asa employment service - when

[iwasthere]

Hi,
I am interested in attending the employment service that the ASA will be holding at their annual meeting. I have a few questions I would appreciate people answering:

(1) What is the basic structure? Do you choose depts or vice versa? How long do you talk? How many depts do you meet with?

(2) What days are they held? First day of conference, 2nd, etc?

(3) How do you sign up exactly?

Thanks,

[rerun]

When you register for the conference, there should be the ability to sign up--it's unlikely that anything will be posted until June anyway.
As soon as possible, register yourself on the site with your profile and CV. Contact any school/organization that you are interested in. If you get an interview, make sure to block out that time on the electronic calendar. Also block out times when you are presenting or won't be around. It's easy not to see the calendar and to skip this--don't.

When I did this last year, I contacted 5 schools and 2 organizations--all but 1 scheduled interviews with me. I also got a spontaneous request from a school. However, it's much more common for you to make the initial contact rather than the other way around.

There will be a big room with tables that have numbers on the corresponding to the school. A buzzer or bell will ring, and that signals when the interviews should end/begin. The interviews last about 20 minutes. You can't get into the interview room without a special pass, which they do check. Also, a nearby room will have computers that you can use and places to sit if you want to use your laptop.

I only formally applied to 2 of the jobs I interviewed for, and even those weren't realistic possibilities for me (geographic limitations). I was shortlisted at one, which I'm sure was a result of the positive interview I had. But the job I ultimately got had nothing to do with the annual meeting. Last year there were only around 30 schools using the service--for me the most helpful thing was getting a sense of the kinds of questions schools ask and to practice giving a short synopsis of my dissertation and other research. I'm glad I did it, but if I had hoped to get a job out of it, I think I would have been disappointed.

[conferencegoer]

I used the meeting job fair ("AM employment service") last year. I was contacted by 10 or more schools and spent a whole day in the conference room. Not one of those schools contacted me for an in person, but I eliminated many of the schools from my list of schools that I was going to file apps with. It was worthwhile in that I met two chairs of dept. who had search budget lines cancelled and will likely be re-doing their searches thisyear. Also, good practice interviewing, etc. Worth doing. But if you are doing all of the contacting, it shows you need to update/change your CV, lots of schools contacted me and my CV is not stellar.

[diffexp]

I had a very different experience with the ES. Not one single school contacted me. I did ALL of the contacting. I did 9 interviews through the ES. Of those, I applied to 7 and got on-campus interviews at 6 of those 7. Many of those 6 schools even fast-tracked my applications and/or followed up with me post-ES to make sure I was going to apply.

The ES certainly doesn't guarantee you a job, but it can help in the following ways:

1. good experience learning to talk about yourself

2. good for learning which schools aren't worth your time in applications

3. good for learning what things schools are looking for (e.g. they are often looking for things that aren't listed in the job descriptions - if those come out in your conversations in the ES that's a big advantage for you when you write your cover letter)

[calphd]

Thanks, diffexp. Did the 6 on-campus interviews that flowed from the ES result in a job offer? What was the end result for you?

[diffexp]

I had already accepted an offer from one of the six when I got the other five interview invites so never did those other interviews. But it made the one interview so much more comfortable having previously met some of the faculty at ASA. I felt like I could ask them questions in advance of the interview that I didn't feel comfortable asking others. And a few friendly faces during the campus visit is really reassuring when you're so nervous!

Another nice thing about the ES is that you can meet other grad students who aren't at your institution but are in the same boat as you. I really enjoyed that part of the ES - talking to people as we waited around for our speed dates with different schools.

[No name]

Some people in my department told me that the Employment Service was a waste of time, but I found it to be quite helpful. I had three interviews last year in Atlanta, one of which resulted in an on-campus visit. I also agree with one of the earlier posters, I was able to find out what the different schools were looking for and which jobs I did not want to waste my time applying to.

[honeybee]

diffexp: do you mind if we ask what area you're in? well done!

i feel as if the area you're in really helps shape if you have to contact people, how many asa interviews you'll get...

i would recommend the asa es wholeheartedly. it's good to practice talking about your work, great to meet people, etc.

i would also strongly recommend reading a body language book before you go... that way you'll know if you're boring people to tears, offending them, etc. and can change course quickly within an interview...

rehearse your potential answers. try not to go over 30 seconds for each answer. 1-2 min max on more detailed questions. outline your responses. practice answering and then stopping yourself from prattling on...

use the star method (cannot stress this one enough):
www.quintcareers.com/STAR_interviewing.html

do your homework, know the schools you're interviewing with, say how you'll fit, ask exactly what the department is looking for so that you can tailor your letter to those needs, don't waste people's time...

it helped me to take notes/dictate right after each interview so that when i went to write thank you notes and write my application letters, i had all of those notes available... those highly detailed accounts were very helpful.

good luck!