to talk about your diss is through an origin story (i first found my way to this topic through x y z which drew me to m n o and the archive showed me a b c!), an explicit intervention into a debate (i want to add x to the argument over y) 2/

3. (cont.) a provocation in the materials/objects of inquiry 4. a problem presented by mismatch between objects of inquiry and critical debates 5. combo platter 3/

4. prepping for answering teaching questions: dont try to memorize a syllabus. youll forget things when ur nervous and its not fun to listen to a list of books. instead, think about the arc of the course you want to teach. what's its argument or story? where to start and end? 4/

4. cont. and have answers for why youre making the choices youre making. this is the most important part of planning a course! knowing why love in the time of butterflies but not oscar wao, por ejemplo 5/

5. for your job talk, remember that youre talking to potential colleagues who know lots of things, but not your particular thing. invite them into the world youve been creating with your research. show them its important, interesting. convey your excitement 1st and foremost 6/

5. cont. im a suuuuper needy listener and reader, so when i prep talks i try to write with the neediest potential listener in mind. lots of signposts, lots of *helpful* slides, leading audience along what is an extended line of thought. 7/

5. cont. use bolding/highlighting/dimming fonts in an outline of the talk in transition slides to help mark where you are for your audience. we have to pace our listening, too, so knowing where we are when listening is incredibly helpful! 8/

6. i know there's a tendency to convey professionalism through dark colors and suit-adjacent items, but i honestly think it's much better to wear what you feel confident and powerful in rather than what you think someone else thinks you should be wearing. 9/

7. have a squad that is holding you down, pumping you up, and reminding you at every turn that you are dope, and also way more than can fit in an interview's time 10/

8. if you're unsure about something, please please please ask someone who has been on the market recently. this is a harrowing and tiring process, and the least you can do for yourself is gather the most helpful information <3 11/

9. be generous with and good to yourself, no matter what. youve worked so, so hard for a long time. honor that. believe in that. that work will come with you to whatever is next 💜

fin/