1/ By far, the best part of an academic job search is the that you can give a phenomenal academic the stability and resources they need to fulfill their goals & contribute to the academic mission long term. Having the opportunity to offer that to someone is a true privilege.
2/ By far, the worst part of a job search is that there are so many phenomenal academics out there who deserve that chance. I was on a committee this fall, and even in a narrow search we saw many truly amazing candidates. And we could only hire one of them.
3/ In a just world the academic job market would clear. All the great scholars out there would get a TT job, and with it the opportunity to fulfill their teaching and research goals. This would also make the world better off in general.
4/ Imagine how much smarter we'd all be - more research would exist, more students could be taught in smaller classes, more communities could be engaged - if all the brilliant people who wanted to do this type of work, could.
5/ Anyway, while I'm thrilled with how our search turned out, the process was bittersweet. To all those out there frustrated by the unfair job market, we see you. I wish it was in our power to hire all of you.
