Yesterday was the due date for applications to a prestigious postdoctoral program in my field. I spent two solid weeks working on that application, so it was an inexpressible relief to finally turn it in.
Understandably, I'm a bit burned out on the job search right now. I'd love to forget about postdoc applications and go back to research, or in my current mood, just watch TV for three days straight.
About a month ago, my advisor and I worked out a list of 15 positions I'm going to apply for. Yes, fifteen. It has always seemed like too many to me, but my advisor insists it's a great opportunity to force people to read my work and build citations. Initially I agreed with him, and faithfully promised to turn them all in. But now I'm totally exhausted, and I desperately want to cut down my to-do list of job applications.
There are some jobs on my list that I really just don't want. One, in particular, is in a city--I'll call it Plainville--where I had the misfortune to live for a summer, and I do not care to repeat the experience. The weather in Plainville is completely objectionable; I had asthma almost the entire time I was there; and it's so sprawling that one can't get anywhere except by car. (Of course, given the rotten weather, it's no surprise that the inhabitants prefer to drive.)
I don't think the job in Plainville is critical to my career. There are other options, in places with equally good or even better research groups in my field. If my job prospects are bad enough that I get turned down for all my other 14 potential jobs, it's not very likely that Plainville will want to have me either.
So I asked my advisor about cutting this Plainville job from my application list. I don't want to work there, so why waste my time and my letter writers' time? But my advisor was adamant, again, that I go through with it. He sees job applications as a strategic move to build my career, not as just a way to get a job.
I trust my advisor's judgment on most things, and I'm sure he's right that I need to take every opportunity to publicize my work. But right now, I feel like I've come slap-up against reality: I don't have an infinite amount of time, I need to finish my thesis project, and application due dates for jobs I actually want are fast approaching.
The application I handed in yesterday was the first that required a detailed research proposal (some fellowships want only a one-page summary of your interests). Now that I've written the proposal, I can reuse it, so I'm not likely to need so much time for the rest of my applications. But still. I'll need to at least tweak the proposal to address each department's specific recruiting goals. It's a time-consuming process, there's no way around that.
What to do? Either the nuclear option (flatly refuse to hand in the application) or the weasel option: don't mention the Plainville job until after the application due date, then express dismay that I'm too late to apply. I'm pretty sure my advisor isn't keeping track of due dates. The weasel option isn't the most honest, integrity-filled way to solve my problem, but I'm running out of ideas.
Showing posts with label job search. Show all posts
Showing posts with label job search. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Cat-prompted return to the blogosphere
I've been silent for quite some time. To my readers, if I have any (highly unlikely at this point), I apologize. Work got crazy, traveling got crazy, and I neglected the blog.
I'm back and ready to get going again, though. Frustration of the week: cat care! When I was away on my recent research trip, my cat had a meltdown. This was brought about by my cat-sitter, who completely blew off the job and didn't show up at the house. The cat was locked inside for almost three days, until I got worried (because I couldn't get ahold of the cat sitter--I kept calling my home phone and her cell and there was no answer). I asked my landlord to check on the cat, and sure enough, she was out of food and nearly out of water.
As soon as my landlord opened the door, the cat shot straight out of the house and onto the neighbor's roof. She doesn't like being locked inside, and she must have made up her mind not to return to the house until I came home. So my landlord put the food and water outside (I'm very grateful for his help). I managed to arrange another cat sitter, but at no point was he able to convince the cat to come in the house. This was a problem, because I usually bring her inside at night--I don't want her tangling with the raccoons.
I found out all this business about the cat refusing to come inside only a few days before I came home. My replacement cat sitter didn't bother to let me know what was going on (you'd think, since I was paying him $200, that he could have at least let me know what was going on!). He thought everything was fine, and there was no problem, because it looked like the cat was eating. But when I finally got home, she had lost a lot of weight! I believe the cat sitter actually did put out food for her, but the raccoons probably ate most of it.
