Academic Job Placement Committee

The purpose of the placement committee is two-fold: first, to prepare advanced graduate students for the job market and to steer them through the job search; second, to synchronize the expectations of the department with those of the dissertation director and dissertation committee members.

The committee’s tasks include:

• convening a series of workshops and consultations designed to help job-seekers prepare their applications (in addition to preparing materials associated with the workshop);
• helping job-seekers identify openings, as well as post-doctoral opportunities, for which they should apply;
• organizing and conducting practice interviews and job talks by phone, by video-conference, as well as in person;
• helping job-seekers choose recommenders in order to best serve their applications;
• communicating with the Head, Director of Graduate Studies, Director of Pedagogy, the Graduate Committee, and/or the job-seeker’s dissertation director and committee members to include them in aspects of the preparation and to ensure smooth communication between all parties.

In the Fall one year before entering the market, the committee will provide a general timeline for such things as chapter completion, finalizing the status of the dissertation and scheduling the defense, assembling a dossier, etc. Job-seekers will be responsible for modifying and adhering to the timeline as necessary (in consultation with their dissertation director and committee members) for their particular fields of interest.

The placement committee will typically be composed of the Director of Graduate Studies and at least two faculty members from Comparative Literature.