I have several more trips planned within the next six months, and I'd like to prevent another cat meltdown. Step one is to get a reliable cat sitter. Step two: deal with cat anxiety. She's incredibly suspicious of my travel now, and the sight of the suitcase puts her on her guard. Is there any way I can convince her that the cat sitters (when they show up) are not evil, are not going to lock her in the house for days on end or make her into cat stew?
Here are the options I've come up with so far:
1. Tranquilizers--on the morning I leave, give her one. When the cat sitter comes the same afternoon or evening, the cat will hopefully be calm enough to accept the presence of a (comparative) stranger.
2. Bring the cat sitter over to the house before the trip, and see how the cat reacts to him/her. If she's obviously afraid, it won't work.
3. Only go with cat sitters whom the cat has reacted to well in the past. (I tried that this time, unfortunately--someone whom the cat likes and who has been really responsible in the past really let me down.)
4. Maybe the cat could come with me on a couple of my trips? I'm hesitant to try this, because the airplane ride and unfamiliar surroundings might scare her more than the cat sitter. But it might be the only way of ensuring that she's fed and looked after when I travel.
5. Kennel (or pet hotel, to give it a nicer name)? Again, not great for a cat who's scared of most people, but if things just don't work out with the cat sitters, I may be out of options.
I hope some combination of these will make my future trips go more smoothly. I love my cat and don't want her to suffer. If anyone out there in the blog world has some advice about dealing with panicky cats, I'd be glad to hear it.
I'm back and ready to get going again, though. Frustration of the week: cat care! When I was away on my recent research trip, my cat had a meltdown. This was brought about by my cat-sitter, who completely blew off the job and didn't show up at the house. The cat was locked inside for almost three days, until I got worried (because I couldn't get ahold of the cat sitter--I kept calling my home phone and her cell and there was no answer). I asked my landlord to check on the cat, and sure enough, she was out of food and nearly out of water.
As soon as my landlord opened the door, the cat shot straight out of the house and onto the neighbor's roof. She doesn't like being locked inside, and she must have made up her mind not to return to the house until I came home. So my landlord put the food and water outside (I'm very grateful for his help). I managed to arrange another cat sitter, but at no point was he able to convince the cat to come in the house. This was a problem, because I usually bring her inside at night--I don't want her tangling with the raccoons.
I found out all this business about the cat refusing to come inside only a few days before I came home. My replacement cat sitter didn't bother to let me know what was going on (you'd think, since I was paying him $200, that he could have at least let me know what was going on!). He thought everything was fine, and there was no problem, because it looked like the cat was eating. But when I finally got home, she had lost a lot of weight! I believe the cat sitter actually did put out food for her, but the raccoons probably ate most of it.
I have several more trips planned within the next six months, and I'd like to prevent another cat meltdown. Step one is to get a reliable cat sitter. Step two: deal with cat anxiety. She's incredibly suspicious of my travel now, and the sight of the suitcase puts her on her guard. Is there any way I can convince her that the cat sitters (when they show up) are not evil, are not going to lock her in the house for days on end or make her into cat stew?
Here are the options I've come up with so far:
1. Tranquilizers--on the morning I leave, give her one. When the cat sitter comes the same afternoon or evening, the cat will hopefully be calm enough to accept the presence of a (comparative) stranger.
2. Bring the cat sitter over to the house before the trip, and see how the cat reacts to him/her. If she's obviously afraid, it won't work.
3. Only go with cat sitters whom the cat has reacted to well in the past. (I tried that this time, unfortunately--someone whom the cat likes and who has been really responsible in the past really let me down.)
4. Maybe the cat could come with me on a couple of my trips? I'm hesitant to try this, because the airplane ride and unfamiliar surroundings might scare her more than the cat sitter. But it might be the only way of ensuring that she's fed and looked after when I travel.
5. Kennel (or pet hotel, to give it a nicer name)? Again, not great for a cat who's scared of most people, but if things just don't work out with the cat sitters, I may be out of options.
I hope some combination of these will make my future trips go more smoothly. I love my cat and don't want her to suffer. If anyone out there in the blog world has some advice about dealing with panicky cats, I'd be glad to hear it.
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